How to overcome this disease of procrastination that acts as a barrier to our progress? One must diagnose the disease before administering the treatment. So let us see how this disease of procrastination evolves.
We are awake in the morning and still in drowsiness. There are plenty of jobs that require our attention. In fact they are piling up. Yet, we do not feel like getting out of bed!
In order to justify our lethargy, we console ourselves saying — ‘Today is Saturday...or Sunday...’ or, ‘the manager is on leave today...’ and so on. We want to enjoy the pleasure of rolling on the bed.
If you look at the reasons for lying on bed, it is because we are enjoying it. Even after the disappearance of sleep, rolling on bed for some more time with closed eyes gives us great joy!
If there is an announcement that whoever comes to office at five in the morning will receive $ 100, will we not reach office well in advance? What is the reason for this? We consider receiving $ 100 as a greater joy than rolling on bed!
If you wish to get out of bed at five in the morning, try similar techniques to motivate yourself:
‘Helping children with their studies gives me more pleasure than merely rolling on the bed or cleaning the house gives me more joy…….’
‘All this is very nice to hear. But is it practical?’ you might ask. For this query, I want to give an example from my personal experience…..
In my school, I was a volleyball champion. I had a lot of interest in other sports too. Everyday I used to get up at five o’clock and run for two hours to build up my stamina! At the end of the marathon running, I used to be drenched with sweat. I experienced tremendous joy as though I had achieved something great.
Every Sunday, my mother used to ask me to buy vegetables. ‘My God! The vegetable market is so far away! How can I go?’ I used to lament.
‘Every day you go past the market to run in the playground for two hours. That does not seem to be difficult for you. But to go to the nearby market is so difficult, is it?’ My mother’s anger still remains fresh in my memory.
Doing push-ups in school, as punishment was difficult, whereas doing the same as an exercise was a pleasure.
What I want to convey through these examples is a simple fact. There is no pleasure in rolling on the bed after waking up. The joy lies in accomplishing the tasks coming up ahead in the day. Shift your focus and see how you can get out of bed before sunrise.
You can perform any task without procrastination on the same day itself!
Please understand that these will never return —
A word that is uttered
An opportunity that is missed
A moment that is lost.