HOW TO STOP PROCRASTINATING

EFFECTIVE GUIDES TO OVERCOMING

PROCRASTINATION

John Walter

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COPYRIGHT

All rights reserved. No part of this book

shall be reproduced, transmitted, or
converted by any means without the prior
permission of the author.

©️John Walter 2023

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 Preface

My life was once at the verge of being

ruined. I was so distracted that I hardly
complete a task according to schedule, and
most times, I would abandon them. It all
happened because I kept saying, "LATER"
which most times became "NEVER." That
has really cost me a lot.

I received the hardest blow in 2015! That

was when I lost a contract worth almost six
hundred thousand dollars because I did not
submit my proposal early enough. The most
annoying part of it was that I could not in
any way justify my late submission. I was
among the first to get the advert and needed
to apply, but I kept postponing it until the
opportunity flipped away. And I had a better
chance of winning than the guy that finally
won.

Coming back home, I was so frustrated.

Especially by so many thoughts of similar

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cases. That was the day I decided to
eliminate that monster called
procrastination before it destroy my destiny.
I began attending classes and reading books
on how to break the habit. In a matter of
three months, I had finished five books on
the topic to my greatest surprise. When I
began to apply the knowledge I gathered,
my life began to move the way I wanted it to.
That was when I got to know that anger too
could be a way to a better life!

You might have been battling

procrastination for a very long time and
none of your efforts to get rid of it seems to
be working. I am sincerely begging you not
to give up yet. This book might be your final
solution. But, if it is not, I am very much
convinced that it will take you to a level
where you will need just a little push to put a
permanent end to it. I am so much
convinced about that based on the
testimonies I have gotten from readers.

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Just read the book word to word, putting
down important points and above all, make
sure you execute them because a
knowledge not executed is not better
than a knowledge not acquired.

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 Table of contents
Preface
Introduction
Part A: MIND RECONFIGURATION

● Causes of procrastination
● Forms of procrastination
● The consequences of procrastination
● Kill it or suffer from it

Part B: GETTING FIT TO GO

● Step out of the cycle

● Deal with it
● Stick to your goal

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 INTRODUCTION

The scriptural saying that "There is time for

everything" is one of those facts to which
everyone, everything, every circumstance
and every result on earth is a subject. No
wonder success is only meant for those who
don't only do what they are supposed to do,
but also, when they are supposed to do it.
Forget about the level of accuracy, any task
performed at the wrong time is already
deficient.

Still making reference to the scripture, there

is time for planting and a time for harvest
and if for any reason you fail to plant when
it is time, be sure of not getting anything
when it is time for harvest.

As far as life is concerned, inaction too is an

action. To make matters worse, while you
can control your actions to your advantage,
inaction is by default, an action tending to

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the negative direction. That is the risk we
subject ourselves to whenever we postpone
what we are supposed to do at any point in
time. Most people who live in the web of
Procrastination know this fact, but they just
can't help it. It usually appears in their new
year resolution to break the habit, but along
the line, they fall again.

You might be one of them. You might have

made so many attempts but to no avail. I
have good news! This book has come to help
you. It is strategically written to water your
way to total freedom from Procrastination.

The book is divided into two sessions. The

first session is targeted to helping you
develop the kind of mindset you must have
in order to deal with Procrastination. I call it
THE MIND RECONFIGURATION
SESSION. It is mind reconfiguration
because your mindset is already configured
to entertain it, so it is going to be
reconfigured in such a way that you will

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begin to source motivation to be timely from
within you. In this session, you will learn:

• The various reasons why people

procrastinate

• Forms of procrastination

• The consequences of procrastination, and

then

• The rewards you will get if you manage it.

This session, as the name implies, helps you

with all the mental and psychological
preparedness you need to tackle
procrastination.

After that, you will get to the second session

which teaches you the secrets that have
helped millions of people break away from
the web of Procrastination_ the same
secrets that helped me.

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Explore!

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PART A: MIND CONFIGURATION

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 CHAPTER ONE

Causes of procrastination.

Procrastination is the deliberate

postponement of decisions or actions. For
example, if someone puts off working on a
paper until the last minute, even when they
know it would be better if they started
earlier, that person is said to be
procrastinating.

Many procrastinators are aware that their

conduct is harmful to them, but they
continue to engage in it despite their desire
to do so. Accordingly, if you're a
procrastinator, you may have asked
questions like "why do I procrastinate so
much?" or "why do I keep postponing even

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though I know that it's bad for me?".
Similarly, if you're trying to help someone
else quit procrastinating, you may have
asked something similar.

Answering these questions is vital because it

will help you understand what causes
procrastination in the first place, which will
help you overcome it.
It is impossible to deal with procrastination
until the etiology is first understood.

People procrastinate because their desire to

delay outweighs their desire to act. This
occurs when their self-control and
motivation are impaired by factors such as
weariness and are countered by factors such
as fear.

The desire to act, in particular, reflects how

strongly people can push themselves to act
in the present moment. It is mostly

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dependent on people's self-control and
drive, which are influenced by a variety of
variables.

For instance, an individual's motivation and

self-control at any particular time may be
influenced by their level of fatigue and the
amount of time they will have to wait before
receiving a reward, respectively. As a result,
problems like exhaustion and uncertain
future outcomes can interfere with
self-control and motivation, which in turn
weakens people's desire to take action.
Many other problems, like depression and
low self-efficacy, can also have this effect.

On the other hand, the desire to postpone

shows how strongly people are motivated to
put off taking action when they are
supposed to. It mostly hinges on the desire
to feel better in the near term, which is
achieved by avoiding unpleasant emotions
(like anxiety of a certain task) and

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amplifying pleasant ones (like through
digital entertainment), a practice known as
"giving in to feel good." In order to
safeguard their emotions in the near term,
people wish to avoid this desire because it
entails a number of problems like anxiety
and perfectionism.

Due to these problems, procrastination

frequently involves intention-action gaps, in
which people put off doing action while
having intended to do so. The prior tale I
told serves as an illustration of this. I kept
putting off writing my project proposal until
I was ready to be sliced up.

Repeated cycles of procrastination may

result from these problems. When someone
procrastinates because they are concerned
about a task, for instance, they may perform
poorly, which increases their anxiety about
subsequent tasks and increases their

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propensity to procrastinate for the same
reason in the future.

You'll find a list of some typical reasons for

procrastination below. It is based on the
psychological mechanism described in this
section, which is often considered the main
factor contributing to procrastination.

1. A lack of time management

Procrastination may result from some time

management problems. For instance, if
someone's responsibilities are not correctly
prioritized and they are not aware of how
crucial it is to complete a task on time, they
may procrastinate on important work.

These problems are frequently caused by

underlying problems with emotion control.

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For instance, to protect their feelings in the
short term, someone who is terrified of a
work because they question their capacity to
finish it may convince themselves that the
task is easier than it actually is.

ii. Environmental issue

People can become more prone to

procrastination for a variety of reasons
depending on their surroundings and
circumstances. For instance, if there are lots
of distractions around, a student might
procrastinate more. It might take the shape
of a variety of communal activities, like
sports. People's propensity for
procrastination can be strongly influenced
by their environment.

iii. Lack of or insufficient motivation

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Sometimes people put off taking action
because they lack motivation.

If a student doesn't care about achieving

good grades or doesn't particularly enjoy the
course, they may put off studying for a test.
It can be used in other spheres of life as
well. Procrastination tends to be more
common when there is a lack of motivation.

Additionally, while some people start off

motivated, they eventually lose that
motivation, which results in procrastination.

iv. Giving attention to immediate

mood

Procrastination can occur when someone

puts their immediate enjoyment ahead of
their long-term success and wellbeing.

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Someone might put off doing what they
should do in order to watch their preferred
football team play. Additionally, a student
could put off doing a challenging
assignment because doing so makes them
feel better right away.

The majority of the time, this occurs when

people put off doing something they
anticipate will make them feel bad. This can
also occur, though less frequently, when
people put off doing something to enhance,
prolong, or produce pleasant feelings by
engaging in enticing substitutes like digital
entertainment. It is closely related to the
ideas of the pleasure principle, instant
gratification, and hedonistic delay (delaying
things out of preference for enjoyable
activities or carelessness), as well as the
pleasure principle and instant gratification
(tending to seek out pleasurable activities
and avoid unpleasant ones).

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These are all the things that contribute the
most to people's procrastination.

v. Unpleasant Task

People occasionally put off doing things

when it appears unpleasant to them. For
instance, Making a bad call might be put off
in order to avoid the unpleasant feelings
that it might elicit. I can recall a time in high
school when I put off returning my father's
call because my performance wasn't very
good and our results had just been released.
I knew he would have to question me about
it.

In addition, a task may be perceived as

unpleasant due to a variety of factors, such
as the fact that it is difficult, tedious, or
monotonous, or that it contains some level
of uncertainty. A particular social task may
be unpleasant to introverts while enjoyable

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to extroverts depending on their subjective
perception of how aversive they find it to be.

vi. Fear and anxiety

Sometimes people put things off because

they're worried or afraid of them.

Someone may put off checking their bills

because they are concerned about how
much they will have to pay. Similarly, an
author may put off receiving comments on
their manuscript because they are terrified
of being chastised.

Many things can make someone anxious or

fearful, such as failing or being poorly
assessed. These fears are frequently—but
not always—irrational because they are
overblown.

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vii. Obsessiveness

Perfectionism causes some people to

procrastinate. Because they are unwilling to
accept that their paper may have flaws, a
researcher may continue to revise it even
after it is ready to submit.

This is sometimes linked to a desire or

intention to pursue a better option later.

For example, if someone postpones

beginning to exercise at home because they
want to ultimately join a gym, even though it
would be preferable for them to begin
exercising now regardless.

viii. Feeling overburdened

People also postpone when they are feeling

stressed. For example, someone may put off

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cleaning their house because they are
overwhelmed with tasks and don't know
where to begin.

People can feel overwhelmed for a variety of

reasons, including the perception that a task
is excessively difficult or intricate. In the
context of indecision and analysis paralysis
(or choice paralysis), this is frequently due
to choice overload (or overchoice), in which
people have too many possibilities from
which to choose.

ix. Abstract objectives

Uncertain goals may cause people to

postpone more than specific and
well-defined goals. Goals such as "become
healthy" or "start exercising" are vague, and
are therefore more likely to lead to
procrastination than a concrete goal like "be
able to run on the treadmill's medium
setting for 30 minutes straight".

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Concrete goals are more beneficial when
they're connected with a specific plan of
implementation, like "go to the gym on
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday directly
after work, and spend at least 20 minutes
running on the treadmill each time".

x. Biases in cognition

Procrastination can be caused by a variety of

cognitive biases. For instance, the
pessimism bias can lead to someone
wrongly assuming that their project is
doomed to fail, discouraging them from
even trying.

There are other biases and related

phenomena that can cause procrastination
which includes:

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• Optimism bias: which can lead to
procrastination if it makes someone wrongly
anticipate that they will not encounter any
problems while working, making them feel
confident postponing until right before the
deadline. That was the cause for my late
submission, which ultimately cost me the
contract.

This also relates to the planning fallacy,

which occurs when people underestimate
the time it will take to perform a future
activity despite knowing that similar
previous activities took longer than planned.

The bandwagon effect might increase

someone's procrastination tendencies if they
observe their friends engaging in the same
behavior.
When someone behaves in a way they
perceive as positive, such as when they feel
comfortable postponing exercise because

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they ate healthily earlier in the day, they
may be more likely to procrastinate. This is
known as moral self-licensing.

• Projections bias
Procrastination cycles may be made worse
by this. When someone is confident that
they will feel just as driven the next day
because they feel inspired right before bed,
they may not take the necessary precautions
to overcome future challenges.
Procrastination may result from other
cognitive phenomena as well, such as those
that affect how people perceive work and
reward.

xi. Underlying conditions

Some underlying problems can increase the

likelihood of procrastination. For example,
ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder) might make it difficult for
someone to concentrate on work, making
them more inclined to abandon it. Similarly,

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depression can drive someone to postpone
by making them exhausted and losing
interest in the end.

• Low energy consumption

Procrastination can be caused by a lack of

mental and physical stamina. For example,
someone may put off washing the dishes
when they arrive home because they are
exhausted from working all day.
Low energy levels can be caused by a
number of factors, including a lack of sleep,
burnout (a type of emotional tiredness), and
despair.

• Inadequate self-control

Self-control (sometimes referred to as

self-discipline and willpower) represents
people's ability to direct their behavior in
pursuit of their goals, particularly when

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confronted with detrimental temptations.
Self-control is essential for properly
self-regulating one's behavior and avoiding
procrastination. As a result, procrastination
is frequently attributed to akrasia, a mental
state in which someone acts against their
better judgment due to a lack of appropriate
self-control.

Low self-control can be caused by a variety

of factors, including genetic predisposition
and tiredness. Other elements that may play
a part in this include decision weariness
from earlier decision-making and depletion
from previous self-control exertion, however
this is debatable.

Many of these topics are linked. Depression,

for example, can create fatigue, which can
enhance anxiety, which can increase task
aversiveness. Similarly, traits such as high
self-efficacy and mindfulness can lessen the
influence of anxiety on procrastination.

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In a nutshell, people postpone for a variety
of reasons. For example, one individual may
postpone because of worry, but another may
procrastinate because of a combination of
perfectionism and abstract aspirations.
Furthermore, a person can postpone for
various reasons at various times and under
various conditions, which can result in
changes in how they procrastinate as well.

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 CHAPTER TWO

FORMS OF PROCRASTINATION

Before a doctor could get rid of any ailment,

he must first of all have a certain level of
understanding about such ailment. The
same goes for breaking habits. For one to
break any given habit, he must first
understand such habit with reference to the
environment that promotes such habit and
the forms in which it manifests.

Procrastination is one of those habits and to

effectively deal with it, it is paramount that
we discuss its various forms. This will make
our journey more concrete and less
illusional.

Let's now quickly get to the business.

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Procrastination can be classified into three
types: classic procrastination, creative
avoidance, and priority dilution. It can be
difficult to determine which type you are
experiencing because multiple types of
procrastination are occasionally mixed
together. The key, however, is to determine
which types you're having trouble with and
then discover a solution that works for you.

i. Classic Procrastination

We've been there before. We've all

procrastinated on some jobs, putting them
off when we should have done them sooner.
As a result of the backlog and the effects of
the delay, we've ended up doing extra
chores.

Classic procrastination is the deliberate

postponement of what we know we should
be doing. It is frequently accompanied by a

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more "fair" alternative. For example, a
student may put off preparing for an exam
because he wants to spend time with his
friends. This is a fantastic illustration of
normal procrastination.

ii. Creative voidance

Creative avoidance occurs when you get

progressively creative in obstructing your
own progress by finding every possible way
to postpone taking action.

Creative avoidance is distinct, and it is

something that most individuals practice.
Creative avoidance is the subconscious
creation of things for yourself to do in order
to feel productive, but it's really a massive
scheme to avoid doing the things you know
you should be doing even when you don't
feel like.

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So, instead of doing what you need to do to
achieve progress, you keep yourself busy
with chores that aren't necessary. You may
feel like you've completed a lot of activities,
but in the end, you've accomplished nothing
on the things that really count.

This is what distinguishes high achievers

from mediocre performers. One thing to
keep in mind is that success and greatness
are determined not only by the activities
completed, but also by the time in which the
tasks are completed. And hyper performers
can persuade themselves to do things they
know they should do because they know the
timing is right_ even when they don't want
to.

Assume you were meant to go to the dentist

today to repair a tooth condition, but
instead you stayed at home to clean. At the
end of the day, you may feel accomplished
because your house is finally clean and neat,
nonetheless, your dental issue persists. That

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sounds intriguing. Even if what you're doing
is good, there is a time and place for
everything, and acting otherwise is wrong.

iii. Priority Dilution

This kind of procrastination differs

significantly from classic procrastination
and creative avoidance since it is not
motivated by laziness or the creation of
unimportant activities when the most
important tasks should be completed.

The nature of priority dilution is pretty

fascinating. It is a form of procrastination
used by chronic overachievers. Although it
has nothing to do with being idle,
disinterested, or distracted, the end
consequence is the same as with the first
two. For instance, if you finish the day or
leave the office without completing your top
priorities, it's not because you're being lazy,
but because you let your focus wander to

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less important but possibly more pressing
duties.

Although you might believe so, just because

you're busy doesn't necessarily imply you're
accomplishing anything. Your lack of
motivation is actually much more subtle.
Priority dilution makes it appear as though
you have a ton of tasks to complete and
plenty of time to finish them before they
build up and become too important for you
to handle. What was "other" becomes
critical.

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 CHAPTER THREE

CONSEQUENCES OF
PROCRASTINATION

A wonderful quote credited to Christopher

Parker has it that procrastination is like a
credit card: it's a lot of fun until you get the
bill. This bill is usually in the form of loss,
deprivation, stagnation or even
backwardness and failure, which we are
forced to receive with regrets. Most regrets
in life can be traced to procrastination _
after you have gotten the bill for not acting
when you know you should have acted.

Most individuals are unaware that

procrastination has an impact on our mental
and physical health in addition to our life,
productivity, and happiness. The following
are a some of the least noticeable but most
detrimental consequences of
procrastination:

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• Endangering Your Health

Your health is badly impacted when you put

off exercising or just taking care of yourself,
which is to say, putting off being healthy.
Your general health is affected for a long
time by seemingly uncomplicated actions
like getting enough sleep at night and eating
at the appropriate time.

Evidence now demonstrates the negative

effects of extreme procrastination on our
health, from cardiovascular disorders to
migraines to insomnia.

When you routinely put off checkups,

reschedule appointments, or skip workouts,
procrastination can also negatively impact
your health in the near run. The issue only
worsens, and the effects become
increasingly dire.

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There are many things one can strive for in
life, but without good health, there isn't
much.

• Wasting Valuable Time

Even though it can seem clear, most of the

time we are unaware of how much time is
squandered and lost, and we would be
surprised. Because you only have one life to
live, every time you put off completing
activities or pursuing desires, you are losing
valuable time that you will never get back.

The worst part about postponing is realizing

you're two, five, or ten years older and
nothing has changed.

This is a terrible sensation because you can't

turn the clock back. You must simply accept
the powerless feeling of regret. Nothing
beats feeling irritated at yourself when you

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know the situation might have been so
different if you had just taken that initial
move.

• Making poor choices

One of the most serious consequences of

procrastination is poor decision-making.
When you postpone, you make decisions
based on criteria that would not have
existed if you had not procrastinated.
Examples include:

Being forced to make a decision because

time is running out
Choosing whether to address a personal or
professional issue first.
concentrating on potential prospects or
returning to the work you put off
Emotions strongly affect our decisions, and
delay exacerbates bad emotions. This forces
us to make judgments that will not benefit

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us in the long run. You will make decisions
based on fear, which is never a good place to
be.

Instead of racing through decisions while

procrastinating, write them all down and
find a quiet opportunity to weigh the
benefits and disadvantages of each. You may
have already procrastinated, and there isn't
much you can do about it, but you can
influence how you make decisions in the
future.

• Destroying Relationships

The negative impacts of procrastination on

relationships are not to be taken lightly.
Often, the "procrastinator" is ignorant of the
other person's developing aggravation and
disappointment. Worse, by the time they
recognize it, it may be too late.

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Perhaps you frequently cancel plans with
family members or friends because you have
procrastinated on something that is now
non-negotiable. Perhaps your partner
begins to lose faith in you because you never
follow through on your promises and
statements.

Doing this a few times will undoubtedly ruin

any relationship, and the harm can be
irrevocable.

● Losing wonderful opportunities

How many opportunities have you

squandered because you did not seize them
while they were available? This is when the
consequences of procrastination make you
want to punch yourself.

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What you don't realize is that the
opportunity may have changed your life, but
you passed it up. Most opportunities come
just once; there is no guarantee of a second
chance. Procrastinating on a presentation or
pitch, leaving it till the last minute, and not
giving it your all are examples of less evident
squandered opportunities.

Opportunities are the world's way of giving

you more and they usually appear once in a
very long time, so do yourself a favor and
seize them with both hands as soon as they
appear.

• It Limits Your Level Of Productivity

Show me a man who explores his full

potential thereby producing optimum
results and I will show you a man who gets
things done at the right time and in the right
manner. I use to tell people, it doesn't

42
matter how smart you are, once you are out
of schedule, your effort is already deficient!

In addition, whenever you postpone till

tomorrow, what you should have done
today, you must have to postpone the one
you should have done tomorrow in order to
cover for today's lapse. This will
automatically create a cycle of
procrastination and you will need more
energy to break it than you used in creating
it. And, nobody can live out his full potential
living in a procrastination cycle.
Procrastination and achievement of full
potential are two walls apart!

• Waste Of Time

Time is the most valuable commodity we

have. It is the chief determinant of
everything that concerns us as humans.
However, this great commodity happens to

43
be the most abused and wasted of all other
commodities.

You waste a lot of time procrastinating. This

frequently leaves us with a terrible sense of
guilt and regret because we have lost
something we cannot recover. If you can
manage your time effectively, the quality of
your work and, as a result, the quality of
your results will improve.

• Lack of self-esteem

Most of the time, procrastination lowers

your self-esteem. This is one of those
never-ending vicious circles. You
procrastinate because you have low
self-esteem at times, but procrastination
only exacerbates this. This is accomplished
by lowering your efficiency. You will notice
that when you act naturally, you perform

44
better than when things are choked up and
you are worried about running out of time.

Low self-esteem can influence you in a

variety of ways throughout your life. So
finish that task, and you'll feel better about
yourself, kicking off a positive cycle instead!

• Insufficient Sleep

People who procrastinate frequently have a

significant level of disturbance with their
sleeping routine. Instead of going to bed on
time, they may wind up delaying it in order
to finish a movie series.

Others, in order to cover up for what they

are supposed to end up working until late at
night. This is commonly experienced by
office workers who need to present a specific
result or project the next morning.

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• Disrupted Eating Patterns

Procrastination also interferes with people's

eating pattern and schedule just like it does
to sleeping patterns.

• Anxiety and stress

Will reading ten books in a year be

burdensome to you? No.

What if you leave the books till the last

month and are required to finish them all
before the next year? Imagine the anguish
and distress that will cause you! And in the
end, you won't be able to finish, and even if
you can, your level of assimilation will be
very little!

Procrastination is detrimental to your

mental health because it is linked to issues
such as stress and worry. When you

46
procrastinate, you lose sleep and eventually
stress yourself, diminishing both your
health and productivity.

• Inability to concentrate

You lose attention and concentration and

lose interest in activities. Procrastination
creates mental exhaustion and, eventually,
sadness.

• Lack of self-efficacy

When you postpone, you lose self-efficacy.

You have a tendency to waste time and fail
to achieve your objectives. This leads to low
self-efficiency and might have a negative
impact on your personality. It can also lead
to low self-esteem as a result of decreased
productivity.

• Lack of Energy

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Putting off tasks results in less energy.
When you put off doing your task and can't
do it later, you have low energy and feel
drained the rest of the day.

Additionally, you expend more energy when

attempting to catch up with time than when
working at your own pace. You feel worn out
and upset with yourself as a result.

• You disliked doing things you were

accustomed to doing.

You may come to dislike undertaking tasks

or initiatives that you formerly enjoyed due
to procrastination. This all-encompassing
anger could extend to other regular tasks
like getting up on time, going to the gym, or
doing the dishes.

People frequently believe that the system is

against them when they are feeling
resentment about a particular duty. Some

48
people, who previously didn't feel this way,
start to dislike following the rules or think
they are excessively strict.

• You begin blaming other people for

your tardiness

Procrastination has a variety of

manifestations that might affect mental
health. They could be frustrated, helpless, or
angry.

It could be difficult for you to acknowledge

your fear or take ownership of your subpar
performance. While other individuals or
external factors may occasionally contribute
to your inability to complete a project,
placing the blame elsewhere can make the
issue worse.

• You Strive For Perfection

49
Perfectionism is frequently described as fear
disguised. It might be difficult for people
who prefer things done "perfectly" to
tolerate faults and blunders in their lives.
They'll criticize themselves for failing to get
the intended result. They frequently hold
people to the same unattainable standards.

Perfectionists favor working alone on

projects rather than assigning labor to
others. They worry that the partners won't
provide what is required.

Procrastination might be to blame if you're

displaying perfectionism behaviors you've
never displayed before.

Many people are unaware that

procrastination might have psychological
roots. If left unattended, the circumstance
might develop worse and have implications

50
like marital problems or being fired from a
job.

• Developing Limiting Beliefs

When you put something off and continue to
put it off, you begin to form and then
reinforce limiting beliefs about yourself and
your potential in life. When these beliefs
become your identity, you begin to delay
more and more.

When you lose faith in yourself and your

abilities, you fail to realize your full
potential and begin to go into a downward
cycle in life. You will increasingly regard
yourself as a failure, continue to doubt
yourself, and just produce more of what you
don't want.

Learning to successfully control your

emotions is essential for managing
procrastination and avoiding adopting
restrictive views about yourself that damage

51
your achievement and overall pleasure in
life.

• Undermining Your Goals

When we think about objectives, about

wanting to achieve or improve something,
procrastination tends to kick in full force.

You may have a tremendous desire to

change, but you simply cannot seem to take
the initial step. Maybe you create a goal for
yourself but don't follow through.

Normally, this is intriguing and

confounding. "Why is it so difficult to go for
something I want so badly?" you may
wonder.

Only you can answer it, and you'll need to go

deeper into the resistance.

52
We make goals because we want to improve
our lives in some way. If you don't do
anything because of procrastination, you
limit your chances of improving your life.

Determine the root reason of your

procrastination if it is preventing you from
reaching your goals, or you may never reach
them.

• Destroying Your Career

The manner you work has a direct impact on

how much you achieve and how well you
perform. If you are continually
procrastinating, the impacts of
procrastination might be damaging to your
job.

Procrastination can keep you from meeting

deadlines or fulfilling your monthly goals.

53
What effect will this have on your career in
the long run?
Is this the type of work ethic you wish to
emulate?
Will this have an impact on your clients,
coworkers, employer, company, or
business?
You may miss out on promotions or even
risk losing your job. You can try to hide it for
a while, but long-term work procrastination
will almost likely harm your career.

• Endangering Your Reputation

When you repeatedly state that you'll do

something and then don't, your reputation
suffers. Nobody wants empty words.

You are harming your own reputation as

well as your self-esteem and confidence. You
will notice that it becomes easier to

54
procrastinate each time because you are no
longer surprised yourself.

People may cease relying on you and

withhold opportunities from you because
they are concerned that you would simply
procrastinate, leaving them to clean up the
mess.

Even if you already have a reputation as a

procrastinator, you can change your ways.
When someone asks you to accomplish
something, use all of the tools at your
disposal to complete it on time. Each time
you complete a request, your reputation will
begin to improve, leading to more
possibilities of better relationships with
those around you.

55
 KILL IT OR SUFFER FROM IT

Having gone through the numerous

consequences of procrastination, I know you
must have decided to take a new leaf. If
that's the case, you must have started
calculating in your mind how you will get rid
of it.

The truth is that it is up to you to decide

whether to tackle it or not. The choice is
absolutely yours, but permit me to suggest
for you. You need to get rid of it.

Consider those wonderful dreams of yours;

the good life you wish to step into in the
nearest future; the mind-blowing
achievements you want to make_ all these
will be a mere illusion if you don't deal with
procrastination and get serious with life. In

56
life, we don't get what we want, we get what
we work for! So stop wishing and start
working. And dealing with procrastination is
one of those works you need to get done.

It is difficult to deal with a habit, but the

truth is that it is possible with
determination. I know many people that
have battled their way out of one bad habit
or the other. You too can be one of them.

All it takes is a decision_ which I'm sure you

have made. That is the only reason why I'm
here to help you.

Soo, let's ride on!

57
Part B: Getting Fit To Go

58
 Chapter four

STEP OUT OF THE CYCLE

A procrastination cycle is a pattern of

behavior that people go through repeatedly
when they unnecessarily delay taking
actions for a specific reason, increasing their
likelihood of procrastinating for the same
reason in the future.

A procrastination cycle can occur when

someone is concerned about their ability to
perform a specific task, so they
procrastinate on it, which causes them to
perform poorly, which causes them to be
concerned about their ability to perform
similar tasks, and thus makes them more
likely to procrastinate for the same reason in
the future.

59
Procrastination cycles can be extremely
problematic, so understanding them is
essential for dealing with them.

Among the cycles are:

• The emotional-regulation
procrastination cycle.

This happens when someone is afraid of

doing poorly on a task, so they delay starting
it, which causes them to do poorly in reality,
which increases their fear of doing poorly on
similar tasks, which increases the likelihood
that they will procrastinate again on similar
tasks for the same reason in the future.
Similarly, this type of cycle can occur when
someone postpones working on a task,
which causes them to feel negative emotions
like shame or guilt, which leads them to
continue postponing the task.

60
Emotion-regulation Depression, anxiety,
stress, perfectionism, pessimism, self-doubt,
self-criticism, self-blame, poor
self-compassion, and task aversion can all
promote procrastination cycles. These cycles
frequently include inactivity inertia, a
phenomenon in which passing up an early
opportunity to act reduces the likelihood of
acting on comparable subsequent
opportunities.

• Procrastination cycles caused by low

confidence and self-efficacy.

This type of cycle can occur when someone

lacks confidence in their ability to avoid
procrastinating on a task, so they don't
bother trying, which leads to them
procrastinating in reality, which further
decreases their confidence in their ability to
avoid procrastinating on future tasks,
creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

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• Exhaustion procrastination cycles.

This type of cycle can occur when someone

is exhausted from working too hard, so they
procrastinate on important tasks, which
forces them to work hard on those tasks to
finish them under intense time pressure,
which causes them to stay exhausted and, as
a result, makes them more likely to
procrastinate for the same reason again.

• Sleep-deprivation cycles.

This type of cycle can occur when someone

delays going to sleep, causing them to sleep
longer than expected, which affects their
biological clock and drives them to delay
going to sleep again in the future.

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• Online procrastination cycles.

This type of cycle can arise when someone

procrastinates on a task because they are
doing something online, which causes them
to feel awful about the task, which causes
them to continue procrastinating online as a
method to avoid dealing with the problem,
which causes them to feel horrible, and so
on. Associating a cue (e.g., feeling
frustrated) with a procrastinatory response
(e.g., checking social media) causes people
to procrastinate whenever they encounter
the cue, which reinforces their response to
the cue and increases the likelihood that
they will procrastinate when they encounter
it, and so on.

These cycles can be complicated and involve

a number of components.

63
For example, in the context of academia, the
following is a detailed account of one such
cycle:

Individuals who suffer increases in statistics

anxiety are more prone to put off
undertaking statistical activities and
assignments (for example, writing term
papers, studying for exams, and keeping up
with weekly readings) due to task
aversiveness.

Following challenges in grasping the course

material, they may be hesitant to seek
assistance from their professors or peers for
fear of exposing their procrastination and
other shortcomings. This rise in statistics
anxiety, which is caused by a fear of asking
for help and a fear of the teacher, may be
accompanied by exam and class anxiety, as
well as interpretation anxiety caused by a
fear of failure-based procrastination.

64
These factors may lead to additional
procrastination in studying for exams and
producing term papers, which in turn
increases levels of statistics anxiety. In any
event, this cycle of procrastination and
statistics anxiety is likely to continue until
both are at their highest levels.

Furthermore, people might experience

multiple procrastination cycles at the same
time, and these cycles may even compound
each other, resulting in an even deeper
downward spiral. For example, someone
may experience anxiety and exhaustion
procrastination cycles at the same time, and
their anxiety may contribute to their mental
exhaustion, while their exhaustion may
make them more prone to anxiety.

STAGES PROCRASTINATION CYCLE

65
People go through two crucial stages in the
context of self-perpetuating procrastination
cycles:

• The problem stage. At this point, the

procrastinator is dealing with a problem,
such as anxiety, fear of failure, or weariness,
which makes them more prone to postpone.

• The stage of procrastination.

At this stage, the procrastinator unduly

postpones some choice or action (i.e.,
procrastinates) due to their issue, increasing
their likelihood of experiencing the same
difficulty again.
People can be in both stages at the same
time, in the sense that they can be suffering
from the underlying issue while
procrastinating.

As a result, the main point regarding these

stages as they relate to procrastination

66
cycles is that the underlying issue that a
person suffers from leads to procrastination,
and this procrastination, in turn,
perpetuates or even exacerbates the
condition that created it.

As a result, these cycles frequently contain a

positive feedback loop, which implies that
the initial issue that motivates people to
delay also causes them to suffer more
severely from the same issues in the future.
Furthermore, people can have several
concerns that lead to procrastination, and
occasionally a single starting issue can
progress to multiple ones (e.g., an initial
fear of failure may lead to anxiety, which in
turn leads to exhaustion).

However, postponing because of a particular

issue will not necessarily result in a
procrastination cycle if the additional

67
procrastination does not intensify or
perpetuate the initial issue.

Furthermore, procrastination cycles might

include various types of stages. Notably, the
essential stages of a frequent form of
procrastination cycle that people go through
while procrastinating, which may or may
not involve the perpetuation of the issue
that caused it in the first place, are as
follows:

#1. The first stage is the intention

stage.

At this point, people aim to begin working

on their projects as soon as possible and are
generally confident in their abilities to
accomplish so.

#2. The second stage is the action

stage.

68
At this point, folks still want to get started
but keep putting it off.

For example, at this point, they may be

sitting in front of their computer, ready to
write a paper, and telling themselves that
they'll get started soon, but instead continue
to procrastinate for a few minutes at a time
by perusing social media. This stage is
frequently associated with unpleasant
emotions such as frustration and
humiliation.

The stage of choice and action. At this point,

the stress of the assignment, particularly the
impending deadline, causes people to either
give up or complete their work. If they
decide to give up, they may justify it in a
variety of ways, including underestimating
the value of the task at hand.

69
If they do manage to get to work, they can
react in a variety of ways, such as becoming
anxious due to an impending deadline or
establishing a peaceful and concentrated
flow stastate.

#3. The aftermath

This stage occurs when people have either

completely abandoned or completed the
work they were procrastinating on, and are
now dealing with the consequences of their
actions and procrastination. They may
experience a range of feelings, including
relief at no longer having to cope with the
chore and guilt at having postponed for so
long. They may also promise themselves
that things will be different the following
time, however they rarely alter their strategy
for avoiding procrastination, they instead
expect that they'll be able to rely on their
self-control next time, even though it didn't
work this time.

70
It should be noted that people do not always
go through these stages when they
postpone. For example, if there are no firm
deadlines, people may become stuck in the
problem stage indefinitely. Similarly, in
certain circumstances, people will work well
while hurrying to meet a deadline, which
means they will not establish a strong
intention to start on time in the future, even
though they may accomplish superior
results by not procrastinating.

Having highlighted the points above, you're

now ready to finally break free from those
cycles. To do so, you must first determine
what is causing it and then adopt
anti-procrastination tactics that address the
underlying causes. For example, if your
problem is that you are overwhelmed by
tasks, which causes you to be anxious about
them and thus postpone them, you can use
techniques that make you feel better about

71
your ability to handle those tasks, such as
breaking them down into manageable steps
and committing to starting with a small first
step.

72
 Chapter five

DEAL WITH IT

Procrastination is indeed a cruel monster

that you must overcome if you ever want to
grow. It has deprived many people of their
life-changing opportunity. It is a leading
cause of such an outcry like, "I wish I did it
earlier." The blame is not the problem, the
problem is still continuing the same old way.

Here is a question you should always ask

yourself each time you are tempted to say
later. Just ask yourself, "WHY NOT NOW,
WHY CAN'T I DO IT NOW?

I know that a lot of "reasonable" answers

might pop up, but also, don't forget to ask

73
yourself another very important question;
"WHAT DO I STAND TO LOSE IF I DON'T
DO IT NOW?"

If you sincerely answer this last question,

you will see that the price for
procrastination is always higher than that
momentary satisfaction it brings.

Here are some secrets that will help you deal

with procrastination:

• Gain Awareness

You can't come up with an effective solution

unless you grasp the underlying cause of the
problem. As with other difficulties, the keys
to figuring out how to stop procrastinating
are awareness and self-awareness.

Gaining adequate understanding of the

REASONS you procrastinate and the
functions it performs in your life is essential

74
for overcoming procrastination. The
solutions you seek are right there! All you
need to do is set aside adequate time for
rigorous self-evaluation. Consider the many
situations when you put off responsibilities
and the reasons for doing so.

For many people, understanding how

procrastination protects them from feeling
inadequate, and remembering it when they
are tempted to fall back into familiar,
unproductive procrastinating habits, goes a
long way toward solving the problem. Just
knowing why we procrastinate makes it
easier to stop.

• Decide to deal with it.

75
If you're feeling stuck, start by committing
to finishing a small task, any task, and
writing it down. Finish it and give yourself a
treat. Write down only what you can
completely commit to on your schedule or
"to do" list, and if you write it down, follow
through no matter what. By doing so, you
will gradually re-establish trust in yourself
that you will do what you say you will, which
many procrastinators have lost.

• Create enabling strategies

After you have gained enough awareness,

the next thing is to strategize. Just the same
way soldiers make out time to make
strategic plans whenever they want to fight
an enemy, so you must do so in order to
eliminate procrastination. Plan like you are
going for war_ war against an enemy that

76
has ruined many destinies and is set to
ruining yours.

By now, you must have known the various

occasions in which resisting procrastination
was most difficult. Try to avoid them.

Creating a daily to-do list will be very

effective, especially when you become very
determined to following through.

• Create Time Management Strategies

Time management techniques and tools are

essential for overcoming procrastination,
but they are insufficient on their own.
Furthermore, not all time management
techniques are equally effective in dealing
with procrastination. Some time
management techniques can help you

77
overcome procrastination, while others can
make it worse. Those that reduce anxiety
and fear while emphasizing the satisfaction
and rewards of completing tasks are the
most effective. Those who are rigid,
emphasize the importance of tasks, and
raise anxiety can actually increase
procrastination and thus be
counter-productive. Scheduling every
minute of your day will be
counterproductive as you will get tired on
the way thus causing Procrastination. To
avoid this, set out a reasonable number of
tasks for each day. Also, including time for
rest and hobbies will also increase your
chance of achieving your daily goal. It will
also make it fun and worthwhile.

• Motivation

You must continue to be motivated for

PRODUCTIVE REASONS if you want to

78
overcome procrastination. When I use the
term "productive reasons," I mean
motivations for learning and achievement
that result in happy, fruitful, and fulfilling
thoughts and behaviors. These motivations
stand in contrast to doing something out of
a sense of obligation to "show off," out of a
desire to avoid upsetting your parents, out
of a desire to avoid looking foolish, or out of
a desire to avoid failing. All of these are
valid reasons—and frequently very strong
ones—for taking action, but they are
ineffective because they frequently elicit
unhelpful, unfavorable feelings and
behaviors. If you are worried about
appearing ignorant, you might not inquire,
explore unfamiliar territory, test out novel
approaches, or take the risks required to
grow and learn.

Setting and concentrating on goals is a good

way to start positive motives in motion.
Write down your personal motivations for

79
starting the task, and use a goal-setting
chart to track your progress. Keep in mind
to keep your motivation and objectives in
mind. The objectives of other people for you
are obligations rather than objectives.

• Divide up large tasks into smaller

ones.

This strategy is excellent. A variation on this

is to devote brief periods of time to a large
task and complete as much as you can in
that time with little anticipation of the
results. For instance, try taking notes on
ideas that come to mind on a paper for
about ten minutes, or skim through a
lengthy reading to get the main points.

Once you've repeated this several times on a

large task, you will have made some
progress on it, gained momentum, and will

80
have less work to do to finish the task.
Additionally, because you've made holes in
the task, it won't seem as huge (like Swiss
cheese). In other words, now that you've
begun and overcome some of the challenges,
it will be simpler to finish the task.

81
 Chapter six

STICK TO YOUR GOALS

Early in the year, we make goals. By doing

this, we are able to identify the things that
are important to us and the steps we must
take to accomplish our objectives.

Some people may want to quadruple their

income, adopt a healthy diet, spend more
time with friends and family, and exercise to
shed some pounds. But the majority of us
never start, and those who do usually give
up after a few tries. They permit themselves
to become sidetracked and stop
concentrating on their objective.

The truth is that achieving any goal requires

a certain level of consistency, and the longer
procrastination is allowed to continue, the

82
less likely it is that the objective will be
successful.

Forming a habit of staying focused is

paramount for the achievement of any given
goal and below are some steps to building
such a golden virtue:

• Define your goal

Like I've stated earlier in this book, you

must have to define your goal if you must
achieve anything in this life. Defining your
goal means stating what you want and
putting in place all the necessary parameters
for its actualization. It also extends to clearly
understanding the benefits attached to the
goals as this will be a source of motivation to
continue moving forward even when
distractions come.

83
• Set a realistic deadline

A goal without a deadline is just a mere

wish! To help you fasttrack your steps, you
are to set a deadline. This should come after
you have made unbiased considerations of
the steps you must have to pass through in
the process of actualizing your goal.

Remembering that there's a deadline for a

task and the countdown has started ticking
can help you avoid some unnecessary
excuses when it comes to being consistent.

• Start small.

Usually, when we overplan or overthink, we

procrastinate. Overplanning and creating
too many detailed action steps can only

84
make us feel stressed. If that happens, we'll
never begin.

I think the majority of us get caught in this

trap and stuck there. We get caught up in a
loop of nonstop planning, nonstop
prediction, and nonstop action. However,
we never make the initial step.

Begin modestly. Before you're ready, begin.

Start by tackling the first simple task that is
in front of you and requires your immediate
attention.

Most of the time, long-term planning and

prediction are just not realistic or useful.
Our world is constantly evolving. We don't
have nearly enough data or resources to
forecast or manage any outcomes.

Start with the first steps and when you do

that, look back to make some assessment.
Get people to review your steps and if
necessary, make adjustments and move to

85
the next. You're on the right track as long as
your direction is clear, keep moving!

• Deal with your weaknesses.

Usually, people don't develop good conduct

and habits out of thin air. We typically swap
out poor behaviors with positive ones. Point
A must be left in order to get to point B.

We can't leave point A, which is one of the

reasons we put something off. In this
instance, point B is not even relevant.
Simply said, we can't break the terrible
behaviors we have. You really wanted to
begin working out in the morning, but you
find it difficult to wake up early.

You'll hear from some individuals that you

need to clear your head. You need to be
more driven and passionate about achieving

86
your objectives. Get up and start working
out right away.

The issue is that desire and motivation are

really ethereal concepts. It's extremely
challenging to gauge, manage, or even put
under control. Action and results are
necessary before we can develop motivation
and drive. This brings up the issue of
procrastination and inaction.

Be adaptable and start by going after the

weak point. If engaging in regular exercise is
the new behavior you wish to develop, then
you have to be adaptable and begin. You can
change your routine to begin exercising in
the evening rather than the morning if you
think that will help you.

Build up the new behavior gradually, then

extend it more as needed. Go over your
choices once more: Does getting up earlier

87
to exercise really make a difference? You
don't, for the most part.

However, if you really want to rise earlier,

you can gradually change your routine after
working out becomes a stronger habit for
you.

• Give the two-minute hack a try.

Procrastination can be defeated in the larger

context of habit formation by starting small
on the weak point. But here is another tool
you can employ: Use the two-minute hack as
a tactic to assist you.

What is the two-minute hack's mechanism?

If you can finish the assignment in less than
two minutes, do it now.

88
A quick and easy task doesn't always mean
it's not significant. However, our brain
unconsciously classifies it as unimportant
and constantly looks for ways to put it on
hold. Then, all of a sudden, we completely
forget.

If you can complete the assignment in less

than two minutes, practice starting it right
away. This will free up your calendar,
prevent you from putting things off, and
give you more mental room for something
more significant and challenging.

On the other hand, start working on the

assignment for two minutes if it takes a long
time to finish. We delay when we feel
overwhelmed by the task at hand, as I
described before. We frequently end up
overthinking things and never acting.

Start concentrating entirely on the task at

hand after setting a timer for two minutes.

89
When we're in the zone, we often work on a
task until we finish it.

• Keep building good habits.

What we repeatedly do plays a very

significant role in shaping each of us. Our
behaviors shape who we are as people.
Focusing on creating routines that are based
on your desired behavior, such as making a
to-do list and exercising frequently, is one of
the greatest methods to quit procrastinating.

Recognize the pleasure and discomfort

associated with your desired behavior.
Create a flexible schedule to accomplish
them, and treat yourself once you do them.

But always remember to rest. Schedule

some downtime. This will undoubtedly aid
in mental relaxation and lessen mental
tiredness for your next duties.

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• Reward yourself

One of the ways we can lure our mind to

focus on the completion of any given task is
by creating a reward system. Rewarding
yourself after you have beaten a deadline
can help trigger the desire to pursue such a
reward when you faces a similar challenge.

91