The habit of putting off things is not really a psychological fault. It just develops over a period of time when you like to make time for other activities. Experts say it isn’t a matter of time management either. It’s just that people like doing things at their convenience. But when you stall some actions today it may have repercussions on your life in the future, hence, it is advisable to avoid procrastination.
Benjamin Franklin once said- “Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today”. It’s simple logic, if you don’t do it today, you will have to do it someday. But, if you do it today, you can buy time for other more important things. It is merely a mind game. How successfully you control your mind determines your progress.
Let’s have a look at the 15 reasons why you must avoid procrastination.
You Think You are Buying Time, But in Reality, you are Buying Stress
It is easy to say – “I will do it tomorrow”, but tough to face the consequences. If your tasks are not important you can schedule them after an important job. But make sure you finish off the given task on that particular day itself. For instance, when at work if your boss asks you to work on two presentations for the coming days, how will you manage it?
You may have to prioritize the assignments by working on the most important presentation. But if you delay working on it, you will be under constant pressure to finish the other assignments as well. Analyze how you can complete the presentations, prepare a list of the details, ask for assistance, simultaneously work on two presentations. But do not delay the task. The amount of satisfaction you’ll experience after completing one task will be enormous. It will motivate you to work on other assignments as well.
You’ll Find Yourself in An Ambiguous Situation
When you push your mind to work faster, you end up making mistakes. Last-minute efforts are always followed by more difficult situations. The best example is studying for an examination. Many students do not prepare themselves to study a few months before their exams.
Those students start studying at the last minute and end up getting confused with the syllabus. They look for the most important questions and study only those that were asked in previous examinations. Even if they pass, they score low grades. That’s not progress, that’s incompetence.
You Postpone Things at the Cost of your Productivity
Taking breaks and procrastinating are two different things. A task that requires constant attention to keep its quality intact cannot be shelved. When you postpone an indispensable action, you obstruct your productivity. How?
Well, let’s take an example. You are a brilliant baker, you bake 100 cakes (creamy ones) in a day without affecting your products’ taste, texture, shape, and quality. But for some reason, you shelve the idea of making the icing and focus on making only cake bases. But you have a target of delivering the 100 cakes (with icing) in a day. So, is it possible to deliver the cakes without the icing? No. So, what’s the conclusion? You have disrupted your productivity due to procrastination.
You May have to Spend More than Usual
Another worst consequence of procrastinating- you may have to lose extra money. For instance, your energy bill is due in the coming few days. You keep postponing to pay until the last date. But unfortunately, you forget to pay.
It’s been over two months, and you haven’t paid your energy bill yet. The energy department disconnects the supply source to your house. So, you are in the dark, left helpless, and forced to pay the fine along with the bill’s amount. So, who is at the loss? You. Hence, it’s best to avoid procrastination.
You May Put your Health at Risk
As procrastination leads to stressful situations your health may start deteriorating. Medical experts say stress can increase your blood pressure, harm your cardiovascular functions, and lead to severe headaches.
Schedule your tasks, be prompt in your actions, and calculate the effects of procrastination. Health is a valuable asset, do not risk it by delaying your actions. If you cannot complete a given task, talk to your seniors and get it delegated to your colleague. Don’t get stressed up, protect your mental health as well.
It can Lead to an Impulsive Behavior
In many situations, procrastination can be absolutely innocuous. But it directs the brain to behave in a particular way. It is often the most convenient and easy way, that the brain chooses you to do things.
So, if any of your actions aim at procrastination and it brings ease and comfort, you will continue to do the same things. This may trigger your brain to behave in a similar fashion and develop a tendency to behave impulsively to do easy things.
You Start Lying More than Before
Believe it or not, you begin to lie more than usual. It’s because procrastination makes you behave in a certain way where you look for excuses to avoid a situation. If postponing isn’t a cause for concern, then it’s absolutely fine. But delaying things should not become a habit.
Also, lying frequently should not be a part of your reasoning. If you lie and get away from a situation once, it will become a habit. If you frequently lie, people will start learning about your behavior. You’ll be judged and they’ll lose faith and trust in you.
Delayed Tasks Mean More Work Pressure
It’s simple and easy to understand. When you aren’t in a mood to finish your assignments on time, you’ll be forced to do it someday. And on that day, you may have to work twice as hard to meet your deadline.
Last-minute work is always poor in quality. It doesn’t match the standards of your work. Additionally, your reputation may be spoilt for performing a sub-standard job. Eventually, your bosses will lose confidence in you and you may lose the opportunity of promotion at work. So, avoid procrastination to maintain the standard of your work and prevent unwanted work pressure.
It will Lead to Unhappiness in your Life
It is vague, but it’s true. Consistent procrastination will become a habit someday. You will continue to behave more lethargically and become indolent. Oftentimes, you’ll also brag about how you lie at work and get your job done by others, how you trick your kids and spouse by postponing things and prevent spending money, etc.
At first, it may sound fun to you, but that will have a reverse impact on your mental health. People will start maintaining distance from you, your family, and kids will mock you for lying because when procrastination becomes a habit, others start learning about your peculiar behavior. All you’ll receive is hatred, dislikes, and negativity in return. So, that will cause desolation and gloominess in your life.
You May End-up Sitting for More Hours at Work
You delay your assignment today, but you’ll be under obligation to finish it before the deadline. So, it’s way simpler to understand either complete your job today or spend more time at work to finish it.
For instance, you are an IT employee and you are supposed to complete a coding task today. But you decide to postpone the task to attend a weekend party. What will be the repercussion? Your boss will ask you to come to work to finish off the uncompleted assignment. Result? You’ll spend your Saturday or Sunday at work. Bad, isn’t it?
Work-life Balance will Go for a Toss
Another worst result of procrastination (being lazy) is you won’t be able to maintain a good work-life balance. It’s because half of the time you’ll be delaying your actions for unimportant reasons and the other half you’ll spend in completing the job.
When will you find time for yourself? What about “me time”? What about spending time with friends and family? Procrastination will prove damaging to your personal life. That’s why it’s best to avoid procrastination and lead a healthy work-life balance.
If you’re a Travel Enthusiast, you Won’t Get to Travel
If you love to travel, you won’t get to travel if you delay your important jobs. Many people who like practicing hobbies often end up losing interest when they don’t get to practice. But if you procrastinate to enjoy a hobby, it will give you partial happiness.
Wondering how is that possible? Well, if you postpone a vital assignment for your leisurely activity, half of the time you’ll be tensed about finishing an incomplete job. Partial happiness is as good as no happiness. So, if you like cruising around, and you postpone important tasks, you’ll be obligated to finish the job the next day. That will eventually hamper your travel plans.
You Won’t Get Time for Skill Development Either
Progress depends on how polished your skills are. Both postponing skill development and delaying the current tasks will hold you back from your success. How? It’s quite simple. These days every job requires you to be updated about the latest skills required to be ahead in the race.
If you don’t find time to polish your skill-set, how will you flourish? Either you are busy procrastinating because you are too lazy or you are busy with your unproductive activities that’s why you are procrastinating. Either way, you are delaying your success. So, what’s the mantra? Avoid Procrastination!
Additional Tasks May Come Up Unexpectedly at the Last Minute
One of the worst experiences of procrastination is you may face additional complications at the last minute. The complications could be in any form, like, an additional task out of the blue, you may have to run errands, medical emergency, etc.
Furthermore, dealing with all the tasks together may wreak havoc in your life. You’ll turn irritable, capricious, and perturbed due to unanticipated tasks. So, avoid procrastination and finish all the tasks before the deadline.
You’ll Start Underestimating the Value of Time
When you procrastinate, you are ideally devaluing the time. Time is as precious as money and health. If you don’t value any of these assets, you are hindering your progress. If you start estimating that you can finish a particular task in a given time, and for that reason you postpone it, you are risking your value at work.
A habit of perpetually underestimating time will never lead you to success. Always remember, it is now or never. Time doesn’t stop for anybody, so you must value it and complete the job on time. Your success lies in your efforts. The more you respect your time, the faster you’ll reap the benefits.
Conclusion: Time is money. Procrastination is the enemy of time. You risk your time, you lose money. Take a calculated risk. Work to deliver and not to postpone. Your productivity depends on how efficiently you make use of the time. Do not take it for granted by procrastinating.
