THE MASTER PROCRASTINATOR

I will start that course tomorrow. Oh today’s not a good day. Can I make it next week? Uhmm, let's just push it to a month from now. Maybe next year will be best, I’ll make it my New Year’s goal…. Yada yada yada. 

Procrastination is among the main barriers that block us from getting up, making the best decisions, and living the life of our dreams. It's also a potentially dangerous force that causes people who procrastinate to flunk out of school, perform their tasks poorly, or even put off medical treatment. Sometimes, we realize that all our opportunities seem to be at our fingertips, but we find it difficult to reach them. People who procrastinate waste the time that they could be investing in something that is meaningful. Once a person is able to overcome this bad habit, they will be able to accomplish way more.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

You may be wondering what goes on in our brains that causes us to put off or postpone the things that we know we should be doing. Here are some of the things that cause us to procrastinate and end up achieving nothing instead of something. 

• LACK OF SEL-DISCIPLINE: Lack of self-discipline or self-control is when you give yourself orders or tasks to do, but you are finding it difficult to follow the order or carry out the task. While this is not the primary cause of procrastination, it happens to be an important compound. In order to be disciplined, you must have the correct type of motivation. You also need to learn how to maintain and work on positive habits. It’s the embedment of a positive lifestyle change. 
• LACK OF MOTIVATION: When someone is not motivated enough to work on a given task, they tend to procrastinate. The lack of motivation usually stems from the avoidance of discomfort. But have you ever heard the saying that in order to succeed you have to do what? — “Get uncomfortable”. The uncomfort you feel forces you to keep moving, and the only way to get to a goal is continuous forward motion. Some people are simply lazy, but it’s not as simple as you think. Laziness usually is the cause of underlying feelings of self-doubt. 
• LACK OF AMBITION: People who are not ambitious will lack the motivation to do what needs to be done in order to achieve goals. When you have a goal in mind, you are motivated to achieve it but it’s what your heart and soul desires. Ambition is a trait we develop over time and can be over exacerbated or unacquired for some people. Lack of ambition can also be linked to feelings of unworthiness and self imposed limiting belief systems.
• Indecisiveness: People also tend to procrastinate because they find it difficult to make decisions in a timely manner, and this can be an issue in different ways, like when they cannot decide which course of action they should engage in. 

How Do You Stop Procrastination?

Once you’ve identified your procrastination pattern, learn motivation, planning, self-discipline, and time management. When you have learned this, make it part of your daily routine, it has to become a lifestyle. You can start by setting a mini goal to achieve and timing yourself. See how long it takes you to achieve it and observe and make note of behavioral patterns or self-imposed barriers that slow you down. These are patterns you’ve most likely been stuck in for years so this can be a slow but steady process of dismantlement so be patient with yourself.