PROCRASTINATION

 Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing a task or set of tasks.

But the question remains.. Why do we procrastinate?

To answer that, we need to understand that the main reason to procrastinate is none other than our old friend Mr, MOTIVATION. So, the amount of motivation will tell you the amount of work a person can do and the procrastination he/she can do.

There is an important theory that explains how motivation can be calculated. And yes, there is a mathematical equation for motivation too. This theory is the Temporal Motivation Theory - or TMT, laid down by Dr. Piers Steel in his book The procrastination equation. The quation for motivation is - 

MOTIVATION = (Expectancy * Value) / (Impulsiveness * Delay)

Each of the mentioned terms above are the parameters for Procrastination. 

Expectancy - how strongly you believe that you are able to complete the task.

Value - rewards that you get after completing the task as well as the experience of the task; i.e. Pleasant or unpleasant.

Impulsiveness - How susceptible you are to do a particular task, which includes distractions.

Delay - the amount of time you have from the task till it is completed to get the reward.

Thus, longer the delay, the more we procrastinate.

Human beings tend to fall for short term rewards, hence the more time consuming the task is, we tend to delay it and thus more the procrastination. Although the task might yield a greater reward, we tend to think it is too time and energy consuming and fall for the ones which we have now and instant gratification is achieved. (explained more in the blog of Marshmallow test).

To understand this better, let us imagine a situation where you are on a mission. Let's say you will pass a certain test with highest grades. So now you are split up into two parts; one your present self and another your future self. 

 Thus you are making plans for your future self. Thus your future self will always fall for long term rewards. However, the future self can only set goals, the present self can take actions. Thus when you need to take actions it is you who is in present moment taking actions and thus the future self is not involved. And this is the main reason why, because at the present moment brain focuses on the problem at hand and thus forgets the motivation for long term, resulting in a condition where you just fall for instant rewards. Thus the future self wants to score highest amount of numbers, but the present self focuses on distractions and thus the work is delayed. Your brain values long term effects which are going to take place tomorrow, but it falls for immediate gratification when it comes for present self.

To tackle procrastination there is a line which needs to be crossed. This is the procrastination line. What this line means is the boundary which if crossed leads to the change of mental state and thus forces action. Hence plotting things of what you can do at the present moment so that their cumulative effect is on the future self can help tackle procrastination. 

For example, set your daily goals to completing certain hours of studying, so that once you complete these small tasks, your brain can now be motivated and learn to lean for long term tasks and thus have a less tendency to delay in your actions, increasing the motivation and thus reduction in overall procrastination.

Other method is by asking out friends and teachers or someone with who you can share your thoughts and be focused on the task which you will be doing. Thus it will help you to stay away from all those things which weigh you down and keep a track of things that will benefit you from achieving something.{ that someone may be your family member, your friend, your better half, your girlfriend/boyfriend or teacher or psychiatrist, who ever it may be. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO SEEK HELP, as it will help you a lot}

Subtle changes like changing your work environment, can help you achieve tasks faster. Example, increase the lighting in the area for positivity; or listen to songs which will help you be more focused. Try doing workouts which will keep your brain fresh and not be lethargic. 

Sometimes if you increase the reward for your particular task, it will increase the amount of motivation and thus avoid procrastination. To put it simply, I decided to help my friend with her sweet tooth problem. So I said to her that we''ll setup a goal, that if you will not eat sweet the entire day, at the end you'll get a chocolate as reward, and if no sweets for a week you'll get a pastry, It could have worked out but due to COVID, it didn't go as planned. 

So making subtle changes can help you tackle procrastination.

For me, I play Video games which help me concentrate on two things at a time. One is the screen that shows me the game itself and the other is the gaming controller, that I need to operate without even looking at the buttons itself. It helps me because I train my hands to make less mistakes and as an aspiring surgeon, it will surely help me reduce the amount of mistakes I would do in a surgery.

So, IRONICALLY, you need yourself to have fun, in order to get yourself motivated to do a certain task. Just make sure you never forget the task itself; but have a thing in mind that if I play this game or if I do this, it will make me happy and more productive in life thus improving my mental state and thus help me achieve my goals rather than procrastinating.

NOTE: The procrastination equation doesn't show the will power. Thus will power also plays an important role in tackling procrastination because if you don't have will power, you won't work your ass off to do a particular thing.

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Author - Dr. Yogiraj Karambelkar