09 Apr How I Overcame Procrastination?
My assignment was due on Monday and I didn’t even begin until Sunday morning. I knew I wouldn’t get any assistance from my professor or TA because it was the weekend, so I wouldn’t get an email response until Monday at the earliest. I felt very anxious and stressed leading up to Monday. When I finally got a chance to speak to my professor, I felt embarrassed and knew it wasn’t going to go well. Up until this point, I was a good student and was doing well in the course. But finally, procrastination had caught up to me. She told me I could get an extension, but this was the last time. I was really upset and disappointed with myself, but I apologized to my professor, and within the next three days, I would have to submit my assignment. I was forced to ask myself, “How had my procrastination gotten to this point, and how could I stop it?”
Procrastination is a major issue among students, and I was one of those affected students. However, the good thing is that this issue is highly treatable and curable. Before delving deeper into my quest towards avoiding procrastination, let’s understand the origin of the word ‘Procrastination’. It has been derived from the Latin word ‘procrastinus’. In which the adjunct ‘pro’ denotes ‘forward’ and ‘crastinus’ points towards ‘tomorrow’. In simpler words, the term ‘procrastination’ is used when someone pushes or postpones their tasks due to their work-shy attitude.
“Why do I procrastinate?” is the question that I started to ask myself constantly. I began to observe my own behaviour when I procrastinated. The self-reflection made me realize that I delay those tasks and jobs that don’t make me feel delighted or excited while being engaged with them. Thus, I prioritize them at the end of my to-do lists. Of course, there are other likely reasons too, such as disturbances, lack of focus, excessive pile of work, apathy and many more. This was the basis for me creating several delaying tactics.
But one day, I realized that the consequences of our decisions, whether good or bad, follow us till the end, and we need to bear the consequences of it whether we like it or not. By putting off my duties, my potential and capabilities were getting affected and that led to poor performance in my respective career, a real disturbance in my daily routine and almost risked my volunteering roles. This ultimately left a bad impression on my professors, supervisors, fellow students and friends. “Having a dilly-dallying approach is a bad factor in one’s persona and will eventually give rise to many difficulties,” said my professor. I realized it’s necessary to take initiative to avoid procrastination.
Procrastinating is not an inbuilt default in anyone’s personality. Instead, it’s developed as other tasks may seem more appealing and fun to do. I took my professor’s statement to heart and did my best to avoid this issue by following a few steps. My first step towards avoiding procrastination was to admit to myself that I am procrastinating.
Original Source : https://www.yorku.ca/laps/colleges/2024/04/09/written-wellness-writing-and-reading-as-therapy/
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