Before you read any further, there’s something you need to know. This isn’t my best article, far from it actually. Unfortunately, it’s not only because I’m drowning in a pool of assignments. You see, the reason I am writing this essay with only a few hours to go for my deadline is that in the past three days I somehow managed to do every single thing but this particular piece of work assigned to me. I binge-watched “Haunting of Bly Manor” on Netflix, cleaned out my wardrobe, learned to play two songs on my ukulele, and even made three new To-Do Lists. I am what Ted Talker Tim Urban would call a Master Procrastinator.
I have dealt with my tendency to put off things for years but the pandemic has only made this habit worse. It wasn’t always like this though. Around the end of April or perhaps the beginning of June (I can’t be sure, I’ve lost all concept of time this year), I became extremely productive. I meditated, listened to podcasts and even did an internship that had nothing to do with my course and everything to do with & ‘building my CV.’ At one point I firmly believed that my war with procrastination was over, once and for all. Like social media’s obsession with Dalgona Coffee, that victory was short-lived.
If you spent your lockdown scrolling through Instagram and closing the app in frustration only to open it minutes later, you will probably have seen this post.
“If you don’t come out of this quarantine with:
– A new skill
– Your side hustle started
– More knowledge
You never lacked time, you lacked discipline.
You are doing just fine.
We are going through a collective traumatic experience.
Not everyone has the privilege of turning the pandemic into something productive.”
On the surface, this post advocates the importance of taking care of your mental health in these troubling times. Yet, when it’s put up by the same people who were posting stories about baking bread and working out only yesterday, the comparison is inevitable. Capitalist notions of productivity thrive on making you feel like it is important to work all the time. Even when people tell you it’s okay to while your time away, the guilt remains.
My lockdown had been made up of short bursts of productivity and an interlude of self-loathing followed by long periods of boredom. And then, as suddenly as it had disappeared, college was back in the picture. I could not afford to do ‘nothing’ anymore! Online classes made sure of that. Nevertheless, I observed my old pattern of delaying important tasks coming back. I knew it was time for a revision in my plan.
Over the years I have devised a list of things that help me deal with this problem. Some of these I have Googled whilst putting off important work and others I have learned from my long experience of doing things at the last possible minute. So, here’s presenting a guide. From one procrastinator to another.
1. Here’s a harsh truth, nobody enjoys boring work. If you have the option of choosing between seeing the next episode of a show where a young American with the cutest outfits deals with French people in the City of Love and writing that difficult assignment, you will choose the former. Contrary to what you may think, the trick isn’t to tell yourself that, ‘You gotta do what you gotta do.’ You have to convince your brain that the important, serious task is actually fun.
2. Influencers will have you believe that the way to do that is by creating a reward. For instance: “If I read this 30-page reading about what a philosopher said 500 years ago, I get to eat Maggi.” The problem with this approach? It assumes that you have the discipline to wait. Whenever I have tried to bribe myself into working, my ever-helpful brain has always prompted the same question. “What’s stopping you now?” The truth is that nothing is stopping me from eating that Maggi at that very moment. I could just not read the essay or skim through the first few pages and still get the treat. The reward has to be the joy of finishing the task itself. Instead of imagining a momentary prize, think of it as a gift that you will be giving to your future self. Wouldn’t the Future You be grateful to Present You if you let it sleep instead of staying up till 11:57, trying to meet an 11:59 deadline?
3. Every time you check your phone, Mark Zuckerberg makes another buck that he most likely won’t donate. Let that sink in. Just like beauty companies earn money by making you feel insecure, social media companies profit by keeping you distracted. Keep this in mind when you find yourself taking a 5-minute break that somehow turns into 2 hours. I recommend disabling all notifications on your phone. In case you attend online classes on your laptop, remove any social media shortcuts from your main screen. Try to limit your phone usage and you will be astonished to realize how much time you have when you’re not glued to your screen. Eventually, all this extra time will start to bore you into doing actual work.
4. Stay away from Productive Procrastination. When you search “techniques to deal with procrastination” or make a To-Do List, your brain thinks you’re doing something productive. Due to this, you may feel proud and accomplished afterward. The same thing happens when you clean instead of doing that assignment. Remind yourself at that stage that you have actually done nothing.
5. Follow the 15-minute rule. The worst part of doing any project is starting it. To make it seem less underwhelming, promise to work only for 15 minutes. More often than not you will realize that once you’re in the flow, the time limit will not matter. Even if you’re able to write just one sentence at that time, that’s still one more sentence than what you had an hour ago!
People often associate procrastination with laziness. However, it’s not as simple as that. Sometimes it could be perfectionism, even anxiety. To fully understand it, you must get to the core of your problem. Until then, I hope you find these tips helpful as your war against procrastination rages on!