How do I give up procrastination? originally appeared on Quora – the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Awdhesh Singh, Author of books on Spiritual Intelligence and Leadership, on Quora:
Procrastination is a bad habit which we develop over a period of time.
It is difficult to change your habits easily as they transform your nature in such a way that they become part of you.
The opposite of the habit of procrastination is the habit of impatience which makes us restlessness. A restless person wants to do everything immediately. He is always busy doing something or other never getting peace in his life.
Restlessness and procrastination are equally bad for us. We have to shun both.
You have to develop following habits to uproot the habit of procrastination without falling in the trap of restlessness.
1: Habit of Planning
You must develop the habit of planning of everything. You must never start something without having a definite plan as to how to you are going to do it. You must even have a timeframe for all your work. Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe“. If you plan everything well, you would develop confidence and improve your chances of success.
2: Habit of Living in Present
Most of us are in the habit of living in past or in future. We hardly live in present which we find very miserable. You must develop the habit of living in present and enjoy the present as a ‘great present’ of nature. When you are focused on the present, you would never think about future and never postpone anything for future.
3: Habit of Doing Unpleasant Things First
Most people chose to do the easier and pleasant things first if they have a choice. They postpone the difficult and unpleasant things for future. You must change this habit and do things first which are difficult or unpleasant. If you force yourself to do unpleasant things first, you will be only waiting to do the pleasant thing after finishing it. You would never postpone the unpleasant or difficult things.
4: Follow a Routine
I have found that following a routine helps tremendously in doing everything in time. I have fixed time for writing, reading and doing other things of life. I don’t wait for the mood to do the things I must do. I simply do it when it is the time to do it. I have given ample time for everything in my routine so that I miss nothing and cover everything. If you follow a routine, you would never postpone a thing.
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