Procrastination is a common problem among youths. You ask a student why they didn’t do their assignments on time or why they have an irregular routine (and they answer honestly), they blame ‘PROCRASTINATION’ as the culprit.

The truth is, procrastination is bigger than it looks. It can stop you from achieving your goals, taking action on important tasks, and more importantly, it keeps you away from being the best version of yourself.

Let’s understand what is this term and how it affects the life of a human being.

Procrastination means the habit of delaying work or postponing the work for some time.

But the truth is that time never comes.

You would be wondering how this affects our lives. We all know that not meeting the deadline of any work, whether it is school work or office work never yields a good result – and has consequences. These consequences may range from punishment by the teacher, poor performance in exams, no job promotions, anxiety, hypertension, etc.

So, it’s always better to take preventive measures than to suffer unnecessarily.

Here are a few tips to overcome procrastination that have been tried and tested by us at SMS Varanasi:

1. Be strict with yourself

One of the most important steps towards overcoming procrastination is to stick to our routine. Just remember one thing “Everything else can wait”. Until you are strict towards your routine, no one can generate the result for you.

Do not that whenever you are not able to follow your routine strictly, you will fall into the clutches of depression. You will keep asking yourself ‘Why am I doing this?’ This is how various problems stick to you.

So, it’s better to make the routine and adhere to it. Decide your consequences for not achieving your target for the day. It can be extra work or a cutdown in your downtime.

Believe us, this works and you become motivated to work sincerely and effectively.

2. Make a to-do list

This is also one of the good habits you should develop in order to achieve your goals. Many successful people across the globe have cultivated this habit – and it helped them achieve success. It’s highly likely that it will increase your efficiency and productivity too.

The only prerequisite is that you have to do it regularly – hourly, daily, or weekly (depending on what works best for you).

This simple habit alone can make you punctual and organized. All you need to do is to take a piece of paper and write down all the important tasks that you need to finish by the end of the day.

Read this task list repeatedly throughout the day to recall what tasks are left and what you need to prioritize.

3. Develop the habit of DO IT NOW

Delaying the work is not a good habit and it has very hazardous consequences.

Whenever you start doing a tough task, procrastination tendencies pop up naturally. After all, we all are human beings. We don’t want to work out of our comfort zones. But if you want to become unique in this world, then you have to do something special.

Just imagine what would have happened if Newton had not noticed the apple falling from the tree and researched it. We would have never learned about gravity perhaps. It was his determination to find out why things happened in a certain way and discover new things that made him stand out from the crowd.

If you also want to achieve greater heights in life, you need to learn how to climb up the ladder and have a plan ready to do it.

4. Do some exercise and yoga

When students get swamped with assignments and other tasks, the first thing that goes for a toss is their health – whether it’s their diet or exercise or sleep.

At SMS Varanasi, we believe in the holistic development of a student. Hence, we encourage them to take out some time off their daily routines and do exercise and yoga – whichever suits them best.

Being regular with yoga and exercise positively affects your health and your state of mind. They help you to remain focused throughout the day and imbibe positive energy.

Yoga and exercise are important parts of your daily routine that can help you be positive throughout the day. This positivity, in turn, makes it highly probable that you would complete your daily tasks successfully.

5. Reward yourself

As you know, encouragement boosts confidence. In a similar way encourage yourself to do better each and every day. Positive affirmations go a long way in keeping yourself motivated and definitely, which yields a good result.

Also, small achievements make the bigger ones – if you are consistent and persistent with them. So, every time you achieve something – however small it is, reward yourself by watching a short movie, a documentary, or a favorite tv show. This can help with freshening up your mind and boosting your energy level.

6. Avoid using social media

We understand that this one is hard to follow but if you want to achieve your goal, you have to do it.

Instead, you should start connecting with people around you by indulging in productive discussions. Communicating with people directly will improve your interpersonal skills and develop your personality.

We all know that using social media wastes a lot of time. In a research, it was found that students waste 95% of their time using unwanted apps on their mobile phones (including gaming apps). Social media and online gaming distract you from achieving your goal, and as a result, you will feel disappointed and demotivated.

So, it is better to interact with people around you and to stay motivated and positive.

So, friends, these were some important ways to overcome the habit of procrastination and to live a better life. Adhere to your routine and you will see an improvement in yourself.