The Art of Keeping up with yesterday

Dear September,

          This is the one where I tell you to do as I say not as I do. Hi, my name is Nini and I am a recovering procrastinator. Don Marquis once said "procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday". This quote puts procrastination very beautifully because it captures the fact that you cannot look back and look forward at the same time. Procrastination is essentially you standing in your own way and preventing yourself from moving forward.

           I still struggle with procrastination but I've gotten much better so I hope this helps. Before we talk about how to stop procrastinating, I think it is important to get to the root of the problem and talk about why one might procrastinate in the first place.

            By reading and doing a bit of research, I have learned that procrastination is an emotional response to whatever it is you are avoiding. Procrastination is nothing more than a coping mechanism. Many people procrastinate to hide how scared and overwhelmed they feel. People procrastinate to make themselves happy, that is until they have to study three months of material in one night.

            The second reason why people procrastinate is because our brains are wired to think of the present and the future as two separate entities. Therefore, we have the tendency to prioritize our present happiness and sacrifice our future happiness for it, even though this is completely irrational. If we are going to stop procrastinating, we are going to have to make efforts to connect our present actions to future outcomes. That being said, here are a few different approaches you can take to connect your present feelings to future outcomes.

Make to do lists 

            When you wake up every morning or maybe even the night before, make a list of things you absolutely have to accomplish that day. Going through your day and checking off the boxes, gives you a sense of accomplishment and makes you want to do more. Re-evaluate your list half way through the day to ensure that your priorities are checked off before the less important things. Make the first thing on your list ridiculously easy, this will make you feel less overwhelmed and give you the motivation to get started.

Realize the fertility of sacrifice

            Convince your present self to care about your future self. Focus on the bigger picture, what it is that you are hoping to achieve by getting those tasks accomplished. For example, when I have work to do, study for an exam or get a paper done, I focus on the fact that I need a good grade for that class in order to graduate with Honors which will lead to a sexy job. It’s easy to see only the giant list of things to do, rather than the anxiety-free feeling of accomplishment at having finished them. Part of becoming an adult is learning to sacrifice and do what you need to know rather than what is fun and what you want to do.

Do stuff that you are passionate about

            First, let us move on from the fact that I used the word “stuff” and talk about the fact that what you are passionate about is not always the same thing as what you enjoy doing. Sometimes you need to work a 9 to 5 job or go to school to lay a solid foundation that will then allow you to pursue what you are truly passionate about. For example, if financial security and independence is important to you, and a 9 to 5 or school will help you get there, you need to put that effort in and be passionate about that. Keeping in mind, how instrumental it will be in you achieving your long-term goal.

            It is also important to mention here that working a 9 to 5 or going to school should not stop you pursuing your dreams. It is all just a balancing act, you have to learn how to allocate your time efficiently. This can be very tricky but once it is done, it can make all the difference.

Do one task at a time

            Many times I tend to procrastinate when I feel overwhelmed by all the work I have to do, however when I focus all my attention on one thing, that overwhelming feeling goes away. Although it seems like multitasking is doing more work in a small amount of time, multi-taskers are often inefficient and end up doing much less work. Invest in quality not quantity. And I know this may sound counterintuitive but doing every task to the best of your ability prevents you from having to go back and start all over again because you made mistakes.

Surround yourself with doers

            The people you choose to surround yourself with can make all the difference in the world. Surround yourself with people who set goals for themselves and get them done because it will most likely rub off on you. The people you choose to spend time with influence your actions and behaviors. Identify the people/friends/colleagues who trigger you – most likely the go-getters and hard workers – and make an effort to hang out with them more often. As a blogger who runs an advice column for the modern girl, I make efforts to hang out with and communicate with the people in my life who I believe are personal development experts. Surround yourself with people who add value, people you can ask for help and advice and people you can learn from. I also make sure to surround myself with people who I enjoy hanging out with but who also have their own goals so we can act as a support system for each other and hold each other accountable.

Turn off all digital distractions

            Instagram is literally the devil when you are trying to get work done. It is just better to be honest and turn your phone off. Social media helps you keep up with what everyone else is doing and makes you lose sight of what you should be doing.  It has also reached the stage where many times when we do work and we get stuck, the impulse is to Google not communicate with a human being.

The internet is slowly diminishing and belittling the need for human interaction and that is a crying shame. Do not misunderstand what I am saying, I love social media, I mean I am a blogger. I just think that social media and the internet should not take the place of people. Plus, a lot of the time, we start out searching for information on the internet but we quickly get distracted by a twitter or Instgram notification and that’s thirty minutes we could have been using for more valuable things.  

Get a mentor if you don't have one 

            A friend will feel pressure to sugarcoat the truth and be nice to you, a mentor will not. A mentor is a person who has achieved the things you hope to achieve and they are more knowledgeable than you are. A mentor is a person who will hold you accountable and responsible for your choices. A mentor can act as a voice of reasoning. A mentor is wise and they have developed a relationship with you to where they know under what circumstances to give you tough love and what ones to use a softer approach. They are just as invested in your progress as you are.

            So, September remember that you cannot look back and look forward at the same time. Take the time to figure out why you procrastinate because this is the first step to fixing the problem. Also, realize that you cannot fix a lifetime of procrastination by reading one article on how to deal with procrastination. It will be a process, so be sure to be patient and forgive yourself when you slip up because you definitely will. As always, I am rooting for you and me both.

                                                                                                                                  All my love,

                                                                                                                                                    Nini