Welcome to the beginning of the fourth month of the year.Had fun procrastinating? Remember the goals you set for the year in January? Waking up early, Cutting down on caffeine, jogging every day, reading books, and so on are the habits you want to inculcate to have good mental health. What happened to that thought of yours as days pass? You are drawn to the vortex of a daily busy lifestyle where you no longer recognize what you want. Let's do some exercise, no not today. Check those emails, at the next break. This habit of procrastination is said to affect your mental health along with your self-esteem. The cycle continues as mental health affects your productivity and hence you procrastinate.
Procrastination-Nefarious habit to mental wellbeing
Leonardo da Vinci, despite being a genius, often left projects unfinished. The Mona Lisa took him over 16 years to complete! So, we are not alone. Timothy Pychyl, Psychologist and Procrastination researcher, defines procrastination as a voluntary delay of some important task that we intend to do, despite knowing that we will suffer as a result.
Causes:
1. Perfectionism:
The innate desire to outperform fellow mates is the primary reason. To give perfect results, they tend to keep planning or focus only on the best outcome.
2. Poor time management:
This is also called ''Student syndrome". Disregarding the deadlines, some people try completing the task in the last few days. Well, the girl writing this blog used to do it in her college days.
3. Emotional regulation difficulties:
We experience anxiety and an overwhelming sense of hopelessness when doing tasks at times. Procrastination serves as a coping mechanism to avoid such uncomfortable feelings. Psychologists call it "avoidance behavior".
4. Low self-efficacy:
Lower self-confidence serves as a major factor behind postponing tasks. I had a friend in my UG who was ridiculed by her parents for inefficiency. She started believing their opinion and thus ended up a master procrastinator and poor esteem.
Effects:
Being a chronic procrastinator affects not only mental health but also physical health and emotional well-being.
1. Increased stress and anxiety:
Imagine it's the deadline date and you have successfully procrastinated the entire week and you have only one Sunday left. You will feel an overwhelming sense of despair. As tasks accumulate, you end up expending energy a lot more than a non-procrastinator.
2. Depression:
Being a chronic procrastinator, you will feel inadequate and ruminate over your inability to meet your goals. This leads to depression.
3. Physical health issues:
A notable study involving 3,525 Swedish university students found that higher levels of procrastination were associated with an increased risk of disabling pain in the upper extremities, poor sleep quality, and physical inactivity over nine months.
4. Decision-making paralysis:
Chronic procrastination might cause poor decisions and we get trapped in this vicious cycle>
Procrastination and ADHD
Is Procrastination a sign of mental health issues?
While procrastination itself is not a mental health issue, it can be seen as a coping mechanism for underlying issues like ADHD & OCD. Procrastination can create a harmful feedback loop. Avoidance leads to stress, which in turn worsens mental health conditions, making it even harder to break free from procrastination. Procrastination has been identified as a marker of anxiety disorders among college students, with about 43% reporting frequent academic procrastination.
How to overcome procrastination?
I was a procrastinator before the universe put two books on my bookshelf. Wonder what they are? They are- Atomic Habits and Deepwork. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, and Cal Newport, author of Deep Work, — offer valuable insights that can be combined to form a powerful anti-procrastination strategy.
Let's integrate their approach for comprehensive tackling methods.
1. Break tasks into small actions
James Clear’s Atomic Habits suggests breaking down big tasks into smaller, manageable steps. Pair this with Cal Newport’s Time Blocking technique by scheduling each step into dedicated time slots. This reduces the perfectionism tendency we discussed while breaking down the causes of procrastination.
2. Start small and build focus:
James Clear's 2-minute rule helped me become consistent in writing. Starting with a tiny task for a small period can help gain momentum. Combine this with Newport’s concept of developing focus by gradually increasing the duration of deep work sessions over time. Meditation became part of my routine, as a means of maintaining good mental health, after reading this step.
3. Create an effective routine:
Habit stacking, linking new habits with existing ones, is one of the best strategies for maintaining consistency and avoiding procrastination. Reading the newspaper after breakfast is one of my habits cultivated through this idea. Pair this with Newport’s idea of Ritualizing Work by creating pre-work routines that signal your brain it’s time to focus on overcoming procrastination.
4. Make work attractive and distraction-free :
Clear emphasizes making habits attractive, while Newport focuses on eliminating distractions. Combine both by setting rewards for focused work sessions. I used to take breaks only after focused study sessions during my days of preparation.
The combination of James Clear’s habit-building framework and Cal Newport’s deep work philosophy creates a powerful system for overcoming procrastination. By breaking tasks into small steps, building focus, creating effective routines, eliminating distractions, and focusing on systems, you can steadily overcome procrastination and enhance productivity. This will ultimately have a positive impact on your mental health
Recognition as a mental health problem is the first step towards addressing complications like ADHD and overcoming procrastination. Leveraging modern tools to overcome procrastination and using bots like Youper, Serena, and Woebothealth will be small steps. Remember every big thing starts with a small step forward. Embrace progress over perfection and be patient with yourself along the journey.
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