My dear friends, here is an article written by Qaiser Abbas, who is ranked among the best motivational writers of Pakistan. I am sure all of us at some point in our lives do procrastinate. This article could help you guys to just get over it and move on in your lives.

Knocking Out Procrastination

Why do we procrastinate? Let us look at some of the reasons behind it.

Waiting for the right mood
 - You don't feel like doing it. Your mood is o_ and you are emotionally down. 


Waiting for the right time - 
You don't think that it is the right time to take action, when actually it is. 


Lack of clear goals
 - How can you feel inclined to do it when the goal is not clear? 


Underestimating the difficulty of the task
 - You thought doing it was no big deal, but when you started you realized that you would have to put in much more effort than you first thought. So why not postpone it for now? 


Unclear standards for the task outcomes
 - You started but did not have an idea about exactly what was expected. You did not know the performance criteria. 


Feeling the task is imposed on you - 
When you think you have to do it, your motivation is reduced. Your heart and mind are not fully involved. 


The task is too ambiguous - 
You finally got around to doing it but the task was too vague, unclear and blurred. Then you did not find good reason to continue. 


Fear - 
'I don't think I can do it; if I go ahead I will not succeed.'


Perfectionism
 - ‘I don't have the right skills or resources to do this perfectly, so I won't do it at all.'

After acquiring all the tools, techniques and strategies, why do people not put into use what they know? Why do people choose inaction instead of taking action?

There are fears that suppress your inventiveness; your talents and resources remain hidden, undeveloped and untapped. These fears include:

Fear of failure - 
If I were unsuccessful, how would I handle the embarrassment? It's better not to show up for this presentation. Let's procrastinate. 


Fear of success - 
If I do it this time, people will expect me to do it again. Will I be able to handle the pressure that comes with success? 


Fear of the status quo - 
If the status quo is disturbed, who knows how the new situation will turn out? Let's maintain things as they are. Why take a risk? 


Fear of perfection - 
If I started it now, I would not complete it until I achieved a level of perfection. Do I have time for perfection? 


Fear of loss - 
If I did it now, I might end up losing out on a few things.

How would you recognize in yourself the symptoms of procrastination?

Filling your day with low priority tasks from your To Do list


Reading e-mail more than once, without starting work on it
.

Starting work on a high-priority task, and almost immediately going off to make yourself a cup of coffee or check your e-mails. 


Leaving an item on your To Do list undone for a long time, even though you know its important
.

Regularly saying 'Yes' and filling up your time with unimportant tasks.

Why you procrastinate can depend on both you and the task. They can often be reduced to two main reasons:

You find the task unpleasant; or 


You find the task overwhelming

Now that you know the symptoms and reasons for procrastinating, the question is how do you crush procrastination? How do you knock it out?

ANTI-Procrastination FORMULA

The 'taal-matool' attitude or syndrome has the potential to negatively impact your results, success and even your entire life. I have created a strategy to defeat procrastination and build results faster.

I call it the IMAN TECHNIQUE.

I

M ust

A ct

N OW

So, are you ready to act now?