Procrastination and it's Downsides

Procrastination, putting off intentionally the doing of something that should be done, has negative long-term effects, and must be seriously dealt with.

 

Procrastination is an insidious disease that has plagued us all. In many cases in the past it has had serious negative effects on our results, but we simply did not notice. Just think about the assignment you could have completed days ahead so that you could participate in a rewarding event. Had you not procrastinated you would not have been forced to choose between the reward of the aforementioned event or the merit you get for completing your assignment. Hence, you were deprived of reaping the rewards of both events. Such choices may seem trivial at first, but in the long-term they do leave a deep impact.

It is often argued that procrastination is a habit that is inherent to one’s nature. While in some cases it may be true, more often than not it is otherwise. As stated by Mel Robbins, a renowned motivational speaker, it is more of a tendency that is caused by the ongoing stress in your life. If you procrastinate just because you are lazy, then you have no choice but to get yourself motivated, and do the required job when the time is right. On the other hand, as all of us have stresses in our life, we first need to tackle the factors which cause stress in our life and then we can stop procrastinating.

However, it is useless blabbering about procrastination if one cannot realize the severe harm that it causes us. If one realizes the effects of it one can easily find out the solutions. While stress is a major cause of procrastination, procrastination itself -- interestingly -- can be the source of stress and anxiety. As we impulsively try to ignore the stresses caused by procrastination, it just piles up and we are forced to do the tasks at hand under a huge pressure and  at a short period of time, producing a low quality unsatisfactory results. This behavior can be pictured as a person’s messy room. It will make do in our day-to-day life, but would you really want to open up your messy room to any guests or any outsiders?

Procrastination, while not having any obvious and tangible effects on our life, affects the single-most important factor of our life: its quality. A procrastinator is never satisfied from the decision that he/she takes and the results he/she gets. Chronic procrastination often leads to low self-confidence and deterioration in the quality of life. Palden Tamang, a student of Computer Science at Kathmandu University, admits to not feeling fulfilled with his academic results he obtained due to procrastination.

But if you are able to overcome procrastination, you can completely enjoy watching your favorite TV show or even scrolling aimlessly through Instagram because you know fully well that you have already completed your work.