Procrastination is the habit of avoiding urgent tasks despite | Mahfuza's blog | IELTS

Procrastination is the habit of avoiding urgent tasks despite negative consequences. People are prone to prioritize short-term needs s.a. more enjoyable, simpler tasks ahead of long-term ones . However at the core, procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not a time management problem.

Here are some effective ways to beat it:

• Don't worry too much. Keep a diary and right before working/studying write down everything you feel bad about, so that your thoughts don't keep distracting you.

• Trick your mind by
1) persuading yourself that you will do a particular task for only 5 minutes and setting low expectations . Like "I'm just going to read this book for 3 minutes and if I don't like it, I'll quit" or instead of "meditate for 20 minutes" - write "3 mins". Eventually, we end up doing this very task for longer.

• Break down your big task into very small ones, also be very specific in your plans. For instance, instead of planning that you should prepare for an exam - write read certain 3 paragraphs and take notes.

• Eliminate all the distractions. On social media, phone, etc. (P.s. I never had my notifications turned on). You can also put on your headphones so that people can't distract you.

• Be very confident in yourself as long as one of the most common rationales behind procrastination is low self-esteem and motivation. Don't consider yourself a loser, instead say - no - if I'm going to try really hard I'll become the person I wish to be. Believe in your ability, potential and effort

• 2-minute rule states that if a task takes less than 2 minutes to complete, don't postpone/write it down, finish it right away

• Do tasks which stimulate your mind instead of mindlessly scrolling. This might be workout, reading a book out loud or even doing household chores (research shows that it makes our thoughts much more structured)