Contest: How procrastinating are you?

^{The time is always right to do what is right-Dr. Martin Luther King}

Procrastination is delaying something that you know is important and crucial to do. But you avoid doing it because it is maybe new, difficult, boring, or out of your comfort zone.

For instance: Delaying assignments, avoiding meetings, waking up late, not doing chores and what not.

1.Do you consider yourself a procrastinator?

Yeah kind of, somedays i am the queen of procrastination and other days I'm an iron lady, doing everything effectively.

If I find a task that is out of my comfort zone, and i have to put an extra effort to do that, then i procrastinate that task.

2.How often do you procrastinate?

You just can't tell how much you procrastinate. It depends on whether you're actually delaying a task or you're just charging your body to perform that task more efficiently.

Activities that lead to procrastination:

If i find a thing new, difficult, that demands more work and time, self doubt comes, whether I'll meet the demand or not, these things leads to procrastination.

Things which we're doing habitually won't lead you to procrastinate, instead things which are new, stressful leads you to.

For instance:

• If you have the habit to get up early, you won't snooze your alarm and immediately get out of your bed.

• But if you are not an early riser, but you want to get up early, you know the negative consequences you have to face in your work and health, but still you can't make it. Because waking up early is out of your comfort zone, who loves to leave their bed early in the morning? Majority will say no.

• Wasting time on things that are least important, will left you with no energy for the tasks that are important.
  Like you know that you have to submit your assignment, but here you're scrolling on instagram for hours.

• Prioritising things that are not urgent or important over important things will stresses you out, eventually you'll end up procrastinating.

3.Do you plan your activities? How well do you fulfill that planning?

I usually don't plan them, i feel the more i plan them, more are the chances of the delay.
I rather believe in discipline building than planning and motivation.
The more you insert discipline in your daily life, more it'll help you to build habits that restrict procrastination.

For instance:

If i plan to declutter my cupboard, days before the due day, i just lie down on my bed delaying it. It feels a burden and stress that I'm living in a mess. I indulge in instant pleasure activities to distract my instinct to act on the task.
The more i think about it, chances of acting on it become less.
^{Instead, if an instinct to declutter my cupboard comes in my mind, if i get up immediately without letting my mind to give excuses, chance of doing it becomes high.
It's what Mel robbin teaches in her 5second rule to achieve succees and beat procrastination}.

4.Have you had problems with the fulfillment of your school assignments or work, because of procrastination? tell us about the experience.How do you balance the time between your obligations and your leisure activities?

I never had the problem to meet my deadlines. But i am that person who finishes her work at the last hour, like we all do.
If i have one week to make an assignment, I'll spend the first few days doing nothing or barely doing anything. Next couple of days would be utilized doing the research work. Last day or day before the last day, I'll write it down. Last day I'll edit my assignment literally before the deadline.

However during the writing and editing days, i try to prioritise only my task over other leisure activities. I'll turn off the internet from my mobile phone, and focus completely on the task on my table.

5.Do you have some techniques to avoid procrastination? share them with us.

I have learnt super easy trick to avoid procrastination, which is 5second rule of Mel robbin. It's a book you can read more about it from.
It says when you want to do something, you know it's crucial to do, you know you have to face the negative impacts if you don't do it, you just lack courage to do it, or you just start doubting your skills or overthinking.

Do this instead...

^{When you have a task to do, instead of thinking, just start counting backwards, 5,4,3,2,...1, then boom get up, move physically, otherwise you mind will hijack you otherwise you won't be able to do the task}.

Apply this rule in every aspect of your life, whether it's about to get up early (don't snooze, when alarm rings, count 5,4,3,2....1 and get out of your bed. If you delay this, you mind will come up with excuses. Actually our mind is resistant to change, it fear new things, we just have to tame it. It is just a matter of courage.

When you act immediately and get up in 5seconds to do a task, you don't give you prefrontal cortex time to think, hence you don't procrastinate.

You must have experienced this, that only getting up to do a task is difficult, however doing the task is effortless.

^{It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are"-E.E Cummings}

• Avoid using mobile phone when you genuinely want to do something. Using social media gives you instant pleasure. It releases dopamine in your brain which is released in you brain after you accomplish something.
  This makes you mind think you've done something, you feel fullfilled. But when you close your social media, and comes in reality and realises that you actual task is still on pending, cortisol (stress hormone) releases in your brain. Which is a good thing in moderation, it's so important for you to get your work done.

• Get up early to do tasks which are most important for you. Avoid doing useless activities early in the morning, and recharge your body to do your crucial task, if you don't want to end up procrastinating it.

This was my stance on procrastination. Hope you guys can relate with this:)

Inviting my friends @abdullhahsafdar @sabanaqsh and @murriumkhalid to jump into this contest.

Thanksgiving

@yolvijrm
@graceleon
@bellana
@kelymer