By Tauseef Hassan
Imagine this:
“Have you finished the assignment that needs to be submitted by Monday?” asked Mudasir’s mother, who is a 10th-grade student. Actually, his mother had noticed him scrolling through his phone on Sunday. He hesitated for a moment but had the courage to reply, “Not yet, I will do it after dinner. I have more than enough time to complete it.” As he sat down with his books after dinner, Mudasir got distracted by a series on YouTube, which cost him two hours of precious study time. His mother again noticed him wasting time and asked, “What is wrong with you? Why aren’t you working on your homework assignment?”
“Relax, Ammi Ji, I will definitely finish it before bedtime,” Mudasir said confidently. He was exhausted by the time bedtime arrived and postponed his decision to do the assignment until the next morning. The next morning, he could hardly make preparations to get ready for school with the assignment still undone, regretting and saying to himself, “Dude, why did you procrastinate and not start working on the assignment earlier?”
This is not the case with Mudasir only; we all procrastinate from time to time. We put off decisions, skip reading books, tell ourselves to wait until tomorrow, or don’t complete tasks because we don’t feel like it.
PROCRASTINATION HAS A PRICE
Everybody wrestles with procrastination in one way or another. It is like trying to pull ourselves out of a deep hole once we get caught in it. Pondering the costs of procrastination is a difficult task, as it makes us feel worse when we are already down, grappling with its worst effects. A study published in the American Psychological Society journal discusses the cost of procrastination. It is linked to depression, low self-esteem, irrational beliefs, anxiety, stress, robbing of precious time, and more. Stress, for example, is a result of delaying a task until it becomes unbearable. The task you have been putting off doesn’t disappear; instead, it appears more frightening as the deadline approaches. This type of stress is not just uncomfortable; it affects our judgment, makes us exhausted, and even makes us fear starting. Consequently, our results are prone to imperfection and flaws. As a result of procrastination, we suffer more mentally than the task itself. Low self-esteem is born each time we delay a task. This is because when we put off a task until later, we are telling ourselves, “We can’t do this task right now.” Over time, this feeling becomes internalized, and we start to believe that we are incapable of performing tasks promptly and efficiently. What happens is the shame of unfinished tasks sneaks into negative self-talk, damaging our self-esteem and making it even harder to break out of this cycle once we get caught in it.
The study presents enough evidence that procrastinators enjoy themselves, go out, and have a great time, experiencing no stress at all rather than working on assigned tasks—until the rising pressure of imminent deadlines forces them to get to work. From this perspective, procrastination may occur due to a lack of self-regulation, and the motivation required to work depends on externally imposed forces.
BEATING PROCRASTINATION
Self-regulation, willpower, and strong determination are all essential when it comes to beating the cycle of procrastination. Everyone may agree with this, but there is one more thing worth discussing here: the comfort zone. We all fear, for some unknown reason, stepping outside of our comfort zones. It takes courage to make bold moves and finish tasks within the stipulated time frame. Remember, procrastination has nothing to do with the task at hand—whether it is big or small; it always waits until later. In fact, the word “later” is what feeds it. When we start working on a task, we are excited and focused, but then, after some time, we think: “Let’s have a look at the latest score in a cricket match.” Then, we think: “Let’s watch one episode of a series on YouTube,” and then another one. And so forth. Initially, we might have thought of just one thing, but it opens up a whole bunch of distractions that drag us further and further from where we started. Then, when we realize this thought derailment, we say to ourselves: “This is the last time we are wasting our time!”
RULES TO GET OUR WORK DONE
What we really need is a system for getting work done. It is not always courage that works; what matters most is a system of organized people working collectively and efficiently. This kills procrastination. To get things done on time, research has proven effective methods such as self-imposed deadlines, working/studying in intervals, exercising for 30 minutes a day, maintaining a healthy diet, eliminating distractions, and most importantly, having internal motivation. The methods outlined above combine the right tactics that are productive in creating an efficient system. But there is no system that can help us beat procrastination if we do not have an inner drive. Researchers even compare procrastination to alcohol or drug abuse. Breaking its cycle today and not tomorrow is recognizing its true costs. It is the right time to start.
“Beware of procrastination, for it is the highest-ranking soldier of Iblis.” – Allama Ibn Jawzi (ra)
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” – Abraham Lincoln
The author works in the School Education Department
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