funnlearning

Rima has set up an alarm for 5 a.m. The night before, she had set up a to-do list for the next day. This time, she has decided to change her life for the better. She has promised herself to go for a jog as soon as she wakes up. But as soon as the alarm rang the next morning, she put a snooze on the alarm. She slept again. She then woke up at her regular time of 10 a.m. Initially, she felt a little disheartened. But then she picked herself up and, fully determined, sat down to study. She thought to herself that she was not going to give up on herself this time. but, as she opened her book, she got a phone call. It was a phone call from her best friend. She said in her mind that she has a long, complete day left to finish her work. And that one justification again became a distraction. The day went by. Guess what? The day for Rima went unproductive. She went to sleep again with a single thought in mind: being most productive the next day. And thus, the cycle of being in the loop of planning, being unproductive, and waking up with dissatisfaction continued.

Rima is very familiar with all of us. Many a time, we wake up with a zeal for being productive and fail. Fail to get our tasks done. We do not feel happy or satisfied about it. But still, there is something that is preventing us from being productive. Let us understand the reason for the same. What is the reason that keeps us stuck in the loop of being unproductive and dissatisfied?

1. PROCRASTINATION ACTS AS A SAVIOR

Procrastination helps the body save itself from threatening situations. So, when our mind identifies anything as a do-or-die situation,. Its natural response is to put off the task.

Suppose that when you realize that your deadline for submission of the assignment is close, your brain sees it as an incoming threat. The AMYGDALA (a set of neurons for emotional processing) releases hormones, including adrenaline, that kick off a fear response. This stress-induced panic can overpower the impulses from your prefrontal cortex, which typically helps you think long-term and regulate your emotions. And, in between this fight-or-flight response, we usually avoid the tough tasks.

• THE PRECEPTION OF TASK DIFFICULTY CAUSES PROCASTINIATION

Studies have shown that the more you perceive any task to be of higher difficulty, then there are more chances of it being put off. In one of the experiments, there were two groups. One group was told that the tasks that would be assigned to them would be difficult. The other group was not told anything regarding the task. It was found that the group, which perceived the task to be difficult, was way too ahead to put off doing the tasks.

• LOW CONFIDENCE IS THE REASON BEHIND PROCRASTINATION

It is found that a person with low self-esteem tends to procrastinate on tasks more. Research has found that laziness is not the same as procrastination. We tend to put off work due to a high fear of failure.  It is when we have this deep insecurity of not reaching up to our own expectations.

Just by hearing the story of RIMA without the reason, we could have said that she is just lazy. Or that she is not good enough and lacks competence. But none of it is true. In order to understand it, we need to grasp its deeper-level concept of our brain functioning. Once we understand the reasons behind the cycle of procrastination, we can help overcome it.

The path and ways of overcoming it are a roller coaster. Just be easy with yourself. Break the bigger set of tasks into smaller and more achievable targets. Do not get yourself into self-pity or shame if you are unable to complete your task. Rather, just try to do 1% better every day. It is these small improvements that will further pave the way for bigger success in life.

Remember that breaking the cycle of procrastination is a journey and not just a one-day task. So, be patient with yourself along the way.

Think of an offense like a foul in a game. Just like in sports, where you get penalized for breaking the rules, an offense is when you do something that is against the rules or hurts someone.

For example, if you are playing a game with friends and you cheat, that’s an offense because you are not following the rules and its unfair to others. Similarly, if you shout at someone and make them feel bad, that’s also an offense because it hurts their feelings.

But what a beautiful world it would be if we learned to pacify the offense that we may have caused to other human beings unintentionally. Let us look at some of the ways in which we can prevent ourselves from causing any future harm to others by being offensive:

1. Not knowing everything is normal—you must have most of the time heard, “How can you just not know that this is offensive?”. Accept the fact that you cannot know everything about a person. Know that there is nothing that everyone knows. Just learn that it might be offensive and thus, next time use that knowledge to not cause offense to another person you meet.
2. Show support and be non-judgmental. When someone expresses their hurt, then just be non-judgmental. Be empathetic and listen with full heart. Half of the problem is solved when a person is all ears. And, when you have fully understood what is causing harm to a person, just be a little vigilant to not repeat the same.
3. Accept that being misunderstood in professional contexts is inevitable. So, just be careful with what and how you put things up in front of others.
4. Never shy away from accepting the fact that you are wrong. It is a fact that you are wrong to have said something. Don’t let your ego play an unnecessary, bigger role in your life.

Thus, it is very important to have an open mind. And, also, being open to feedback and different perspectives. Know that there will be times when you will find yourselves in a situation where things will be a little offensive. It is normal. And, in those situations, just remember the steps that are stated above. These steps will ensure that you navigate easily through the situations.