pro-cras-ti-na-tion |prəˌkrastəˈnāSHən, prō-|
the action of delaying or postponing something: your first tip is to avoid procrastination.
I find this writer very interesting as he is able to describe out things that we know we are so well that after reading you will understand the state that you are in.
http://www.waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html
I like the part where he describe that our Rational Decision-Maker owns a Instant Gratification Monkey who tends to take control of our minds, bringing us around wonderland before we actually start doing any work. Last time it used to be the fridge exercise, where we tend to open the fridge to check it out over and over again for what so ever reason. But nowadays we have Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to replace it.
I can imagine the Dark Playground that the writer mentioned, I have the exact same playground in my mind, and it's actually not fun, as what he shared. We always thought that by doing so, we are actually enjoying ourselves, but once it's over, we are not much more happier than we expect we will be. Instead, sometimes we get disappointed as we failed to complete some tasks that we expected ourselves to complete within a time frame. More of the times, we will feel guilty for 'playing' around the Dark Playground, as said to be unearned leisure.
And when I read about the Panic Monster and how the Instant Gratification Monkey is afraid of it, oooo... I can so relate to that. Reading that part reminds me on all the memories I had on rushing assignments on the last hour, studying for examination on the night before, rushing through the past year paper early in the morning before the examination. Gosh.. Brings back memories.
There is another article by the writer on how to beat procrastination.
pro-cras-ti-na-tion |prəˌkrastəˈnāSHən, prō-|
noun
the action of ruining your own life for no apparent reason
The procrastinator is in the bad habit, bordering on addiction, of letting the monkey win. He continues to have the intention to control the monkey, but he puts forth a hapless effort, using the same proven-not-to-work methods he's used for years, and deep down, he knows the monkey will win. He vows to change, but the patterns just stay the same. So why would an otherwise capable person put forth such a lame and futile effort again and again?
The answer is that he has incredibly low confidence when it comes to this part of his life, allowing himself to become enslaved by a self-defeating, self-fulfilling prophecy.
A part which I liked on how the writer describes why a procrastinator's mind works the way it does.
How to beat procrastination:
1. Effective planning
This involves serious planning, and breaking you ideas into details, and start will steps. The writer pictured it in a way that procrastinators are visionaries who fantasize in building a house. However, for one to start building a house they will need to start will piling up the bricks one by one, day by day, without giving up, till the whole house is completed. This means that the objective of the plan may sound far more exciting compared to the actual procedure to start executing the steps to move towards achieving it. And the core of this plan is the bricks used to build the house. Hence, to start executing a plan, one should always start from the bricks, scheduling the tasks, draw down till the details of the each steps.
2. Doing
For me, I like planning, I can plan things out to the fine details, but when the start "doing" part hits, yes, my monkey will start to come out to play. The most important part here is "Get Started". This part is one of the hardest part as when we are about to start something hard, there are so many distractions around us, so many "fun" things to do. After getting started, we will come to the part where we have to continue on with the project to work till it is completed. This part is where distractions starts to look so tempting, especially when you encounter a problem and you need to Google the solution out, and hey, Facebook is just a click away. This is the part which I always end up getting stuck in. And the writer shares that, we have to be strong, and
making progress in the task will help us stay focus on the task that we are involved in as it raises our self-esteem. At the point that you are about to complete your task, you will feel a positive drive in you which motivates you in completing your task. There are times when you reach a point, feeling that your task is actually more fun and interesting compared to the leisure activities that you were involved in. However, once you reach this stage, it is not permanent, you will fall back to procrastinating if one do not have persistence.
I need to show myself that I can do it.
I like what the writer had shared, it's personal and easy to be related to myself. Like what he said,
Because defeating procrastination is the same thing as gaining control over your own life. So much of what makes people happy or unhappy—their level of fulfillment and satisfaction, their self-esteem, the regrets they carry with them, the amount of free time they have to dedicate to their relationships—is severely affected by procrastination. So it's worthy of being taken dead seriously, and the time to start improving is now.
Have to start now..!
