Working on your tendencies to procrastinate

We all procrastinate something: cleaning our room, working on that project, talking with that person, studying for the examination, writing this article, etc.

But there are master procrastinators, people with a diploma on the subject who know the right moment to get distracted (I have just finished a Mahjong game!), who know the right technique or tool to use and postpone what they should have done long before…

And then there is this map of procrastination, used to illustrate this article! I think it gives a (funny) idea of what procrastination is, but I will focus this article on the following aspects, or map landmarks:

• Comfort Zone. Maybe I am wrong, but I think the main reason we procrastinate is because for some tasks, we have to come out our comfort zone. The name is not correct, as it means an area of security and confidence. The solution is to increase your self-esteem and, in this way, your self-security and confidence.
• Social Media Forest. It is a very dangerous distraction since it may take hours from one person and they won’t even feel it. The worst is that gives a sense of happiness and even accomplishment! To forbid yourself to navigate social media does not work so well until you find other sources of happiness, but there is something you can do and it is to find a trail in this forest and restrict yourself to it; for instance, only checking social media once in the morning and once in the evening.
• Daydream Beach. Ah, yes… our mind wanders away effortlessly. To come back from that daydream is a big effort, so it is better to just relax there… NO, no, no… Self-control! We daydream because something is not giving us what we need for that moment and, even though it is hard, self-control is the solution, maybe from a meditation practice from which there is a clear sense of accomplishment too.
• River of Excuses. For every delayed task there is the perfect excuse or justification. The reason is that people are inherently good and they procrastinate not because they are bad people, trying to undermine something… The strong solution is to improve a sense of responsibility, but without tension, by align the task with purpose and values.
• Mountains of Distractions. Did I tell you I just played a game online WHILE WRITING THIS ARTICLE? For me, this is the easiest of all the aspects to be solved because the name is right and distraction is not what many people think it is. It is a mountain that has to be climbed and it requires effort to get distracted. Find happiness, joy or peace in the task you are doing, in other words, enjoy it, and if you really feel like have a distraction, consider a relevant break, something that will make you feel better.
• Sea of the Unknown. The last two landmarks in this map point to hidden reasons we procrastinate. The first one is the fact we don’t know what we are doing. Maybe we do know, but the results are not clear or the reasons behind are unclear. Best solution ever is CLARIFY everything you do, trying the best to be aware of the different dimensions of those activities.
• Isle of Good Intentions. The second landmark can be interpreted as an anomaly or a paradox, because good intentions are… GOOD, right? The idea of an island comes from the fact that many times, because of good intentions, a person accepts to do a task they cannot do and as a consequence, the person gets isolated from the activity. So, let’s keep the good intentions, but it is important to have a balance between intentions and reality, including the personal capacity for doing something.

Hope this will help you to come out of the Land of Procrastination a better person.