To do or not to do: Decoding procrastination
Nikita Saxena
Remember that one time you skipped doing an assignment because you had one more day left? Or the time you didn’t do laundry just because you didn’t feel like it, and the pile wasn’t big enough?
You were procrastinating. The term isn’t unfamiliar for any of us. We’re all guilty of having postponed an important or unavoidable task until the very last minute. One reason behind it could be negative assertion of authority, believes clinical psychologist Dr Pulkit Sharma. “For a lot of people, putting off a task that has been assigned to them is a way of rebelling. They think that by delaying it, they’re getting to have their way,” he adds.
Another reason could be “lack of adequate motivation,” says Dr Anil Sethi, a life coach. “People are more likely to postpone getting on tasks when there isn’t enough motivation or appreciation for what they’ve done. Appropriate acknowledgments and rewards always keep people motivated,” he adds.
Talking about the excuses that people make to themselves and others, Sethi laughs, and shares an instance. “Once, when a student had to make an excuse for being late to school, he told his class teacher that his parents were fighting and mumma ne haath mein ek shoe pakad rakha tha, and papa ne doosra,” he says.
On a more serious note, he explains, “To procrastinators, their excuses are genuine reasons. And then making these excuses becomes a part of their personality and they do it perpetually.”
So how can one get rid of this habit? “The first thing to do is to realise that what has to be done, has to be done,” says Sharma. “Cultivation of acceptance is key to stop procrastinating.”
Sethi believes support from loved ones is a major help. “Nothing works like positive support does. Friends and family should encourage and correct, but gently. And people should also try activities like medidation and confidencebuilding exercises,” he says.
NEGATIVE ASSERTION OF AUTHORITY AND LACK OF MOTIVATION LEAD SOME PEOPLE TO PROCRASTINATE