Now, how many times has it happened that you have planned to complete a certain web dev project, or say, decided to embark on a weight loss journey, but have utterly failed to even start it, or have failed to keep up with it.
And is there even any way to get out of this guilt-inducing loop? Yes, there might not be a sure-shot method or a magic pill. But yes, with some proven ways one can surely improve on this. This very delaying of task is called procrastination.
Let’s understand why humans procrastinate?
You may procrastinate simply because the task you are undertaking is simply too overwhelming. If the task is bogging you down, try breaking it into smaller pieces. This should certainly help you accomplish more and unleash your true potential.
You may be procrastinating because you are stressed about something. Didn't hear of this before? Yes, being stressed about something takes heavy space in your subconscious processing of things and distracts you from focusing on the work at hand. So from now onwards if you caught yourself scrolling over social media meaninglessly, there is a high chance you are stressed about something. For an in-depth explanation watch this Youtube video by Mel Robbins.
Get moving
I have heard many of my friends saying, if they sit in front of the TV, right after coming back from the office (believing that they would switch off the TV in five minutes), they simply find it too difficult to get back to complete the task they were supposed to get done. Task switching is the crucial time and demands high mental energy and will. I guess you can sense the analogy with Newton’s famous ‘Law of inertia’.
Human brains value immediate rewards highly as compared to long-term rewards. So rewarding yourself after completing a small part of the task will keep you motivated to complete the task. You would like to read more on the trigger-action-reward mechanism for building habit here.
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Ciao!!