A Day in a Procrastinator’s Life
Hello. I’m Daniela, and I’m a Procrastinator.
Did you get attracted by the headline? Well, I would, too, if I were the reader. Today, I present myself to you guys, and I accept before you all that my procrastination is more than it should.
This has to do a lot with new beginnings, you know? Allow me to explain myself:
A certain person is starting something new, let it be a personal project, a hobby, or whatever. He/she/they get excited to learn, practice, and show off to everyone; totally normal.
Questioning: But then it comes this stage, where the person find(s) himself/herself/themselves frustrated because: “Why should I do this? What will come out of this? Am I good enough? Am I wasting my time?”, and so on...
Lacking motivation: Next, comes the motivation level going down. The person has already started to lose the excitement of doing a certain activity and the motivation that he/she/they had at the beginning. This sometimes can happen not only because of the questioning but also the lack of time. Anyway, in the end, it is the same: the loss of motivation.
Procrastinating: Finally, the result of the other three stages. To my understanding, this situation is when somebody starts to lose motivation to do something. He/she/them tries so hard to connect once more with the little motivation left but only find(s) himself/herself/themselves avoiding the actual practice of the activity. Hence, procrastination has been set.
*People, let it be clear that this is an arrangement of mine; it’s how my case developed into becoming a procrastinator in any situation in my life*
Sometimes we want so bad to keep doing the activity we started at the beginning of the week, but for some reason, there are things that we let come in the way of such activity. Mentioning “we let” is because we are the ones that can make the difference of letting procrastination overcome us. In a way, it can be understood as an internal fight with ourselves to stay in focus and commit to whatever we have started.
Personally, I struggle with this all the time, and in my eternal search for tips and tricks of fighting procrastination, I’ve recognized three that are very effective, and I want to share them with you today:
Always plan your day. It’s okay if you do it at midnight, it doesn’t matter, as long as you know your activities and focus on them.
Example: For me, it’s five activities per day: two that I like, two that are a must, and finally, one that I should’ve done days ago (accumulated work).
Remind yourself of why you started that project, activity, or hobby. Perhaps you can write about why you love to do that certain thing, or what you will obtain from it.
Example: In my journal, there is always a page in blank that I use to write about the activity which I’m currently doing; in it, the explanation of what it is about and what is the outcome are a must, but you can write about whatever you want, as long as it’s related to it. You can also write about how you feel when you do it or after you’re done, and with this, maybe you’ll be reminding yourself why you are doing it!
Make it your relaxing time. If you relate this with the activity, perhaps you’ll end up loving it because it makes you feel good and balanced.
Example: Recently, I started to write my first book; it has been on my mind since last year, but this week I finally decided to start it and actually finish the first draft for good (because revising is another story). I have been practicing the first two tips to help myself remember why I am doing it and how good I feel when I write. *A plus of this tip for beginners in writing is that you get to practice your writing style and even discover things you’ve always had in you. This is definitely an improvement!!!
These are things that, as I wrote, have helped me along the way with the procrastination (and even my writing skills). So, I sincerely hope that you like this post because I write for you!
From time to time, you might feel like you have the worst case of procrastination, but no! It only becomes that if you let it overshadow your mind and your motivation. Perhaps you can rest one day, but then you have to continue, for you will achieve great things if you keep reminding yourself of how lovely it is to do that activity you started or the rewards of doing it... Remember, it is all for you!
As always, a pleasure to be part of this organization, and don’t forget that in Dream on Youth, we love you and support you <3
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Another extra tip for the writers in this beautiful community is writing 1000 words per day. The next day, you have to read what you wrote, and perhaps make some changes or corrections, and then write 1000 words again… Do so, and pretty soon, you’ll have your first draft of the book you’ve always wanted to write and publish!!! You can do it <3
This was written by the one and only Stephen King in his book “On Writing.”