A 10

PLEASANT HABIT, BUT LIFE PARALYSIS

INTRODUCTION
Have you ever put off your planed tasks, activities or dreams?
Dear fellow toastmasters, dear guests.
Very often, we have this habit consists in postponing Decisions or Actions without measuring
the drawbacks on our life success. This phenomenon is called PROCRASTINATION.

Is it a kind of illness?

Human beings have been procrastinating for centuries. Since the dawn of time, people have
suffered from procrastination. Even the classic Greek poet Hesiod tackled this problem in his
poem “Works and Days”

Trouble persuading yourself to do the things you should do or would like to do.
Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing a task or set of tasks.
Procrastination is the gap between Intention and Action.

WHY DO PEOPLE PROCRASTINATE?

There are four reasons :

1- Ignoring the value of Time.

The time we spend on Earth is both limited and finite. In light of these facts, time is the most
valuable commodity you have. Do you know money ? Unlike time, you can borrow money,
save, or earn more. You can’t do that with time. Every single second you waste is gone
forever.

The mere realization that life is finite leads people to begin managing their time more
carefully.

2- Lack of self-discipline.
You can imagine self-discipline or self-control as a moment when you give yourself orders,
but you are having a hard time following them. It is not the primary cause of procrastination,
but an important compound. To be disciplined, you need to have the correct type of
motivation and learn to maintain and work on positive habits.

3- Decision paralysis.
Because we have more freedom to make our own decisions and to perform our actions,
we have become easily confused about what is a priority, what is essential and what is not.
 PATTERNS OF PROCRASTINATION

1-Abstract goals
People are more likely to procrastinate when their goals are vague or abstract, compared to
when their goals are concrete and clearly-defined.

For example, goals such as “get fit” or “start exercising” are relatively vague, and are
therefore likely to lead to procrastination. Conversely, a goal such as “go to the gym on
Friday right after work, and spend at least 30 minutes on the treadmill, running at high speed”
is concrete, and is therefore much more likely to lead you to take action.

2-Indecisiveness
People sometimes procrastinate because they are unable to make decisions in a timely
manner.

For example, a person might delay starting to diet, because they can’t decide which diet plan
to follow. Similarly, a person might delay getting started on their research paper, because they
can’t decide which topic to write about.

3-Fear of evaluation or negative feedback

People sometimes procrastinate because they are afraid of being evaluated or because they are
afraid of receiving negative feedback from others.

For example, someone might delay publicizing a project that they worked on, because they’re
worried about what other people are going to think about it.

HOW TO STOP PROCRASTINATING?

I select 2 tools that can help us stop procrastinating:

1-Personal vision
It helps you understand your skills and priorities. The personal vision as well helps you to
focus your effort on the right activities and set priorities to avoid continually switching
between actions. It focuses on actions, not results. It focuses on the journey, not the
destination.

2-To-Do today
Seeing the long list of tasks can frustrate us so much that we have tendencies to give up on
them completely. The To-Do Today method is there to help you get the most important and
urgent tasks done every day, while also helping you prioritize the work on your schedule and
limit new tasks. With its help, you will be able to manage much more in a day, with less stress
and tiredness.
 CONCLUSION

Seneca, the Roman philosopher, wrote: “While we waste our time hesitating and postponing,
life is going on”. This This quote precisely reveals the main reason why learning to overcome
procrastination is so important.

We need to set straight our values and personal visions and to cultivate our positive habits.
This is the essential thing that can help us overcome not only procrastination but also all the
other obstacles that life brings.

“Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today”

If you have something to do. Just do it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!