Pointers to Beat Procrastination

Largely defined as the habit of intentionally delaying a task that needs to be done by doing other less-important things, procrastination is widely viewed as a socio-cultural ill that adversely affects productivity.

If you feel that you or someone you know is suffering from the pitfalls of the habit, here are takes on how one can overcome it – some pointers to beat procrastination, if you will.

It is not a form of laziness

Procrastination is often equated with being lazy, what with the nature of the habit to wait for the last minute to do what has to be done. However, it has to be noted that procrastinators are not necessarily lazy individuals, since procrastination has been characterized as a form of time management inconsistency.

Generally, it is linked with the unconscious preference for immediate gratification over potential rewards in the future. Most procrastinators are aware that though they need to get to Task A, they find more appeal in doing Task B, which, they feel, provides them with the experience of immediate gratification over the prospective gains in accomplishing Task A.

Though laziness is often cited as the reason why procrastinators do what they do, attributes like lack of self-control, fear of failure, perfectionism, negative self-talk and multitasking-related reasons have also been mentioned.

The broadness of the reasons have been found to stem from a task-related concern that correlates motivation with clarity as the probable reason why frequent procrastinators procrastinate – not necessarily laziness and laziness alone.

On Motivation and Clarity

It’s one thing to be motivated to do something, but things get done consistently when motivation is banded with clarity.

Yes, being motivated to accomplish a task can help someone get it done, but being motivated alone can only serve as a “get things done fuel” to a certain degree. Matching that motivation with clarity – a clear connection as to why doing a task matters – matters more than just being motivated in the long run.

A clear line of sight from one’s tasks to goals is necessary for people to be consistent in getting things done. Various studies have found that most procrastinators lose the motivation to do what they have to over time because they’ve lost the sense of clarity over why they do what they do.

How this state comes to be is varied. The most common, is found among those who play multi-functional roles, who, over time, lose a sense of clarity over why the roles that they play matters, which results in them losing the motivation to accomplish tasks.

The second would be the state of having too much to do at the same time. After all, it is hard for someone to stay motivated when one is being overwhelmed with tasks and duties, which ends with them simply putting things that are no longer clear to them as things that they can do at a later time.

A Three-Step Way to Avoid the Procrastination Spiral

Along with addressing the concerns pertaining to motivation and clarity, one can overcome procrastination by following through a three-step way.

The first step involves recognizing that one is procrastinating, while step two is all about working out the reason(s) why one is procrastinating.

The third basically calls on people to adopt work/project management methods and techniques like the Pareto Analysis/Technique, the Pomodoro Technique, the Eisenhower Matrix, Parkinson’s Law, the Time Blocking Technique, the Rapid Planning Method, and Eat That Frog Technique.