My Procrastination

Procrastination can best be described as that action of avoiding doing a certain duty by always postponing the time allocated for the duty. I have an issue with procrastination, especially when it comes to folding my clothes and arranging my wardrobe. I hate having dirty clothes and so I am always cleaning my clothes, the problem comes in after the clothes are all clean and dry. Another task that I always procrastinate is reading books, I have a couple of books that I am supposed to read but I can’t seem to get past the first chapter. Any time I decide to read the books, I always find something else to do.  My procrastination issue has negative consequences in my life, not folding and organizing my clothes always cause my lateness to important events because I always have to go through the pile of clothes before finding what I want and then I will be forced to iron. My procrastination with reading books affects my grades in school because most of the times I find that by the time we have class discussions on a certain book; I have not finished reading the book yet.

There are many reasons why people procrastinate and one of them inability to manage negative moods that surround various tasks (Lieberman, p 2). The reason why people postpone certain activities and prioritize others is because some activities are boring, frustrating and others are fun and exciting. There are those other activities that are perceived to be difficult and so people get anxious and insecure about doing them because they are always afraid of the results (Lieberman, p 2). In my case, I find folding and arrangement of clothes boring and I would rather watch a movie or engage in another fun activity in its place. Reading books is just as boring for me and sometimes the books I have to read are always complicated and understanding them is not easy, which cause me to be anxious about reading them for fear that I will not understand their concepts.

Procrastination has negative effects on an individual, the things that people avoid doing because they are not fun end up causing them to be stressed and it affects their psychological wellbeing (Lieberman, p 3). In my case for instance, I always avoid reading or folding clothes because they are boring activities. However seeing the pile of clean clothes on my couch always cause me to be stressed, the unfolded clothes always haunt me making me feel like am not good enough. The same applies to my procrastination with reading books; I am always stressed when going to class when I have not read a certain book that I was supposed to read.  The feeling of stress and lack of self-satisfaction is worsened when I interact with my friends who are always ahead when it comes to reading various assigned texts and those who always have their clothes and rooms organized.

My procrastination has negative effects on my social lives, it is a common occurrence to find me avoiding having friends come over to my room or to find me engaging in class group discussions. I believe that one of the ways that I can try and reduce my procrastination is through applying the concept of self-compassion. This is where I remind myself how I feel when my room is organized, or when I have read a text and can confidently take part in class discussions without feeling inferior. I will change my attitude towards organizing my clothes by ensuring that every time I clean my clothes I fold them immediately. This will help to avoid piling more clothes that motivate more negative feelings about folding them. When it comes to reading books, I will try read a chapter every day and I can look for a partner who will help motivate me to be a better reader.

Procrastination is something that can be dealt with and I believe that I can deal with my procrastination of reading books and organizing my clothes. This is something that I have been dealing with for a while and I realize that it is affecting my social as well as academic life. The fact that I have already accepted my issue is the beginning of solving my procrastination problem. I will practice organizing my clothes every time that I do some cleaning and dedicate a certain time every day for reading. I will look for a mentor, a friend that can motivate me and help me deal with my issue of procrastination so that I can improve my life for the better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Lieberman, Charlotte. “Why You Procrastinate (It Has Nothing to Do With Self-Control).”

The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Mar. 2019,