The Importance of Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination makes people feel elated initially. They don’t have to deal with a situation or task at that moment in time. But, for most of these situations, there will come a time when it needs to get done. The feeling of elation turns to panic. Then panic becomes a rush to figure out ways to handle the situation.

When you compare this to people who don’t procrastinate, they may not get that initial surge of elation. However, they also don’t have to worry about the panic setting in. All things being equal, these non-procrastinators will not be as stressed out.

It’s proven that stress can lead to disease. The resources that your body needs to fend off disease will be diverted to handling your stress. Short-term stress is not likely to impact health as much as stress that is constant. However, people who procrastinate do it with all (or most of) their tasks. Therefore, they are likely to be stressed out longer term. They are the ones more at risk of getting stress related disorders.

Procrastination can often impact others in the procrastinator’s social circle as well. For instance, your friend may be depending on you to book a holiday for the two of you. If you miss the booking deadline, you can't go. Most friends will not be happy with this outcome.

If you don’t learn to overcome procrastination at work, it could impact others in the organisation. For example, if you are responsible for a certain aspect of a project and miss the deadline, it may cause others on the team to miss their deadlines. Be aware they will know you are the bottleneck. This puts you in an awkward position that could eventually lead to your dismissal.

Procrastination can cause you some financial pain. You may wait to the last minute to file your taxes. But, when you do so, you may not find the necessary information needed to reduce your tax liabilities. You will end up paying more than had you taken the time to look for all your legitimate deductions, etc.

If you are worried about not getting that initial surge of elation, just remember that the good feeling you get from handling your situations on time will last much longer. It lowers your stress and makes your friends and family happier with you. It does take some effort to break the bad habit of procrastination. But, it is entirely worth the effort.

And achieving tasks when, or before, you need to, is a great way to build your self-esteem and self-confidence too. When you procrastinate, the tasks stack up in your subconscious, and lead to that little voice telling you that you're not capable, you're useless, you can't get things done on time. So don't give that voice a chance to pipe up - make a list of all the tasks you need to do at the moment, then take action and get them done. For every one you cross off your list, you'll feel better and better about yourself.