How Procrastination Killed Me From Inside
This is my tale of being a procrastinator for over a year
Don’t get me wrong, but this story might not be for you!
If you’re looking about how procrastination affects your life or are trying to give yourself a little boost for putting in another hour or maybe want to know how to stop procrastinating, then this story ain’t made for you. You can read all of that stuff here, where researchers explain and give you the exact ways to overcome this thinking trap.
This is my tale of being a procrastinator for over a year, a compendium of my personal experience with this demon of immobility that eats of you alive day by day! These words might sound intimidating, but these are emblematic of how my past year got decimated by this thinking prison called procrastination.
Clearing that, Let’s Dive into my story! (It has been structured sequentially, highlighting events based on the time they happened at).
The Advent
I’ll write this story tomorrow! Not feeling it today.
This is how procrastination kicked in for me and does for every other sentient being on this planet, which to a certain extent is acceptable.
Procrastination is a coping mechanism conjured by our brain to deal with an instant influx of stress, and that’s why we all procrastinate and focus on the stuff that provides quick gratification, that could be as taking a walk, sipping in a cold beverage watching your favourite streamer or just doing nothing.
But Imagine! What if this inbuilt stress coping mechanism is rigged to make you more lethargic and feel more apathy towards the work we have to do.
This is exactly what happened to me and does with other people who fall into this rigged mental trap of thinking and instant gratification. Instead of it coping with the influx of stress, it made me more frightened by the idea of working, which can cause even a bit of stress.
Plus, it had a perfect breeding ground last year when this pandemic took over the world by brute force, and utter intimidation. Trauma seeped into our societies. This thinking trap got me off-guard and with perfect timing made me wimp scared of anything which causes stress.
Which got further fueled by not having an immediate responsibility or a task, as universities shifted to the online era of education in the Zoom Era.
The Realisation
This has to be stopped. I need to do something!
After slipping a few months, I realized that this habit of mine is becoming ginormous every day, hindering me from the imperative tasks and making me a wimp. So I tried to fight it back by going on a social detox deleting Facebook, Instagram, & YouTube to focus on things that are necessary for my survival and growth.
But after a few days, I was coerced by my own brain in reinstalling them and the same cycle reiterated with much more guilty pleasure and utter limbo of university tasks and side hustles.
Following this habit made me feebler both physically and mentally. I was taunted by my acquaintances for being apathetic to work and even my parents for the first time in my entire life were dejected and ashamed of my acts. I was becoming a social media addict and was in constant search of content that could gratify me instantly.
Being in this trap could have been my end but we know that there’s some power that helps you out in your worst times and gratefully I was shown the way in my gravest time.
The Resuscitation
Getting Back On Track!
Spoiler Alert! This story of mine has a good ending though. You know it as I’m writing this article not procrastinating about writing it (however bad it may be), So things have changed for me and it was not because of an online video that I saw on YouTube or listened to a Spotify Motivation podcast but was because of steps that were taken by me in order to first mitigate this problem and then to steadily remove it from its roots.
I started off by making a to-do list in the morning; entailing the tasks that I wanted to get done before dawn, then writing all the things that distracted me while doing them and observing the patterns.
Don’t worry, I did this for a week and then steadily mitigated those things that distracted me. This simple to-do list subconsciously helped me to form a habit where I would try my best to get things off my checklist and was aware of the stuff which could halt them.
But there was still a problem! See, since my brain was addicted to instant pleasures this method didn’t work that well in the start, So I rewarded myself for every successful task, and then it actually worked. In a matter of few weeks, I was on the right track, healing from this traumatizing, mind-numbing experience.
Takeaway
What should you learn from my story?
If you’ll ask me today whether I procrastinate then my answer would be probably Yes. Even today I Do! But my story was never about getting rid of procrastination or not taking a break coz we are humans and we need rest. So saying that today I’m using every second of my life would be deceptive and immoral.
No one on this planet; apart from Zuckerberg since he’s a living zombie, can’t stop procrastinating. It is just about using your timing prolifically and focusing on your necessities rather than blowing that time in watching some stream that won’t render you anything.
So if currently you’re in this trap, start off by discerning what’s necessary and what isn’t. Then notice the patterns in your day and try to reduce the stuff that is not needed. For me, it was social media that was engulfing me with all the instant pleasure, so I tried to curtail its usage and rewarded me for doing so. Hopefully, you’ll overcome this epidemic of lethargy and do what you aspire for.
I hope this story was worthy of your time. I’m interested in knowing about your take on procrastination and how do you overcome it. So, comment. I’ll reply to every comment. Stay safe and make use of your time while you can!
