Procrastination - the sojourners of life.

 

I think when it comes to procrastination, we have to be kind to ourselves. Don’t beat ourselves up over it. Take stock and try again. Keep on keeping on right? 

The article this morning maps out why we procrastinate and how we can beat it. Written by Dr Andree Hartanto (SMU) and Tina Ng Li Yi, a 3rd year student majoring in psychology, it gives us some good tips on how to overcome this sometimes dreaded (stationary) monolith in our life.

But first, the authors differentiate laziness and procrastination. “Laziness simply means being comfortable and satisfied with not achieving anything, whereas procrastination is more complex. Procrastinators want to accomplish something, but their actions prevent them from doing so.”

And there are a few reasons for procrastination. It may be a “lack of clarity on your goal.” Or you “set goals that are too vague and abstract.” In other words, you have no concrete plans to get there, except for a few platitudes about being the best you can be.

It may also be our endless struggles with the initial inertia. As first cut is the deepest, the first step is the heaviest. 

The authors wrote: “Finally, we sometimes procrastinate simply because we can't get the ball rolling. The resistance we have to a task is usually highest before we begin, but once you start acting on it, it's a lot easier to keep going.”

Other factors may be that “at other times, fear, self-doubt and anxiety are the obstacles aligning our present and future selves.” That present and future selves part is explained as follows: -

“Procrastination is fundamentally the result of a disconnect between our present and future selves. When we procrastinate, we are indulging the present self in immediate, short-term pleasures while leaving the future self to suffer the consequences.”

“We do this because humans have a present bias that makes us shortsighted in our goals, wiring us to value instant gratification such as from funny TikTok videos over far-off rewards like the satisfaction of productivity. Thus, procrastination comes from prioritising the present self.”

You will have to read the article about the steps to take to overcome procrastination. As a summary, they suggest setting concrete and achievable goals, be time-specific, and visualise what you want to achieve. That is, to see yourself removing the obstacles, one boulder at a time. Such mental exercise is a form of self-persuasion and self-encouragement. A self-pick-me-up. 

As for the laden first step to a rewarding journey of change, the authors advise: “To overcome the inertia of getting started, identify the very smallest action. Something that's so easy you can't not do it.” And then, do it. If it’s running, well, wear the running shoes first. That’s achievable right? If it is going for a study course, sign up. Press that button or key. Enter. 

But of course, things get more complicated when we are embarking on something that takes a longer time, requires our diligence and commitment, and there are distractions and temptations along the way. Yet, at every intersection of our endeavours, midstream or otherwise, we have to ask ourselves: how much do we want it, and how much we are prepare to change ourselves to get it. 

Bearing in mind that the road to a rewarding journey is not just about taking that heavy first step, it is about a change of heart. That is the first step of the soul of the journey, and it is usually the longest - that is, from the head to the heart. 

And when we embark on the journey with the first step, that changed heart has to keep being emboldened in that same direction from strength to strength to drown out the siren calls to quit, give up and run from it all. This goes beyond not procrastinating. It requires a steely will and a sense of meaning and purpose for the journey ahead. 

Alas, let me end with what time as a whole should mean to us. I recently read a book entitled “When - the scientific secrets of perfect timing” by Daniel H. Pink, and he ended the book with this observation: -

““Taken together, all of these studies suggest that the path to a life of meaning and significance isn’t to “live in the present” as so many spiritual gurus have advised. It is to integrate our perspectives on time into a coherent whole, one that helps us comprehend who we are and why we’re here.””

Make sense? 

I guess it is ultimately about the stories we tell ourselves when we are stuck at a crossroad. Is it a story of awe or dread? Is it a story of hope or despair? Is it a story of faith or fear? 

We all need to be awed by life, once in a while, like a pit stop a car takes to recharge; that is, awed by the birth of life, by the steps a life has taken to come this far, by the love a life has received and the love the life is able to give, by the hope of a meaning beyond a life’s daily grind, and by the joy of the most ordinary a life can savour. 

In other words, do we storify our life, collaborating with it to write our own script, or are we terrified by it, groping in the blank, unwritten pages? 

The reality is, we do not just live in the present, but driven by awe, even in the simplest pleasures of everyday living, we draw upon our past the story of nostalgia, of how we have come so far, against all odds, and we imagine our future, of the hope we can draw from it, of a journey we will eventually complete to enjoy the fruits of our labour, and our perspective of time in the present is therefore widened and deepened by all that. 

By doing so, we see the clarity of our purpose, and why we are here on earth. That is the awe we need, the common thread that joins our past, present and future together. 

That is also what author Daniel Pink is talking about when he said: “...to integrate our perspectives on time into a coherent whole.” That coherent whole is our life’s story, different and unique from others, yet, it is scripted by us, on a blank canvass of endless possibilities. 

So, ready, fellow sojourner? For life awaits, let’s go.