“If it weren’t for the last minute, I wouldn’t get anything done.” – Anonymous

Procrastination. Lack of focus.

Are these your biggest weaknesses?

Once upon a time there was a brilliant and incredibly talented painter and sculptor.

He was also an ace procrastinator. He would only finish his work of art when his patrons threatened to stop giving him further funds.

His procrastination caught up with him late in life – he grieved that had he not given in to procrastination he would have gone on to achieve far greater levels in art and humanity.

He died a sad man.

Do you know who this person was?

None other than the great painter Leonardo da Vinci!

Had he fought off procrastination, he would have dazzled on a much bigger scale.

So what is this dangerous habit of procrastination all about, and how does one snap out of it?

Causes of Procrastination

Well, procrastination is the habit of postponing tasks until their deadline approaches or has already arrived. Procrastination is very common – almost every human puts off doing some task or the other on a daily basis.

People who procrastinate develop mental lethargy when they begin to think of any task as either Herculean (difficult) or so easy that it can be put off till the last minute – when they think in this manner, procrastination sets in, and here is how you can combat it:

Overcoming Procrastination

1. Develop mental muscles

Procrastination happens when you succumb to some of the “weak and meek” signals your brain sends you. The solution is to steel your mind and turn it into a gray-celled Superman.

Your new frame of mind must be programmed to lead you into reasoning that you are not obligated to do a certain task, rather you want to do it because it’s lying there on your plate and you’d like to get it over with before it gets rancid.

If you polish off tasks quickly, you will not feel the stress and strain that you normally feel if you procrastinate your work and do it at the nth hour.

2. Break it up, bring it down

Don’t think of a task as one humungous job that needs to be done – if you think like that, you’d have already begun procrastinating by now.

Think logically of the various steps involved in completing your task, and break it into smaller subtasks and then go about finishing them one by one.

You will get a rewarding sense of accomplishment after you finish every small task!

For example, if you have to do your tax returns, break the task down to (i) collecting financial documents, (ii) checking your bank accounts, (iii) checking expenses and grouping them, (iv) obtaining statements/certificates from companies who have given you loans, (iv) arriving at the net taxable income, and so on – we’re sure you get the idea.

3. Do something, get something

After you break up one task into small pieces, begin rewarding yourself for every sub-task you finish.

The reward can be anything – say, watching a TV show or playing your favorite game on the computer or taking a stroll down to say hi to a friend. The reward will keep you motivated enough to finish the task without screwing around on the job.

4. Create a system, and then don’t beat it

Once you get into the thick of finishing things, try and create a timetable for yourself – earmark time for fun, leisure and work, and then stick to it.

A little variation is okay, as we are all humans who will err every now and then, but on a macro level try making a system that suits you, which you can follow.

In the end, remember, no one is perfect – that’s why pencils have erasers! You’re human – you will make mistakes and learn from them.

There is no need to condemn yourself if you’ve just deviated from the track, because you can always come back on it if you follow the tips above. Good luck!