Procrastinating feels so damn good, right?
Mindlessly scrolling through your IG to see Cardi's latest post. Watching YouTube videos back-to-back.Catching up on daily mail's latest gossip.
Wait, there is something else. Did you also notice that we tend to procrastinate unconsciously? It's a thing we find ourselves doing unknowingly. And it's easy for us to do so because we find it difficult to start our tasks.
Factors are playing a role in making it difficult for us to start. These factors are the causes of procrastination. There is more. Even though we know we will be worse off delaying, we still delay.
We are still ready to pay the price. That is the pain that comes with procrastination. This pain can be good or bad. The short form of consequences. These consequences work in two ways:
Positive consequences motivate us to take action.
Negative consequences delay our drive to act by making us feel bad for procrastinating.
Anxiety
Imagine this. You've been procrastinating on starting your creative writing course for some time now. This is because, at the thought of starting it, you feel anxious. At the same time, you can't help but think about what could have happened if you started sooner. You're anxious about the results of procrastination.
"If I had started the course at the beginning of the year, could I have gotten gigs right now?"
These thoughts can sometimes propel us to take action. These thoughts can also make us delay more because we are afraid of failure or because we doubt our abilities.
If I had taken the course, I would have probably performed terribly."
"It's not too late to take the course. Let me enroll for it."
Shame and Guilt
This might sound light on paper but it's heavy. Trust me. You can't even trade it for a million bucks. Have you ever experienced this?
You've set a goal of losing 2kgs every month. Instead of doing that, you find it difficult to do so because of this reason and that reason. Before you know it, the month is over and you've lost 0kgs!
What now? Your accountability partner, which is your calendar, becomes hard to report to. The guilt and shame make it hard to mark the calendar. The guilt and shame make it hard to look at the calendar.
We feel embarrassed for not attaining the goals we set for ourselves. This can make you think of two ways to remedy this:
"I don't want to feel guilty anymore, so let me establish a system to help me achieve my goals"
"I should have known better. No way I am trying something like that again. I don't like feeling guilty."
Insomnia
If you're like me, sleep is a luxury if some unfinished businesses are lying around. My mind can't relax. It's constantly thinking of the tasks I didn't complete.
At this point, you've already guessed how this lack of sleep also awakens me earlier the following day. Well, I love my sleep. I also love to sleep peacefully without having to ruminate.
Regret
Yeah. The" I wish I would have done punchline. The go-to thought we have 90% of the time we procrastinate. Well, because we're humans. We make mistakes, pay for them, and then regret doing them.
Self-loathing /self-hate
"I'm worthless."
"I'm a failure."
"I can't do these."
Ever had those thoughts? For perfectionists, these thoughts are their go-to each time they procrastinate. Self-hate breeds more negative emotions.
1. Jealous of other people's progress.
2. Feeling behind in life as a result of comparing yourself to other people.
The most effective way I know to overcome self-hate is self-forgiveness.
Low performance
You know it. The difference between mediocre and top-notch work. The former is rushed and done with very little attention to detail. The latter is mouth-watering, dripping with every detail of elegance. What we all go for.
When we put forward our tasks until the last minute, we put in little concentration. As a result, we end up producing low-quality work. In the case of a work setting, it often leads to being fired, disagreements, and lowering the performance of a company.
Stress
Back on campus, I realized that I followed a certain trend. At the beginning of the semester, I would procrastinate studying and feel less stressed. Toward the end, I would feel more stressed, study past my bedtime, and as a result, sleep less.
Call it delayed negative consequences of procrastination catching up. It was easy to promise to study earlier the following semester. That never happened.
More procrastination when you're trying to overcompensate
How many times have you missed your workout and promised to compensate?
How many times did you compensate?
It's likely 0 times. when we try to compensate for our tasks, we are making it hard to start. When we make it hard to start, we are making it easy to procrastinate.
Tying it all
You can use the consequences of procrastination as a learning tool. It will help you learn from your mistakes. It will help you realize flaws exist. It will help you realize perfectionism is non-existent. That's the litmus test that identifies you as a human being.
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