So, you checked your email for the hundredth time, folded your coffee, made some solitaire, and smoked the news. This is where it would seem to work. But you suddenly came across an article about how to stop slacking and start working - this is our article. So be it, read it, and then you’ll finish everything quickly!
Let's say right away: despite the title, we will not talk about all laziness, but only about one of its varieties, which is Lately has become very widespread and, according to a number of scientists, has taken the form of neurosis. We are talking about procrastination - the habit of putting off important things again and again in favor of pleasant, harmless, but absolutely unnecessary activities. If this is your first time hearing such a term, but you are ready to exclaim: “So that’s why I spend hours at work, kicking and hanging around! I have terrible disease- procrastination! - do not rush. Wait at least until the end of the article. After reading, you may be enriched with some more terms, excuses and reasons to feel sorry for yourself.
Pro-kra-sti... what?
The history of the phenomenon goes back thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians wrote about the endless procrastination of things for later (well, as they wrote - they dug them out on the walls). Moreover, they had two hieroglyphs to indicate such a delay: with negative consequences- “You fool for delaying!” and with positive ones - “Thank God I didn’t do it, I would have just wasted my time!” He also wrote about a special type of laziness in 800 BC. e. Greek poet Hedroid. Because the academic translations his poems do not exist, be content with our version: “The husband, who has put aside work for a long time, moves on through life with poverty on his arm.” (Glorious is the editor who did such a translation!)
The term “procrastination” itself appeared in Ancient Rome as a result of the addition of two words: the preposition pro (“in the direction, toward, forward”) and crastinus (“tomorrow”). The word appears in the works of historians, and in a positive context. Procrastination is a talent wise politicians and military leaders who do not make hasty decisions, do not enter into conflict and are not in a hurry to pay a prostitute in the hope that the lupanarium will catch fire and they can escape quietly.
IN new history the term only arose in 1682, in a sermon by the Rev. Anthony Walker. As is the custom of all saints, wondering what else to be up in arms about, the Englishman Walker brought procrastination into the light of day and declared it a sin. The word caught on, in the 18th century it was published and stuck to slogans industrial revolution in the spirit of “The factories are standing still, there are only procrastinators around.” Since then lazy and compromised Latin term were no longer separated.
What is the difference?
To be more precise, why at all? separate word? Why can’t you say “laziness”, “simple”, “negligence”? To understand the difference, just read modern definition procrastination. It was formulated by Professor J.R. Ferrari, head of the Procrastination Research Group (PRG) at Carleton University in Ottawa:
Procrastination is
1) the habit of putting things off,
2) unconditionally recognized as important,
3) gradually becoming a neurotic pattern of behavior and
4) causing persistent frustration or guilt in the procrastinator.
Don’t rush to envy the professor and think that he created this definition while sitting in his office and throwing darts into the coffee maker. His group has done significant work in neuroscience, psychology and statistics. Again, if procrastination is their main occupation, they probably try in every possible way to delay it and work hard.
Ferrari emphasizes that mindfulness is the most important sign procrastination. It’s not enough to miss deadlines and do a bad job - any cretin who overestimated his strength or did not understand the problem can do this. You also need to realize until the last moment that you are deliberately doing nonsense, although you could have worked.
7 facts about procrastination
Lovingly collected by Professor Ferrari's subordinates over the years of their activity.
Fact No. 1Let's start with almost a compliment - however, it will be the only one for the entire article, so don't read it all at once, leave a little for the morning. So, according to PRG, procrastinators are generally much more optimistic ordinary people . Moreover, as tests have shown, optimism does not prevent them from calculating their strength and time. Fearlessness and faith in miracles concern only the assessment of the risks associated with failure to complete a task.
Fact No. 2Procrastinators are not born. It's all due to upbringing. Although there is still a lot of unknowns. Ferrari knows one thing for sure: an incredible number of his charges grew up in families with an authoritarian type of upbringing (see our article “”). The rigid, control-freak parent encourages the child to avoid everything independent activity, prevents him from hearing his desires. The child does only what he is told. Worse yet, latent hatred of prohibitions (“And don’t you dare climb on the closet anymore, while I’m hiding my naked aunt in it from my mother!”) forces the already adult procrastinator to surround himself with people who forgive him for any mistakes. And this, of course, only worsens his conniving attitude towards himself.
Fact No. 3Procrastinators, on average, drink more than their colleagues and peers. They do this, firstly, for the sake of the feeling, as Venichka Erofeev wrote, of “not being immersed in anything.” Secondly, procrastination is often a consequence of poor self-control. Excessive drinking is another special case of this problem.
Fact No. 4The most common type of self-deception procrastinators resort to: “I can only work under pressure.” The second most popular is “I’ll do it tomorrow with fresh strength.” At the same time, Ferrari's tricky tests prove that no noticeable increase in productivity occurs - neither after a long rest, nor in emergency conditions.
Fact No. 5PRG patients aren't just biding their time. They actively look for distractions that would help them avoid doing what they need to do. They are looking for two criteria: a) the opportunity to constantly return to business; b) the inability to lose and mess up. The most popular distractor is checking email.
Fact No. 6Among procrastinators, there is an abnormally high percentage of people in poor health. Resistance colds twice as low as in the group of ordinary people, vulnerability to gastroinfections is three times higher.
Sometimes due to more or less random reasons (unprecedented external stimulus, personal choice, Promise to a loved one threatening you with an iron) a procrastinator can change completely. True, effective, consciously productive behavior takes away more physical strength from him than from an ordinary person. The result is anxiety, frustration, drowsiness; ultimately - a return to the usual pattern.
How it works
According to another scientist, P. Steele, who not only wrote the “Formula of Procrastination” series of books, but also gives mini-lectures on YouTube ( Procrastinus channel), the phenomenon is explained quite simply.
The fact is that your desires are not controlled by a little squirrel that lives in your nose (although we understand that this contradicts all your life experience), but by two areas of the brain.
The first, limbic, of which the pleasure center is also a part, is capable of generating strong stimuli: hunger, thirst for sex, fear, an irresistible desire to watch YouTube again. The signals of this system are quite difficult to resist; it never sleeps, is capable of suppressing the voice of reason and, most importantly, does not understand what time is. Limbic desires cannot be long-term. This is a machine for making quick demands and obtaining short-term pleasures. “Hey, come on! - as if a voice in your head is telling you. - Just think, one game of table football! It’s five minutes, but you’ll have the whole evening to write the article. But how fun!” The problem is that this system immediately forgets that it was fun (for it, after all, there is no concept of time) - and demands a new quick buzz.
On the other hand, desires can also arise in the prefrontal areas of the cerebral cortex. Here a time horizon already arises, planning issues arise...
But the trouble is, even in people with the most tortuous and hardened bark, these zones sooner or later get tired. Moreover, fatigue can be either instantaneous, from overexertion, or accumulated. The more exhausted the cortex is, the worse it resists temptations. And procrastination, thus, is a surrender of the cortex to the limbic system. A series of games of table football against the backdrop of an unfinished paragraph
Two by three
Famous procrastinators
Instead of working on another book, he often spent time on chess problems. This is how he himself writes about it: “For twenty years... I devoted a monstrous amount of time to compiling... problems. This is a complex, delightful and worthless art... Mental tension reaches a delusional extreme; the concept of time falls out of consciousness... and when the fist unclenches, it turns out that an hour of time has passed, which has decayed in the brain, which is heated to the point of radiance..."
According to his eldest son, “music always served as reinforcement for my father.” The creator of the theory of relativity could sit relaxed in front of the record player for hours, especially when he “felt that he had reached a dead end along the road of conscious work.”
According to C. P. Snow, a physiologist who held a number of posts in the English government during the Second World War, the legendary Prime Minister "was not a quick worker... he was rather a tireless worker, although his work often consisted of staring at the ceiling." This is not a metaphor. According to Snow, Churchill looked at the ceiling quite consciously and could spend hours on it.
In 1956, the American Les Vaas announced the recruitment of members to the Procrastinators Club. When the first candidates sent in their applications, Les set a date for the meeting, and then postponed it for several years until the joke finally got through to everyone. “This was, perhaps, the first and last case, when procrastinators tried to unite, says the same Ferrari, from whose words we wrote down this story. “In general, they do not like to be in the company of their own kind, because the sight of an idle person aggravates their feelings of guilt.” In addition, according to the professor, it is difficult for procrastinators to sympathize and help each other because they are not the same.
Ferrari identifies three types of these poor fellows.
1. Thrill Hunters(It must be said that in the original the names of these types sound much more elegant, but why litter the language with the words “thrillseekers” and “avoiders.”) They put things off until the last minute, so that later they can rush in and, trembling with horror and euphoria, do everything in one sitting .
2. AvoidersThey put off any task without looking, so as not to make a mistake or, even worse, not to succeed. Because success can lead to new, more difficult tasks. They are very afraid of the assessments of others, the burden of responsibility, criticism, praise, and in general everything. They try to give out an even average result, balancing on a fine line between “Well, it’s almost normal” and “It could be better, but okay, it’ll do.”
3. UndecidersThey just don’t know how to prioritize and work according to plan. They put off all things, including pleasant ones, until they feel pressure from the outside.
Surprisingly, this classification almost completely coincides with the conclusions of another fighter against procrastination - B. Tracy. He is, however, not a scientist, but a marketer and the head of a recruitment agency. But this may be for the best: with a tact unusual for scientists, Tracy shifts the focus to the work itself, instead of calling people neurotic and weaklings who are not fit for work.
According to him, it is not people who are divided into three types, but difficult matters.
1. Elephant casesSo large and impregnable that they frighten people. Eating an elephant (for a skinny old man, Tracy is suspiciously obsessed with culinary metaphors) in one sitting is impossible. It’s not clear where to start, whether you have enough strength and appetite. However, in addition to fear, the elephant also evokes superstitious delight: so much meat!
2. Frog affairsAll of them are unpleasant. You don’t want to not only chew them, but even pick them up. In addition to fear of such things, Tracy also writes about anxiety: what will others think when they see me eating a frog. This is one hundred percent consistent with Ferrari's description of avoiders.
3. Cases-orangesThey look so identical that it’s unclear which one to tackle first, but it seems like you have to sit through everything.
Eat oranges and chew elephants
Tracy has written extensively about carving, shredding, and stuffing unsavory things. For example, an entire book is dedicated to frogs, which was even translated into Russian two years ago. However, his advice is banal and has been criticized more than once by serious scientists.
Judge for yourself.
■ He recommends eating elephants right away, otherwise they “grow in the head” due to postponing. Moreover, you need to start with the most delicious pieces and constantly remind yourself how much is left. Like, after the half, things will go faster, because it will already be a game of reduction.
■ Frogs are absolutely hilarious. Tracy's book is full of platitudes like "plan your day, get energized, develop the workaholic in you." PRG experts Johnson and McCone openly scoff at this. Like, telling a true procrastinator to plan his day is like telling a clinically depressed person to smile and not think negative thoughts.
■ The author is doing well with oranges the best way. The advice to rely on a simple lot works. As well as the advice to delegate the decision: “Darling, remind me what is our priority now: should I fire you or take care of the visitors?”
Yet Tracy's problem is that he considers procrastination a vice. A bad habit that needs to be broken. However, it is much easier (and more pleasant) to believe scientists who consider procrastination a variant of the norm. A birth defect that you just have to get used to, like... poor eyesight or his wife's mustache.
And yet: how is it treated?
Having read to this point, you should have already fallen into jubilation several times (“I don’t bad person, I’m a variant of the norm!”) and fall back into depression. To put an end to the endless debate among scientists, we decided to last time refer to the findings of Ferrari and his group.
Procrastination in numbers
Data were collected in Australia, the UK, Turkey, Peru, Venezuela, Spain, Poland and Saudi Arabia. And since they were no different there, we can assume that something similar is happening here.
70% of university students consider themselves chronic procrastinators, but in reality only 25% are such, the rest are ordinary alcoholics and idiots.
Among the so-called “non-clinical” adults, 20% are true procrastinators, regardless of the field of work.
54% of procrastinators are men.
10% are not going to fight their problem because they love procrastination for the jolt it gives (to the brain and in general).
Even a common person A person who does not suffer from procrastination spends an average of 47% of his time at the computer “implementing procrastination.”
According to them, procrastination can still be overcome. Moreover, the solution often does not lie in the area of time management, planning, control and visits to a psychiatrist.
Your own psychological defense mechanisms (any person who is not deprived of a brain has them) can help in the fight against procrastination or in making peace with it.
Rationalization mechanismIf things don't get done because of the Internet, turn off the Internet. Break the refrigerator. Lock your phone. Intentionally cutting yourself off from the tools of procrastination almost always helps you tune into the right mood. Why? Think about the limbic system. It requires instant response, quick pleasure. If in order to watch the next episode of “Simon’s Cat” you need to go into a separate program and rummage through the settings or get up from the couch to plug the cable into an outlet, - limbic system calms down and the prefrontal cortex has time to regain control.
To helpBrowser extensions SiteBlock, Anti-porn, Norton Online Family and TimeBoss. All of them allow you to disable individual sites, block entire segments of the Internet, or set a time limit (TimeBoss is especially good in this sense, although it is more difficult to configure than others). Cut yourself off physically (spatially) from analogue pleasures or ask for help from loved ones. Let your wife not let you eat or deliberately walk around the house dressed until you finish work.
Substitution mechanismInstead of frankly meaningless activities during bouts of procrastination, you can simply switch between tasks. Instead of crushing zombies with zucchini on your iPad, read books or watch lectures by various interesting luminaries of science, for example, the “rock star of philosophy” Zizek. Better yet, don’t sit at the computer at all. Hammer a nail, wash the dishes, do push-ups, soap the rope, shave. Any semi-useful activity other than your main task is always better than a pseudo-useful one.
To helpBook readers. Podcasts. Any site with an online player, search and a good selection of useful videos - for example, TED or "Elements". Although doing push-ups is still healthier.
Displacement mechanismAt worst, instead of fighting procrastination, try to overcome negative attitude To her. Stop thinking that your downtime is a mistake, accept it as part of the system and method. According to the almost unanimous opinion of scientists, feelings of guilt and regret cause no less stress than the very awareness of the delay. As soon as you stop reproaching yourself for procrastination, your psyche will be able to free up a certain amount of energy that was spent on the pangs of conscience. And you can check your email more often!
What does the doctor say?
Domestic experts, also familiar with the phenomenon of procrastination, volunteered to say something in conclusion.
Mikhail Sinkin, neurologist, consultant at the Research Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, head of the department of ultrasound and neurophysiological diagnostics of City Clinical Hospital No. 11:
As a rule, procrastination is exclusively psychological problem. The neurologist should, however, remember about some brain diseases that can manifest similar symptoms. In particular, disruption of the metabolism of serotonin, norepinephrine and other neurotransmitters, leading to such clinical picture, can occur with tumors of the frontal lobe, in initial stages Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.
Alexey Stepanov, psychologist, consultant of the Discussion Club of the Russian Medical Server (forums.rusmedserv.com):
Many readers will find in the article a reason to say to themselves with relief: “Oh, that’s it! It turns out that I have no problems with goal setting and it’s not my weaknesses. I just suffer from procrastination!” I consider it important to warn the reader against such a position. There are many words in the language that are simply headings. "Procrastination" is just a term for a circle human manifestations, if you want - symptoms. Procrastination itself is not a diagnosis. It is necessary in each case to look at what it is a symptom of. I see three sources. First - depressive states, because laziness grows in the soil of despondency. Depression almost always requires professional treatment. The second source is anxiety disorders. Anxiety about achievements can be painful, whether a person is expecting failure or victory. Clarifying the basis of your anxiety is work that you need to do both yourself and with the help of a therapist. Finally, the third possible reason concerns personal manifestations, which in advanced cases can reach the level personality disorder. The key word here is alienation. For example, alienation from tools and the results of labor, known since the time of the first manufactories. Alienation from one’s own “I want” and “I care,” leading to a meaningless life. “When you understand why, you overcome any “how.” This is one of the best answers to the question of how to deal with procrastination.
Two more new laziness
This article wouldn't be complete without mentioning zucchini (just funny word, which we try to insert into all texts) and a retelling of the works of two more scientists. They did not write about procrastination in its pure form, but rather about similarities to it. amazing views laziness.
IncubationNeurolinguist St. D. Krashen, a specialist in reading theory (what people don’t get paid for!), believes that creative people You can't blame them for downtime. Referring to the autobiographies of writers, composers and physicists, as well as surveys of creative people conducted in 1995 by Csikszentmihalyi and Sawyer, the scientist draws a clear conclusion: procrastination, idle time, useless activities are part of creative process. At the same time, Krashen rejects the idea of inspiration. When creative person walks from corner to corner, picking the umbilical felt with his finger, he does not wait for an external stimulus. Stupor is associated with the work of the “extraconscious part of the psyche.”
Krashen, analyzing the revelations of geniuses, derives the following formula creative work:
■ collection of information, analysis of available data - 20–60% of the total time;
■ incubation - 40–60%;
■ illumination - 0% of the time (Krashen, being a meticulous linguist, insists on the term illumination instead of the usual English enlightenment (“illumination”). According to him, “illumination” more clearly describes the explosive birth of an idea);
■ conscious “processing with a file”, fixing a solution or work - from 10%. Scolding a person because he promised to send an article a week ago, and he himself is sitting playing Civilization V, is stupid, because during the game the article is written to a greater extent than at the time of the actual recording. (If only a week ago, or even two! - Ed.)
The term comes from Dan Ariely, a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University. While traveling around the world giving lectures and trainings, Dan noticed and described the phenomenon of “moral laziness.” You probably know people who say: “I’ll work ten years at this job, and then I’ll immediately go to the islands and start training cockroaches for cockfighting” (or something like that). Perhaps one of your acquaintances is yourself. Dan believes that by engaging in such self-deception, a person suffers from “reverse procrastination.” Instead of sacrificing serious matters in favor of momentary joys, the poor fellow is engaged in dull and tedious work, pushing aside pleasures. What's the point? “This comes from a fear of leaving your comfort zone,” Dan writes. Moving to the islands, going on vacation, buying an apartment, having chickens and piglets all involve the need to learn new information and make some decisions. It’s much easier to put all this aside and print papers for a shredder for a few more years for N pennies a day. “Often the subject of the shift for which a person is supposedly working can be accomplished with less blood and great pleasure. The problem is that we don’t really want to move anything in our lives,” Dan writes sadly, judging by the lack of exclamation marks.
Let's not lie: each of us is familiar with procrastination firsthand. Most are even able to courageously admit that from time to time we intentionally (or not?) delay acceptance important decision that can affect our lives. It could be a trip to the dentist, a large or small task waiting to be completed, or something as simple as cleaning the house. Today we will try to find out in what situations you should be on guard and what can help in guerrilla warfare against this unfavorable quality for a person.
Without delay, let's get started.
1. Determine if you really need to do it
Perhaps the reason for your procrastination lies in the lack of a compelling reason to take action. A job that you can’t stand, or something else that you haven’t loved since childhood, that you always wanted to get rid of, is in a completely different category, which does not include dreams and real goals.
In such situations, I would advise you to first approach the assessment of the upcoming task critically: For what Wasting time on something that is absolutely not to your liking, if there are many other tasks that are a pleasure to take on?
2. Conduct a little “reconnaissance in force”
Once you've figured out which tasks are idle, take one of them and complete a small portion of it to get a feel for the difficulty level. Based on the impressions received during the process, decide whether you need help.
Often we overload ourselves with thoughts about how many things need to be done, and then we cannot move, imagining an endless list of tasks: there are many of them, but the worker, that is, you, is alone. This approach is obviously wrong. What if you spend, say, 15 minutes or half an hour on a pressing issue? It is likely that you will get a taste for it, thereby moving the needle.
3. Listen to yourself. And do the opposite
Best friend “I’ll do it tomorrow” - “I don’t want something.” If rebellious sentiments grow in the soul, we must fight them as decisively and harshly as international terrorism. After all, if you follow your desire to do nothing, what will happen next? Right, Nothing.
So, before you take on something that cannot be avoided, try to get into a new mood: meditate, take a walk, or resort to another method that works for you.
4. Order comes first
The environment around you can successfully both contribute to procrastination and help in the fight against it. Take a quick look around your desk, your home decor, or any other place where you will be working.
Surely not everything around you is in a state perfect order, so find the strength to tidy up: get rid of the trash, put everything in its place so that the eye is happy and the work goes smoothly.
By the way, after a little cleaning it seems easier. See for yourself.
5. Accustom yourself to the thought: now it will always be like this
As a rule, the first steps in anything, be it sports or new responsibilities at work, are always difficult. Probably the most simple example there will be a situation in which each of us finds ourselves at least once in our lives. Remember the magic Snooze button on your alarm clock? I bet you may not know what this English word means, but you definitely know how this button works: there is nothing easier than pressing it and continuing to sleep peacefully.
So, it is forbidden succumb to this kind of temptation, listening to your inner voice calling you to put everything on the back burner. Forget about the rules of etiquette when he's in Once again will sound in your head: cut off his tirade mid-sentence and do what you must.
6. Tell a trusted person about your important decision.
It could be your business partner, wife or best friend- Yes, anyone, the main thing is that he is aware. Voice your intentions to this person by indicating key points, dates and deadlines. Ask him to monitor you as an experiment.
It may very well be that your ally in the struggle for productivity himself needs help and additional motivation in life. Therefore, we urge you to be honest with each other: gently but firmly point out places that, in your opinion, require special attention. And take action.
7. Don't allow yourself to be a victim of circumstances.
Have you ever wondered why the expression “being a victim of circumstances” is so popular? Why do stories from the mouths of losers attract crowds of sympathizers? The answer is simple: people want to be sure that there are always those who are weaker, unluckier, more unhappy than themselves.
Let's think productively: digging into your own problems will not help you find solutions. Chin up! Try to dispel despondency, convince yourself: “I’m fine.” Then everything should work out.
8. Apologies are not accepted.
In general, you need to apologize as little as possible. To apologize is, in essence, to forgive oneself, that is, our main enemy. If you forgive yourself left and right, in the end you will become dull and begin to live, guided only by instincts and natural needs. Is this life?
Reasons to come to an agreement with yourself by following the path least resistance, there can be infinitely many. Eradicate the slightest beginnings of this bad habit in yourself.
9. Learn to focus in a short time
If you want to be successful, learn to manage your time. Start small: learn to be focused during the short periods of time required to complete a particular task.
Once you have mastered this technique, you can begin long-term planning. As my favorite poet said, “big things are seen from a distance.”
10. Listen to Indian mantras
twentyfreee/Depositphotos.com Even if you are not a regular at ethnic festivals and have never thought about traveling to Nepal or Goa, pay attention to the national music of the country of elephants and curry sauce. Mantras are positive attitudes, listening to which and meditating, you can find peace and tune in to the right mood. The first thing to learn is to control your breathing. When you are able to do this, you can begin to comprehend more complex states - concentration on what you need.
By the way, there are many mantras. You can experiment and choose what you like and what works.
11. Leave your comfort zone
Our eternal enemy is the inner voice. If you let him speak, he will quietly convince you that he is right. And we know for sure that in most cases he is wrong. Try to distract yourself from it in any way you know.
Most often it occurs in those moments when we tend to doubt our abilities. Therefore, if you are not sure whether you will reach the end of the path, try to drown out the words of doubt with positive attitudes: “I can, I will get there, I will do it.”
12. Visualize your goals. Imagine success
Visualization - most powerful tool to achieve goals. It has been proven more than once that this technique helps kill procrastination in the bud, motivating you to succeed.
Looking to the future helps you focus on ultimate goals, as well as how their achievement will affect the quality of your later life. Get a vision board if you want to achieve success as soon as possible.
13. Create some problems for yourself
Or a lot, depending on who needs it. What am I talking about? The fact is that suffering and various types of grief are also sources of motivation: a feeling of unsettlement pushes us forward, and we change jobs, move, learn something new.
Having reached a certain point of awareness of a situation that you don’t like, normal person starts act. So, if you are still sitting still and prefer not to think about the problem, then everything suits you, nothing else.
In general, you are the very wizard who can help you cope with everything. As the wise Mahatma Gandhi taught us, if you want a change in the future, become that change in the present.
14. He who dares wins
Curb your fear! Fear of something is the surest accomplice of procrastination. Just tell yourself: “No, I’m not afraid of anything, I will succeed.” Repeat this more often, write it down on a piece of paper and hang it in a visible place - we have already talked about the benefits of visualizing thoughts in point number 12. If you manage to gain control over fear at least once, you will succeed in the future.
How to do it? Talk to yourself - everyone has done this at least once in their lives. So why not make a good one out of it? good habit? Alone with your thoughts, you can not bend your heart and not look for excuses for your negative traits: fear, laziness, unwillingness to change something. Try to identify your problem areas and start dealing with them.
15. Work on self-discipline
To be honest, the choice is often not that great: either muster all your willpower today and take the path of change, or reap the bitter fruits of disappointment in the foreseeable future. Leaving the solution to important life issues for later is too easy and, alas, completely ineffective.
Many people know the proverb “If you sow a thought, you will reap an action; if you sow an action, you will reap a habit; if you sow a habit, you will reap a character; if you sow a character, you will reap a destiny.” Charge yourself right thoughts, get good habits, because everything is in your hands.
In general, each of us is nothing more than a collection of habits and ways of life. You can train yourself to do absolutely anything. Take advantage of this feature human consciousness in your own interests!
16. Scales must be true and deadlines must be foreseeable.
It's easy to make promises, isn't it? Many songs have been sung around the world on this topic and even more words have been said. The same applies to deadlines, as it has become fashionable to say now. It only takes half a minute to assign them, but they can take weeks or months to complete.
How to proceed? Let's think strategically: imagine that, as punishment for disrupting your work schedule, you will be deprived of the opportunity to, say... drink coffee for a month! Not a very happy prospect, is it?
17. Declare war on perfectionism
In fact, there is absolutely nothing good about it. First, let's look at the definition. Perfectionism is the belief that best result can (or should) be achieved. It would seem that there is nothing bad, but by thinking in this way, we move infinitely away from the true goal, which is to get the job done - get sh*t done, as they say overseas.
The main mistake that many people tend to make is substituting concepts. Perfectionism has nothing to do with high quality. No matter what anyone tells us about this, the answer will be the same: time is money. Learn to control it the same way an experienced commander controls his army.
18. Don't forget to encourage yourself
It happens that we lack the reward for a task completed successfully. We must not forget about encouragement, because it is one of the most powerful sources intrinsic motivation. That's why it's so important to celebrate your victories, both big and small. Have an extraordinary day off, treat yourself to a purchase you have long dreamed of, and be imbued with the joy of triumph!
After all, fighting procrastination is not easy. As Jim Rohn, a famous American speaker and business coach, said in his book “Vitamins for the Mind”:
We all must experience two kinds of pain: the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. The difference is that discipline weighs ounces, while regret weighs tons.
Are you prone to procrastination? What and for what reason do you tend to put off over and over again? Share with us your opinion and successful experience in dealing with the scourge!
How fast "not now " turns into "never » ?
Martin Luther
One of the most common problems of our time is procrastination or postponing things until later without an exact indication of when this “later” comes. We all know what we want to do and what we need to do. But in the end, we spend time on something easier, often not important work. Or even worse, we hide from important matters by staring at the TV, surfing blogs or listening to music.
There's nothing wrong with "escaping reality" from time to time. But if you procrastinate too often, you won't be able to get the most important things done. And, besides, by constantly putting things off, you automatically drive yourself into a “negative spiral”, when your self-esteem drops to zero, and you spend your days in an uncertain or sharply negative mood.
So what can you do to stop procrastinating?
Here are 7 timeless tips to help you stop procrastinating and start living a fuller life!
1. Stop overthinking. Take action
A little planning can certainly help you achieve what you want to achieve. But a lot of thinking and planning, as a rule, has the opposite effect. You think and think, and think it over again...
And all these efforts are just for the sake of getting the “perfect plan”. In this regard, there is no room for mistakes, failures, refusals, or difficulties. And, as you understand, such a plan, of course, does not exist. But while you are working on such a plan, you can justify your inaction.
2. “Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill!”
For many hours and many days you stubbornly put something off and thereby grow a terrible monster in your head. More and more thoughts pop up about exactly what you didn't do because you're fixated on it. And, since you are trying to distance yourself from this matter, most likely you are thinking about this matter in a negative way. This turns a small thing into Godzilla - a terrible monster that threatens to destroy your life. So, plan your actions a little and ACT!
Very often you won’t even have to plan, you’ve already encountered these tasks before and already know exactly what needs to be done and in what order. So, stop thinking and just do it, no matter how you feel or what thoughts come to your mind.
What you feel changes as quickly as the weather, so it's not ideal system determining what you need to do and what you don't. And you don't have to obey what your feelings dictate (these are not iron chains). You just have to do what you think is right.
3. Just take the first step
You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step
Martin Luther King, Jr.
When you look too far into the future, any task or project seems too impossible. As a result, you stop trying because you are overwhelmed by the abundance and complexity of the work, and you begin to surf the Internet aimlessly. This is one reason why it is good to plan for the future, but then shift your focus to "today" and to the present. this moment time.
Then you just concentrate on taking the first step today. That's all you need to focus your attention on and nothing else! By taking the first step, you switch your emotional state from “inert” to “Hey, I’m doing this, great!”
You put yourself in a state where you become more confident, positive and open. In a state in which you may be far from ecstatically enthusiastic about taking the next step, but at least you accept it, and do not put it off until better times. So you can take the necessary next step without any problems. And the next one...
The fact is that you don’t see the entire staircase at once; it will only begin to open along the way. That's why even best laid plans tend to fall apart, at least a little, when you start putting the plan into action. You will find that your map of reality is not like reality itself.
4. Start the day with the most difficult task
Maybe you have something important to do phone call which you are afraid to do and it makes you feel uncomfortable. Or you know that you didn’t clear yesterday’s mail, but today a whole pile of letters is already waiting for you. Or maybe you need to “finish” five pages of an article for publication.
Whatever it is, figure out this task, look at it carefully and do it as quickly as possible! If you start your day this way, you will feel, if not free, then at least liberated! You will feel relieved and proud of yourself. And the rest of the day—and your entire to-do list—will be much easier and more fun. It's amazing how great importance, has this simple effect.
5. Just make a decision. Any solution
We feel bad when we sit back and do nothing because it is unnatural for humans. The natural thing is to make decisions and act.
If you want to do something, but can’t decide for a long time, this is typical procrastination. And the discrepancy between your desires and your actions causes internal conflict. So you are contradicting yourself. What you do sends back a message about who you are.
Of course, repeating affirmations that convince yourself that you are a confident person can help you. But when you consistently take decisive action, that's what really quickly raises your self-esteem and creates confident image which you show to the people around you.
When you put things off, on the contrary, you lower your self-esteem and send signals of an indecisive person.
6. Look your fear in the eye.
Procrastination is the fear of success. People put things off because they are afraid of the success they already know will follow if they keep moving forward. Since success is a heavy burden that comes with responsibility, it is much easier to put off important things and live by the principle “Someday I will...»
Denis Whately
It's hard to disagree with this statement. It’s so easy to live with the thought “here I am, someday...” It’s much more difficult to start taking action. At the risk of looking like a fool, making mistakes, slipping and not avoiding this pain. Take responsibility for your life.
Easier choice gives a feeling of comfort, can be accompanied by a certain level success, but also the pangs of regret about all those things that you did not dare to do and a vague feeling of your own unfulfillment.
Are you wondering what would happen if you took advantage of more opportunities and were more proactive? Who knows what gives you a more difficult choice? But rest assured that life will be more fun and lively.
7. Follow through
When you don't take the first step towards achieving what you want, it can cause you to feel bad. Just like not finishing what you start can lead to feelings of emptiness. You may feel tired and stressed, sometimes without even understanding why. It's as if someone has deprived you of energy.
If so, go over the tasks and projects you are currently involved in. Are there any things in them that you wanted to finish, but have not yet succeeded in doing? Try to close those tails as quickly as possible and you will certainly feel much better. Just be careful. Don't think that you have to finish absolutely everything you start! If a book sucks, read something else!
Using this as an excuse to give up something that seems difficult or unfamiliar is not the best best idea. But in principle, there is no law that says that everything must be completed!
We put things off when we hope they can be canceled or when we can't prioritize. There are people who would like to do nothing at all. Sometimes there are fears that fetter the will to act. All this is procrastination in different stages.
“Tomorrow I will stop putting things off until tomorrow,” a quote from the great Author.
In psychology, the tendency to constantly put things off until later is called procrastination, and a person with such a tendency is called a procrastinator. Sometimes this habit is also called “tomorrow syndrome.”
Procrastination at first glance resembles slowness or laziness. But in fact, it is very different from them, because with slowness a person does some work, just does it slowly. When he's lazy, he doesn't do it at all.
A procrastinator knows that things are waiting for him, but he is constantly distracted by various little things, that is, he does something, but not what he needs to do. As a result, his time is spent inefficiently.
For example, a girl plans to sit down and write course work. She turns on the computer and, while it boots, goes to the kitchen to make herself some coffee. Suddenly she remembers that she has run out of milk and goes to the store. He returns, and on the way he meets a neighbor with whom he stops to chat.
At home he sits down at the computer, but decides to first look at his email and look at his page on the social network. Then she "walks" through the links and suddenly remembers that she didn't make coffee. In the kitchen he sees a hungry cat and gives it food. She sits down at the computer again and begins to work, but then she is distracted by a phone call. And this continues until it’s time to sleep. This situation repeats itself day after day, deadlines are running out and in the end the work is done in a hurry.
This is a typical case of procrastination - instead of immediately getting down to work, the girl stalls for time.
If you think before you act, you can talk yourself out of anything, no matter how important it is. Turn tasks into habits to stop procrastinating.
Procrastinators do not like to be accused of procrastinating or slacking off from work and try to find convincing reasons to justify their behavior. Although they are often dissatisfied with themselves, although they do not admit it.
Psychologists say that approximately a fifth of the planet's adult population has chronic form procrastination. True, to a small extent, the tendency to procrastinate is inherent in almost everyone. But if such a tendency becomes usual state in which a person resides most of its time, then we can already talk about procrastination. By the way, such a habit is not innate, but rather acquired, which means it can be fought.
What are the dangers of the habit of putting everything off until “tomorrow”?
Obviously, many people are familiar with the situation when, postponing work until “tomorrow,” we realize that tomorrow has come more than once, and we still haven’t gotten around to it. By loading ourselves up on the last day, we experience both nervous and physical stress, we drink coffee endlessly to avoid falling asleep, and we don’t get enough sleep. We promise ourselves that this is the last time, in the future we will do everything on time. We hand over the work, take on the next one - and everything repeats all over again. It is clear that such constant rush jobs will sooner or later affect your health.
A person who has the habit of “talking” often feels guilty both to himself and to those around him for delaying work or doing it not quite well. What kind of quality can we talk about if it was done in a hurry!
Because of the habit of putting everything off until later, many people have never been able to realize themselves, fully reveal their abilities and talents and achieve success.
Why does the habit of postponing things arise?
To know how to overcome procrastination, you need to know why it occurs.
- One of the most common reasons is a job or business that a person does not like, so he internally resists and delays time just so as not to take on it.
- There are not so few people in the world who live without setting any goals and without any aspirations. They don't have Vital energy and there are no priority tasks for them.
- Some people simply don't know how to prioritize. They are not able to distinguish the main tasks from the secondary ones, they cannot organize their time, they take on everything at once and, as a result, do not really manage to do anything.
- Sometimes people tend to put off difficult tasks, subconsciously fearing that they will not be able to cope with them or having no idea where to start.
- Procrastination may be caused by certain phobias or fears. For example, a person who is afraid of pain or an unpleasant diagnosis often, under some far-fetched pretext, postpones a visit to the doctor every day until tomorrow.
Those who are haunted by the fear of failure also put off work until later. People suffering from excessive shyness also procrastinate rather than demonstrate the results of their work.
How to overcome the habit of putting everything off until tomorrow?
If a person has realized that the habit of postponing everything until later entails many problems that interfere with life, and he must get rid of it at all costs, then he will probably succeed. It is important to ask yourself the question formulated by the famous American entrepreneur Steve Jobs: “Do you want to spend your life selling soda, or do you want to change the world?”
A procrastinator, aware of his habit of constantly being distracted by other things, should make a plan and write down everything he needs to do, as well as indicate the approximate time he plans to spend on completing each task. Clear time frames will allow you to become more disciplined and organized.
Even if the upcoming tasks seem tedious, difficult, uninteresting, etc., it’s worth taking the first step. As they say, “The one who walks can master the road.”
As a rule, we put off until later those things that cause us internal resistance. Here it is worth remembering the words: “If you cannot change the situation, try to change your attitude towards it.” That is, every unpleasant duty or necessity can be looked at from a different point of view: “I’m afraid to go to the dentist. But the sooner I start treating my teeth, the easier the treatment will be.” Or: “The sooner we start repairs, the sooner we will finish it and can go on vacation.”
It also happens that we are entrusted with a task that we have no right to refuse, but which seems pointless to us. Due to lack of motivation, we just can’t take it on. However, in almost any activity you can find (or invent) personal meaning, which will serve as an incentive. Here, by the way, it would be useful to recall the old parable about the three men who carried stones. When they were asked what they were doing, one answered: “I plow like an ox,” the second said: “I make money,” and the third: “I’m building a temple here!”
After a successfully completed task, you should definitely reward yourself: take a bath, walk, run, or just get some sleep. After all, the body requires a mental and physical reboot.
Some people do the opposite: failing to meet the deadlines, they deny themselves something: movies, meetings, entertainment. Others have come up with the following way of punishing themselves for disorganization: they give a certain amount of money to one of their friends for safekeeping with the condition that if they do not complete the planned work on time, the friend will keep the money for himself.
It is said that the French writer Victor Hugo did this: he ordered his servant not to give him clothes until he had written a certain number of lines.
Thus, to train yourself to do work on time, you need to:
- distribute all tasks according to importance;
- break a complex task that requires more time than others into several small ones;
- find motivation in every task;
- remove all distractions away from your eyes;
- do not take on a new business until the old one is finished.
Research has shown that people who are self-rated as procrastinators feel that their lives are not successful, are often depressed, and experience health problems.
When we procrastinate, we experience a complex mixture negative emotions(including a strong feeling of guilt); ignore ours own goals; We are wasting time that could be used to move forward. Essentially we become worst enemies to ourselves.
Procrastination is nothing more than bad habit, preventing us from living and developing fully. And if you want to get rid of it, you need to make a conscious effort. What exactly can be done? Psychology professor Timothy Pychyl talks about this in his book Don't Put It Off Until Tomorrow. We share the author's ideas.
What price do you pay by procrastinating?
It is important to know and acknowledge all the costs associated with procrastination.
Make a list of tasks that you shy away from. Next to each item, note how procrastination affects you in terms of things like happiness, stress levels, finances, relationships, and so on. You can even discuss this with a friend or loved one. You'll be surprised at what they think procrastination is costing you.
Procrastination has side effects, which you may not know about. These include unfulfilled promises, unfulfilled obligations, and the additional burden of work placed on others due to the fact that you start a task at the last moment... for the umpteenth time.
This exercise will show you how costly procrastination is and give you strength in the fight against it. If at any point you feel like you're ready to give up, just re-read the list.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step
When we are faced with a task, disgusting; with a task that you simply don’t want to do; with a task that we find boring or tedious; or even with a task that makes us doubt our competence, we are tempted to shy away from it.
We are thinking:
- “Tomorrow I will do this with more desire,”
- “I work better under time pressure”
- "There's still a lot of time ahead"
- "I can do it overnight - it only takes a few hours."
Learn to catch yourself with such thoughts (remember: each of them is self-deception). As soon as they arise, immediately start doing at least something related to the unpleasant task.
Let it be very simple and as much as possible specific action. For example, if you can't get started scientific work, issue title page, write a rough summary or outline a thesis statement (you don’t have to write full sentences).
Research shows that when we finally get to work, things are rarely as bad as we thought.
Once we get started, we usually find the task less daunting than before.
Our perception of ourselves also changes. We feel more in control of the situation and are more optimistic about our abilities. If we failed to complete a task, we did something, and the next day our attitude towards ourselves is less negative. Even small progress towards a goal makes us happier, more motivated and more satisfied with life.
Preparing for the fight
How it happens: “I’ll just check my email, it’ll take a minute,” and a few hours later you realize that you still haven’t returned to work.
Distractions, failures, mood swings will haunt us constantly. And you need to be able to deal with them.
There are two ways to prepare to deal with potential obstacles. The first is based on reducing their number even before work begins. The second assumes that you need to decide in advance what to do if they arise.
1. Minimizing distractions. We are distracted by different things. Some people cannot work in a noisy room. Someone constantly switches to games, social networks, Internet searches and email. Think about what is stopping you.
Before you start working, make sure you have eliminated all sources of distraction. Including: mobile phones were turned off, websites were closed social networks(Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and others you use) and removed all other “dangerous” items (for example, magazines and newspapers) from the workplace.
2.Protection from competing opportunities. List all the possible distractions and obstacles that could lead you to procrastination again, even if you have already started the task. If they cannot be eliminated before starting work, consider strategies to deal with them. What will you do if these circumstances appear in the future? Formulate your intentions in the form of “if... then...” expressions.
When willpower runs out
Psychologists have proven that willpower is a limited resource. After a working day filled with stress and difficult tasks, people are less likely to exercise and are more likely to opt for something more passive, like watching TV.
We all think sometimes: “I’m so exhausted that I can’t do anything else.” It's true: this is how we feel. However, successfully achieving a goal often depends on our ability to move forward despite temporary periods of exhaustion.
If you feel too tired and lack self-control, try focusing on your goals and values. Get your energy from motivation.
The moment you are about to put something off until later, you need to stop, take a deep breath and think about why you wanted to complete this task today. Why is she so important to you? What benefit will the efforts made now bring? How will this help you achieve your goal?
Even with self-control weakened to the limit, we can find enough willpower to act. This is difficult, but it is possible, especially if you focus on values, goals and the longer term, not limiting yourself to the present moment.
Here are some more strategies you can use to mobilize the remaining fuel in your tanks with willpower.
1. Rest and sleep help restore the ability to self-control. If you feel like you're at your breaking point, unable to cope, and unable to get started, start by asking yourself if you're getting enough sleep. Most of us need about eight hours of sleep to function properly.
2. Towards the end of the day, the ability to self-control weakens. Be as strategic as possible about your schedule and don't try to test your willpower in the evening. For example, if you just can’t force yourself to run after work, move your workouts to the morning.
3. It has been proven that ejection helps relieve fatigue and increase the ability to self-control. positive emotions. Find out what things, events and people improve your mood and restore your willpower.
4. The ability to self-control appears to be somewhat dependent on blood glucose levels. Some studies have found that even a one-time exercise of self-control reduces glucose levels, and this affects subsequent attempts. Interestingly, a glass of sweetened lemonade helped eliminate this effect.
Fear of failure and self-criticism
Sometimes we can't begin a task because we're afraid of failing and disappointing others (or ourselves). Fear of failure prevents us from starting. In addition, if we get down to business too late and the result is not the most brilliant, we have a great excuse: “I just didn’t have enough time.”
The path to changing yourself - both behavior (in the short term) and personality (in the long term) - is to constantly analyze the causes of anxiety. When you think, “I can't do this,” “I'll screw it up,” “I don't know how,” “I'll fail,” it is absolutely necessary to challenge each of these thoughts.
Do you think this is true? What is the real risk of failure if you try? Do you feel like you are expected to be perfect? But what happens if you do the job not perfectly (someday later), but just well (right now)? As a result, the majority understands that all these thoughts are completely irrational and have nothing to do with existing reality.