You might be playing an online game, or scrolling through social media, or, if not, you might be watching useless videos to pass your time. It is ok to do so if you have already completed your important work. But I don’t think you are hanging up on the unnecessary activities without focusing on the necessary activities first. If you were, you wouldn’t be here reading this article. Believe me or not, the other name of slow poison is procrastination, and if you are the victim of this issue, it is time to get out of its trap.
First, let’s know what exactly procrastination is.
Let’s study later. I will complete it after this; let it be, I have no mood for it, I wish I had someone with me to finish it off. These are some common thoughts if you have a procrastinating mentality.
You are ready to get punished by your seniors, teachers, or subordinates, but don’t want to invest your time in the given project seriously. Your daily routine depends on your mood. You may ask yourself, why shall I do this or that. Your mind sends a positive signal, but your heart blocks your sense organs from doing that. You may want to lie on the bed all day and night, scroll the screen, and take naps. I will do it later, tomorrow, which seldom or never comes. This is what happens with procrastination victims.
We can compare procrastination with laziness; the same thing happens if you are lazy, but laziness is occasional. The fun fact is that lazy people are creative, and at least they seek shortcuts to complete their responsibilities.
On the other hand, procrastination is the act of avoiding responsibilities without delegating them to another party. At least lazy people seek guidance from their near and dear. So, you may take it lightly, but a procrastinating habit poisons your physical and mental structure gradually, and one day you will see yourself in the middle of the desert.
Why do you procrastinate?
Life is a journey, and a journey must have a purpose.
For example, you go to the market, but why? To purchase something or see something, whatever. You are getting a degree, but why? To get a dream profession in the future. So on. It means that whatever we do for something, either to get a long-term or short-term advantage, or just to have fun.
The estimated return of the action pushes us to do something, doesn’t it? It means that you remain fresh, active, and punctual if only you are conscious about the upcoming excitement.
Conversely, this can be the reason why you procrastinate and postpone important tasks.
For example, you may not know why you are doing something, and this happens when you are taking an action that is not according to your will, or the advantages it will bring are not suitable for you.
Another reason for your postponing behaviour can be that you are empty from inside. I mean, you may have lost the purpose of your life due to some turning points or other psychological shifts. If so, you may feel the daily routine is a burden. In most cases, people lose their path due to various reasons, such as lack of motivation, missed loved ones, past mistakes and failures, broken expectations, and self-realisation.
Believe me, your comfort zone is also a significant place that can enhance your procrastination habit. Comfort zone can be anywhere where you get all your basic needs without hard work, such as your parents’ home.
Yes I ate this slow poison once, I was the king of procrastination. Whatever I am about to start has been postponed suddenly. I didn’t complete my project report by myself. On the deadline, I took help from my friend. Neither did I do any job because my parents were there, who were giving me whatever I wanted. Gradually, I became too lazy, and I stopped working on my personal health and fitness. Later, I realised that this way my life would go to waste, and I moved to the capital city in search of a job and further education. This way, my procrastinating issue is solved.
Why should you stop procrastinating?
Take a deep breath, my friend, and think for a while, you’ve got one life. At most, you will live 100 years, and I think you have already wasted a quarter of your life doing nothing.
Congratulations if you have obtained your university degree. You have done something.
The rule of life is simple. What you plant now will grow later. Your present actions are the future result. And the most upsetting fact is that time can’t be reversed; there is no time machine made to travel back. Life goes on; once you miss, you miss it forever. So, this is the first reason you must quit procrastination to save your upcoming life from slow poisoning.
You are born with a purpose, to be something and achieve something, and to do so, hard work and discipline are a must.
Every day, you see popular, rich, celebrity and prosperous people on the screen. You might think for a while, I wish I were like them.
My friend, you can become like them if you can feel their struggle, hard work and dedication rather than focusing only on their success. Every success story is painful, full of night tears and procrastination-free.
So, the simple answer is that procrastinating is slow poison, and to live a productive life, you must quit it. Today, you may have good days and a supportive environment, but the coming day may be full of darkness. To avoid such nightmares, you need to do what should be done in time.
Are there any ways to get rid of procrastination, a slow poison?
In reality, there is no exact mantra to stop procrastinating, but yes, you can be punctual if you realise these things:
1. Life goes on, and at last, everyone will ask you what you have.
As already mentioned, you can’t reverse time. When the time comes, you will be loved, appreciated and cared for according to your worth. Worth means what you can offer to others. If you are useless, no one is going to come near you, not even your so-called near and dears.
For example, today you planted a mango tree, and after 10 years, the tree will start to give fruit. Similarly, a current minor effort can give you a good return in future, which can enhance your value. If you just skip plans, schedules and personal development initiatives, the coming days will be full of sorrow. Therefore, try to utilise the present to make a better tomorrow.
2. Comfort zone is temporary.
Your comfort zone can make you a beggar one day. If you have all the basic needs, it means you have sufficient time to spend. You may have future goals, so try to work on them. At least give an hour every day. Imagine you are adding one brick each day, and one day you will see that you have built a building.
Most of the youth spend their leisure time playing video games and scrolling screens in their comfort zone. It is good for relaxation, but without considering time management, it can be detrimental. I am saying this because today you may have all the comforts because someone is fulfilling all your desires, but the time will not remain the same. Just get out of your house and do something, anything, anything ethical and productive.
3. What do you want, pain or gain?
Rome is not built in a day, I think you are familiar with this quote. Nobody will ask you what you want for free; the barter system applies. If you have something to donate, you will get something in return.
A little improvement every day will give you a gain in the future. Such as waking early, doing some exercise, writing or reading something, working on a project, cooking and eating healthy, all these things. If you do nothing now, you may suffer emotionally, physically, mentally and socially. So, to avoid the slow poison of procrastination, try to realise that the upcoming pain and gain is today’s karma.
4. You are born for something.
You might have big desires, vision, goals, and expectations in your life, but do you know that you can fulfil them all? Yes, you can get whatever your heart and brain demand, but the only thing you need to do is hard work with a never-give-up mentality.
Your dream may be to get a job in a multinational company, to be a scholar, to be a singer, an investor, whatever. If you are dreamy but physically lazy, everything is impossible. Try to read the biography of successful people, and you will find they didn’t sleep the whole night to become what they are. You are born for something to achieve, so don’t procrastinate, try to be active.
5. Nobody claps for being lazy.
Your family, friends, teachers and society appreciate those who are productive, active, and engaging. Being lazy not only ruins your present and future but also slowly damages your self-esteem. To get mass applause, you need to do something that benefits others. And for this, it is necessary to get rid of the postponing habit.
6. You are alone; it is your responsibility.
The crowd is not yours; nobody is your, trust me, they are not. It is not your choice, it is the rule of nature that human beings are on survial mode since their first birthday, which means, they will be connected with you if they think their survival will be easy because of you. The crowd may be appreciating you doesn’t mean the future will be the same. This time, the crowd may have seen worth in you that may benefit them.
Overall, I want to say that you can be a social butterfly only if you have some worth, and to be worthy, you should stop this slow poison procrastination. Otherwise, in future, no one will try to know whether you are dead or alive, not even your near and dears. No one is going to lend you a hand to make you worthy; it is your responsibility to seek and build.
7. Be aware, you can’t buy a time machine.
Time is more precious than diamonds, because time can buy Kilos of Dimonds, but diamonds can’t buy time. It is the limited assets which decreases everyday. But yes, if you understand the value of time, surely your inner soul may force you to end the habit of procrastinating. There is no time machine invented till now to travel back and correct your mistakes, nor are there supermarkets where time is sold, nor is King nor the Dictator unlimited.
So, each and every morning, realise that it’s never too late to start something and invest your time in something that will reward you in the coming days. Set the goal and work on it without expecting grand results immediately. Before you procrastinate, try to realise that you are giving up kilos of diamonds.
8. You haven’t tasted a 5-star product.
Bro, you may be in your comfort zone, I can understand you. You may have good things to eat, wear, and sleep. However, there are utilities, foods, and places around the world which are far superior to what you are consuming now in your 20s at a comfortable place.
I already mentioned that procrastination happens if you already have everything on your table, quality doesn’t matter. So, it is necessary to think out of the box, such as booking an international flight to travel for a week and participating family members on it by self-earned money, visiting luxury places, standard hotels, and so on. Try to challenge yourself and invest time in something that will make your current comfort zone more comfortable.
There are unlimited man-made and natural things yet to explore, even Elon Musk is not tired, then who are you? Instead of eating this slow poison, try to be someone who can taste luxury which is only possible if the body is procrastination free.
9. Forceful approach to avoid procrastination
Let me share my story. I used to wake up late every day, around 11 A.M. I was really tired of this bad habit because my body used to be hungover all day, no productive thinking, and negative thoughts. My remaining whole day used to go to waste because of a late waking-up habit.
After that, I saw a really influential video on social media on how your late sleep and wake-up habits can ruin your life and how to get rid of them. The video gives some tips, and I forcefully used them in my life, which worked. I did it without having fun or with willpower, just forcefully. Now I feel better compared to the past, and days go by with productive time.
So, the lesson is straightforward: sometimes you have to do things not because it is necessary but to create discipline. No need to follow your heart and mood all the time; sometimes the brain speaks the truth. A forceful approach may feel boring and difficult in the initial phase, but over time, you will get rid of the habit of postponement.
In Conclusion
There is no specific mantra to stay away from slow poison procrastination; only realisation and a forceful approach can help you to establish discipline in your daily routine. Try to realise that you have only 24 hours in a whole day, and 8 to 10 hours are spent on sleep. Time is limited.
Also, try to realise that every action has an equal or opposite reaction, which means the future is todays Karma. If you do something today, tomorrow it will bring sweet fruit, if not experience. Otherwise, an ocean of regret as you are regretting right now. Choice is yours. You can make kilos of diamonds in an hour if not today, but tomorrow, just stop procrastinating.
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