Oops - I did it again
It would seem, that with all our will power and need for accomplishment, we could take the ideas for action that we have and accomplish them. I have the power to stop others from performing flawlessly in a timely manner, but why do I stop myself from performance? Why would I stop myself from completing a task when it needs to be completed? This seems a bit counter intuitive, well at least I think so.
I mean, for those of us who procrastinate, we become our worst best enemies. I mean, think about it; I have a task to complete and all I have to do is accomplish it. There is no one standing in my way, but low-and-behold, the day goes by and I have not completed my task. I venture to bet that everyone of us has had these times of procrastination. And what do we get from it? Ill tell you what we get. Stress.
Don't you feel stressed out when you know you must accomplish a task, you push it off, you make excuses, you expend energy on everything else, but the task. And sometime, procrastination can even cost us money. How many people miss that April 15th deadline for Uncle Sam? Yes, that dreaded tax day. I even know people who are getting a refund and yet they fail to complete and submit their taxes in a timely fashion. But, nope; days and weeks go by and the taxes are not done.
Frankly, I don't see much value in procrastination, but all of us do it anyway. Hmmm. Do you remember Charlie Brown, ya, that block-head. He was good at procrastinating. As he is faced with his own loafing skills of procrastination he says, "If I start writing now... when I'm not really rested... it could upset my thinking which is not good at all... I'll get a fresh start tomorrow... and it's not due till Wednesday... so I'll... have all of Tuesday unless... something should happen... Why does this always happen... I should be outside playing... getting fresh air and sunshine... I work best under pressure and there'll be lots of pressure if I... wait till tomorrow... I should start writing now but if I... start writing now when I'm not really rested... it could upset my thinking... which is not good at all."
I can relate. So here I am writing an article about how to reduce procrastination and I am admitting to procrastination. Yes, we all have the thoughts and the ability to put off what we should do today until tomorrow. Maybe this is just hard wired into us and we should just go with it? Ya, that's my reasoning. But you know, that's not good enough, bah-humbug to that. Well, procrastination does really have a biological foundation.
This may just read like mumbo-jumbo. The blame the brain game, or the genetic game. Hey, I say if it works and makes me feel better, why not? Ah, why not? Because if I do that, I lose the sense of control. I need some control of my actions, so I can get things done and procrastination is not getting things done. But, let's take a quick look at some of the science of why I procrastinate and then maybe grab this genetic disposition by the hand and lead it away, so it serves our needs and not us serving it.
OK, here go, lets jump right in.
1. Procrastination affects some more than others. Some people are more predisposed to procrastinate than others. Omg, that does not sound too good, or maybe it does if we are looking for an excuse for our procrastination, but it sucks if we want to reduce our procrastination. So, whatever method or way that I try to reduce procrastination, I must get around this predisposition to procrastination; if after all, maybw I am one of those sorry people whose genes pour information into my brain to procrastinate. Let's laugh at those genes, heck I probably get my genes from K-mart anyway. Genetics, in this form are predispositions and not commands. With our frontal cortex and even a trained limbic system we can over-ride a predisposition. I will discuss this how in a bit. I don't think it's a clever idea to have scientific reason 1, and then a solution, scientific reason 2, and then a solution because we are systems, and it does not work that way.
2. Procrastination feels good. Until it doesn't. Us humans (and other species) have feel good chemicals that get released in our bodies and because these neurotransmitters; (who has not heard of serotonin and dopamine?) humans have this pain/pleasure mechanism. If an action creates pleasure, we tend to remember that pleasure and then return to it. When we feel pain, we tend to retract from it, so we do not feel it again. Ah, but here is the catch, sometimes the pleasure centers out weigh the pain centers and induce memories of the pleasure rather than of the pain. You can ask any overweight person who suffers pain and ill health because of being overweight and yet, bring out the cake.
3. The brains decision making process is a constantly a tug-of-war. Most of us wake up and then just want to go back to bed. Maybe we even hit the snooze several times. There is that struggle. I must go to work, but I want to stay home. And for most of us, the work wins. For those who stay home, the unemployment line is probably enough pain. Thus, there is a constant struggle in our brains to act or not act. In almost all decisions, in a fraction of a second the brain is working to have fun. Hmm. Have you seen cartoons or movies with the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other? Yup, that is how the brain functions at times. Procrastination is much like that, we know we should do what we need too, but we have our mind chatter like good old Charlie Brown and at the days end, we have an emotional hangover.
4. Self-control. We all want it. But let's get down to the brass tacks. When we procrastinate we have a breakdown in our self-control. Or do we? Our self, our conscious self knows it should be behaving in a specific way, but our unconscious urges have us behave in a different way. And so, it seems we have no self-control, and in fact, we do lose our conscious self-control.
5. Now the good news. Scientifically and experimentally we can beat back the forces of procrastination. If we couldn't, I guess me writing this article would be a complete buffoonery act. So, the gist of this article, well I guess the whole of this article is that we can do something about procrastination. I feel trapped in my own promises! If you are interested, you can read more depth to the science of procrastination. But, I have learned, more information does not always bring about different actions. It is though, when one learns how to use information to bring about change; that is when the miracle happens.
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