How to Overcome Procrastination during this Pandemic

From Inaction to Action

During these unprecedented times, our lives have certainly changed.

From working at companies and traveling for work across the globe has come to a standstill or dwindled in the recent months!

Getting accustomed to working from home for many, would have seemed easy at the start but for some it could have taken a toll. To be productive at work and to spend quality time with family might have been a challenge for many.

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In the midst of all this, there could have been situations where procrastination would have seeped in. Certain household chores or certain mundane tasks at work could have taken the back-seat!

With an urge to get back to normalcy or the new-normal, certain tasks could have been overlooked and might have taken the list of ‘Things to do when things get back to normal!’

But are we going to get back to Normal or is it a going to be the start of an entirely different phase of life?

That’s something to ponder on…

Well, let’s get back to Procrastination and delve into to how to overcome it.

Laziness is entirely different from Procrastination!

Laziness is when one does not do the activity at all where as in Procrastination one pushes away or delays to do the task as it appears to be unpleasant or boring!

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Well-being is of utmost importance during this Pandemic. Stress and anxiety during these uncertain times could elevate Procrastination as one may not have the urge to complete the task.

But then again we can overcome Procrastination by being conscious of the task we need to do and let’s learn 5 simple steps to overcome Procrastination and get to doing the tasks.

1. Accept and forgive oneself-

This is the first step and be ready to accept that you are delaying or putting off a task deliberately as you feel bored or unpleasant doing that task or activity. Also, be compassionate with yourself and forgive yourself. There is no fault of yours and you can finish this task step by step.

2. Question yourself, ‘Why?’

There could be many reasons as to WHY you do not want to do the task. Introspect and write down the reasons

• If it is unpleasant- Get to the root cause which makes you feel that way. Is it because of past memories / a person / negative results? It is all in the mind, once you get down to introspecting why you are feeling that way, you most probably will learn to get out of it. Keep asking yourselves this question until you weed out all the negative perspectives about the job.
• If it is repetitive / boring- Try to make it more fun. e.g; Try to sweep the floor by listening to music, Do the laundry in record time-compete with yourself.
• If it is difficult- Try to break the tasks into specific chunks of time. This would help you to be realistic and achieve the results one step at a time and you would know you are making a progress.

3. Create and assign a dedicated space

Once you have gathered the reasons for not doing the task, the next step would be to create or choose a designated space to perform the task at hand. Make sure you do the task at this place alone. Declutter the place and make it lively by decorating it with positive things like a plant, vase of flowers, vision board and inspiring quotes on the wall or board in front of you.

By segregating the tasks into specific zones in the home helps you to focus better and also work on the tasks diligently.

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4. Schedule and break the various activities and tasks in a day into specific time chunks

Block specific time for your tasks. Make sure you dedicate and focus on the task with utter involvement without taking a break in that time chunk. This will help to get closer to finishing the task. You could also break a big task into sizable work chunks which you can schedule for the week or month.

You can also block time for household chores and in doing so this would help you to gauge the tasks to be done on that day.

This way you only need to focus on the task at that point in time and reduces distraction.

5. Rewards-

Make sure you reward yourself at the end of the task or at the end of each stage of completion of the task.

This will keep you motivated and the zeal to complete the task is always present.

It is best to have a very valued reward so that the next time you are faced with a humongous task, you can always take it in your stride and reward yourself for the effort.

Well, Pandemic or no Pandemic, always look into yourself for you have all the inner strength to be successful in anything you do.

Procrastination cannot be avoided at times, the only way out is to ask yourself that question — ‘Why am I putting the task away?’ Once you get this answer I am sure you will work towards completing the tasks.

What has been your experience on Procrastination? Do you have a better or more ways to overcome it, please let me know!