Do you remember Newton’s first Law of motion? It states that if a body is at rest, or moving at a constant speed in a straight line, it will remain at rest or keep moving in a straight line at constant speed unless it is acted upon by a force. You must be wondering why I’m stating the law of inertia. Well, after a long period of quarantine or staying indoors, maintaining social distancing has considerably slowed down body’s motion. The slowness and stress of dealing with the pandemic leads to procrastination. And you’re not alone.
As the pandemic drags on way beyond what we expected, it’s getting difficult to get things done. Covid-19 has spawned a worldwide psychological crisis, And it is directly impacting one of human’s harmful tendencies: Procrastination. Experts say it is not a time management problem but an emotion management problem. And practicing mindful habits can help you get over procrastination, at least to some extent.
Here are few strategies to overcome procrastination and create mindful habits:
Maintain a to-do list
Make a list of things you want to do this week/month/day. You can go old school and write on a chart paper and stick it on the wall, where you can see it every day. You get a sense of accomplishment as you see the list getting whittled down.
Speak out self-motivating statements
That way you perceive a task can alter our motivation for completing it. You can repeat a few phrases to yourself, like “there’s no time like the present” or “the sooner I complete this, the sooner I can do something that I truly love.” You can put these are reminders on your phone, twice or thrice each day, and see the difference in your attitude.
Break the task down into smaller pieces
This is the most effective and tested way to combat procrastination. Write all the steps involved in completing the task and recognise these steps in terms of time and efforts metrics. You’ll start to look at it as a manageable job that can be done with a reasonable amount of effort.
Reward yourself when you accomplish a small goal
Once these small steps are panned out and completed, you can reward yourself by taking a break or calling up a friend, or treating yourself to ice cream, or it can be anything else. But be mindful about it, and don’t take long breaks.
Don’t be too hard on yourself
Look at your accomplishments, at least once a week or by the end of the day. This will prevent you from being too harsh on yourself. Take a more positive approach consciously.
Becoming mindful, especially in this very moment, is a very powerful thing. For the mind of a procrastinator, mindfulness is a simple place to be. A dedicated 2 or 3 minutes of regular practice can make the seemingly task bearable. It goes a long way in providing the advantages of meditation. If you want to start practicing mindfulness, JoyScore can help you! You can build mindful habits by completing suggested activities in the app, which are customized as per your needs. You need to fill a short in-app survey before you start. The app is scientifically backed and has many unique features which can help you increase your joy quotient. Download the app today and experience joy!
