Saturday, September 17, 2011

Why you're procrastinating and tips to fight it



Ever find yourself wasting time for no other reason than having too much to do and being too lazy to do any of it? We do things simply out of boredom. But sometimes we're not bored, were stressed.

You lay around on Sundays thinking of the hectic work week ahead, remembering the list of things you need to do before the Monday morning sun rises and instead of getting up and at it, you stay, lay, and think of something else to do.

Wouldn't we be less stressed if we just tackled our tasks? After all, it has to get done and the sooner it does the sooner you can stop thinking about. As much as this makes sense there's another part to it--stress fatigue.

It's important to note that fatigue and tiredness are different. Tiredness is mostly physical, while fatigue is emotional and mental. It's this emotional and mental drag that brings us down. Thus you're not tired enough to sleep, but you don't have the energy to do all your projects and tasks.

So how do you fight this? Action follows motivation as the saying goes. Sometimes just crossing off one thing on your to-do list gives you enough energy to cross off another.

When you're hit with a big task that you'd rather hide from than attempt, try rallying the troops. In other words, see if you can find some people or resources that will make the task finish quickly or easier.

If you're on your own and still feel swallowed by the task ahead,  try breaking it down. For instance, instead of writing your entire mid-term paper in one night due to procrastination, try writing a page a day. You'll feel more proud knowing some of the task is done, and it's in an easier chunk to break off.

Lazying about isn't always because we're lazy, but because we're stressed. If you can use other resources and break the task down into smaller pieces it becomes easier to find the energy to get things done.

Photo Credit: Tumblr

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