How to Overcome Procrastination?

Note: This article is based on the work of the author Darius Foroux, in which he explains his experience in overcoming procrastination.

Historical figures such as the Greek historian Herodotus, the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, the Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso, American political writer and philosopher Benjamin Franklin, and American political leader Eleanor Roosevelt, along with hundreds of others, show how procrastination is the enemy of results.

One of my favorite quotes on procrastination is from the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln: “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”

The weird thing about procrastination is that we all know its downsides, who'd rather procrastinate anyway? No one enjoys it, not even me, yet it was the dilemma of my life. When I was in college, the same scenario was repeated every semester.

At the beginning of the semester, I was the most apathetic person on the planet, spending the semester relaxing and hanging out with my friends and having fun. It was a great time.

I didn't experience any stress, but about a week before my exams, I was panicking, blaming myself for not studying earlier, and that was followed by an ugly sight of me surrounded by cans of energy drinks, locked in my room, and terrified as I studied.

Research shows that procrastination can make you feel better in the short term but will leave you struggling in the long term. It doesn't matter why you procrastinate. Some people love the pressures of deadlines, while others fear failure. So, they put it off until the last moment. The one truth all procrastinators have in common is that procrastination has consequences.

A strongly cited study published in the journal of the American Psychological Society by psychology professor Dianne Tice and social psychologist Roy Baumeister discusses the consequences of procrastination, which include:

• Depression.
• Irrational thoughts.
• Low self-esteem.
• Anxiety.
• Stress.

Procrastination is not an innocent behavior but rather evidence of poor self-regulation, which researchers even compare to alcohol and drug abuse.

It's dangerous, and I've experienced it for many years. The years since I graduated from college have also been a struggle for me in terms of starting and finishing work. Procrastination is a habit that creeps into your system, and you can't get rid of it easily.

Every time a business idea comes to me, or I get a kick out of achieving a goal, I start implementing it, but things get worse over time, I move from square one to overwhelming chaos.

Distractions, thoughts, other opportunities, failure, negative self-talk, etc, all get in the way, and you'll always get the same results, as you'll never get anything done.

Overcoming Procrastination

The most important finding of the Tice and Baumeister study for me was:

"Current evidence suggests that procrastinators enjoy their time rather than work on the tasks assigned to them until the increased pressure of a close deadline forces them to work. From this perspective, procrastination may result from a lack of self-regulation; thus, dependence on externally imposed forces to create an incentive to work."

Self-regulation, self-control, and willpower are all overrated. For instance, we confidently believe we can write a novel in 3 weeks. We think we're all geniuses and intellectually strong, but when it's time to act, we evade. If you're one of the procrastinators, you can only postpone your work, and the same applies to small and large tasks.

All people fear stepping out of their comfort zone. That's why we call it a comfort zone. Taking a bold step takes courage, but getting the small tasks done, like paying the bills, printing out a report for your boss, paying taxes, etc., certainly doesn't take courage.

Procrastination has nothing to do with what you're trying to do; you may put it off later, big or small, so there's no need to rush, right?  The  tasks for me were done as follows:

There comes a moment between the beginning and the end of a task—I call it the procrastination slope—when you respond to a source of distraction, and that's when you give up being productive.

You start working on a task with full enthusiasm and focus, then it occurs to you after a while to read the news only for a moment. It always starts with only one act, and then it occurs to you to also watch one episode of the series “Game of Thrones”, then a clip on YouTube, followed by another, and then you scroll through Instagram for a bit, and so on.

“This is the last time I'm wasting my time;” you end up with a warning, but it will often happen again. 

Willpower does not work, but regulation does

To overcome procrastination, you need a scheme to get the job done. Most people avoid routines, systems, and frameworks because they prefer freedom. You'll be disappointed knowing that freedom is the enemy; hence, if you want to get things done, you'll need rules.

Here are some of the things that  research proved to be effective:

• Self-imposed deadlines.
• Accountability systems (commitment with friends or with a Coach).
• Work or study at regular intervals.
• Exercise for 30 minutes a day.
• Follow a healthy diet.
• Minimize distractions.
• Having an inner motivation, which is the key factor.

If you combine the correct productivity techniques, you'll have a productivity system. Deadlines will create a sense of urgency, but accountability will elicit a sense of responsibility. Working in intervals will improve your focus, exercise will give you more energy, a healthy diet and getting rid of distractions will keep you away from temptations, and procrastination will be a thing of the past.

However, no system can help you unless you have an inner motive. People tend to overcomplicate this concept despite it being simple. You just have to identify what motivates you to do it, and if you don't know your motives, set some. If you understand well why you're doing something, you can take on the most difficult tasks, adding to the bigger picture.

In summary

Instead of getting caught up in work, take a step back, think about your motives, and then adopt a system that supports you to achieve that. It's not as hard as you think, but it is quite the opposite.