From time to time, most of us experience a scenario like this: We have an important task/project. We think about how we can do it, we plan it... But when it comes time to actually do it, we can't get started, other things always get in the way. This is called procrastination behavior.
Procrastination is not actually a timing problem. Rather than not being able to find or make time, we can think of it as not being able to do the task in the time available. Research also predicts that procrastination behavior is related to self-regulation (Pychyl and Sirois, 2016).
There can be many reasons for procrastination. Among these, we can list the inability to manage challenging emotions, perfectionist attitudes, the tendency to catastrophize, not knowing how to do the task, the joylessness of the task, and lack of self-confidence. In order to overcome the stress that arises in these situations, we actually postpone the task. This gives us relief in the short term because we get rid of this stressful situation, at least for a while.
However, the effects of procrastination behavior are negative in the long term. For example, the quality of the content of the work done is low and the person's overall stress level is high.
So, what can we do to avoid procrastination?
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Breaking a big task into small pieces We can prevent it from intimidating us by dividing it.
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We can try to stay away from catastrophizing scenarios, and when we realize we are caught up in them, we can do breathing exercises to stay in the present moment.
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>We can work to change our misperceptions that we have to do everything perfectly. Considering scenarios with higher probability and implementation may be useful in this regard.
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Planning in general terms how we will carry out the task and trying to understand its course in advance eliminates uncertainty.
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If the task seems unpleasant to us, we can try to motivate ourselves by remembering the “reason” we went down this path in the first place.
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Rather than beating ourselves up for mistakes. We can offer ourselves appropriate solutions. We can reward ourselves for the effort we put into the task by considering what we have accomplished.
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Notified to others Our probability of doing the work we set increases. We can try to avoid procrastination by informing friends who will help us.
I hope these general suggestions I have compiled will help you reduce your procrastination. On the other hand, general recommendations may not be beneficial for some individuals. If you think that you are not motivated even though you have tried many methods, it would be a good idea to get support from a mental health professional.
Best wishes,
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