Postponing Tasks at Hand

The postponing muscle is what mentally causes you to leave things for the very last moment. This used to happen to me a lot, but I’ve changed my habits recently.

Let’s look at the following scenerio:

Your at home, and you have to work on a large presentation for tomorrow. You know it will take a long time, but you haven’t exactly planned how long. You go to the kitchen, eat some food, move over to the living room, prop down on the couch, and watch television for a few hours. Then you remember about the presentation, so on your way back to your office, you grab a quick snack. When you finally sit down at the computer, you spend another hour reading emails and surfing the net. You look over at the clock and gasp as you realize what time it is.

What is your mind doing?

If there is something important you need to do, that you know will take a long time, it’s been imprinted in our minds that we don’t want to do it. It really takes a lot of self control, and if you don’t have it, you’ll get carried away in the previous scenario. Your brain is asking you what you would rather do, watch television or work on a boring presentation. Unconsciously you choose the second option, because it’s obvious which you’d rather prefer. However if you want to be successful in life, you will have to hold more self control, so that you can get the things done that need to get done.

How do I fix this problem?

Realize the punishment in not doing things right away. Ask yourself, “If I don’t do this now how will it affect me later?” In the scenario I provided above, it would require you to stay up extremely late, making you tired whilst you do your presentation the next day.

Realize the reward in doing something right away, no stress when the work is done. Being relaxed that everything is complete. Knowing that you can do whatever you want, whether it be playing video games or taking a jog, because you finished that task that was at hand.

What do I do next time I find myself in this situation?

Remember what I said, reread this post, and get started. You’ll realize that once you have started, it will be very easy to keep on going.