It’s far too easy to waste time these days. With pop-ups constantly vying for your attention, trying to maintain focus can be excruciatingly difficult. Under lockdown, with cyber communication as one of the few social interactions allowed, streams of notifications offer an unparalleled distraction. And it’s only getting worse.
Procrastination, the dreaded inefficient time-thief, has become too easy.
And it’s time to break the habit.
Procrastination is Just a Defence Mechanism
Motivation speaker Mel Robbins sums up procrastination in an unusual way:
“You’re not a procrastinator. You have a habit of procrastinating. Procrastination is a form of stress relief.”
Procrastination comes as a kind of self-defence against stress to avoid tackling an overwhelming task. Stressful triggers will always be there. This simply isn’t a choice. But the way you deal with them is up to you.
Science-Backed Ways to Beat Procrastination Effectively
Following science-backed research, Robbins offers advice to beat the habit of procrastination…
The first step in choosing productivity over procrastination is to acknowledge that the latter is just a behaviour, rather than a fundamental part of your character.
From there, take a breath, count to ten, and interrupt the habit of procrastination.
Then, set out to work on one thing for five minutes. Only five minutes. Statistically, the odds of continuing the work following these five minutes are hugely in your favour. 80% of people are going to keep going once they start.
The more this is repeated, the better you will become at combatting stress avoidance, which will ultimately instil good habits of productivity.
Are You Using Your Time Effectively?
Procrastination also plays strongly into the “play now, work later” approach. It’s an inefficient tactic that leads down a path of time-wasting and diminishes your chances of future success.
It is critical to remember that what you sow today, you’ll be reaping later. If you spend your energy building your procrastination habit, you will have less to build your future now. But if you choose to invest your time and resources productively now, the investment will reward you so much more than you might expect.
All it takes is consciously working to break the bad habits and build good ones instead.
Take a GIBS Digital Programme to focus your time and finances in a way that will see you reaping great rewards in the future.
