PROCRASTINATION: WHY IT HAPPENS AND HOW TO FIGHT IT

"You must remember this, a kiss is still a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh...". What? Got to start with something! You know, you can't just come and tell it all just like it is - you need to do it with a smooth transition. Anyway, procrastination is one of the biggest evils that plagues writers of any walks of life. That's a common fact. But there's more than meets the eye.

According to Gospel of Wikipedia, procrastination is "the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished". It is so widespread it can be considered pandemic. And it definitely is. And the only cure for it is sheer force of will. But we'll get to that a little bit later.

Everyone got their own war stories regarding not doing something because of some vaguely defined "reasons". It's almost impossible not to procrastinate at some points. Because there are so many "much more" urgent things to do (checking e-mail and social networks are amongst the major offenders). Or because the thing you need to do is so easy you'll crack it in a second without breaking a sweat. Or because the moment is not right. And so you wait and you wait and wait 'till it comes. Maybe tonight or tomorrow or sometime, one way or another. Definitely before the deadline. One hundred percent for sure. Absolutely... not.

Procrastination is the dirty word for its practitioners. In their own mind - they're not avoiding doing something, they're merely deciding how to do it the right, the best possible way. While there's a point to claim that, it doesn't justify the lack of progress.

WHY?

Trying to ignore the task will not make it go away. The most common causes of procrastination are underestimations of a variety of factors - such as complexity of a given task, time you need to accomplish it, misunderstanding of its value and lack of defined order in your working process. Let's go one by one.

Underestimation of complexity usually comes in hand with underestimation of time needed to get it done. Both come from judging the thing by the cover and being adamant about your own skills. The task might look easy if you don't examine it closely. Thus it'll be made after everything else. Even if it's matter of life and death - it will be done after compiling a list of apophenias that occurred while staring at the wall and rearrangement of pencil schlock by shaking the basket (that's strategically important!). The task may be even ridiculed at times. But then a deeper dig gives a tough time and that's where lack of organizing skills may enter the game.

Lack of defined work order is something that may seem good in theory but is completely catastrophic in reality. Absolute freedom in this case is problematic. Since the only thing you get is the thing that you take - it's important to know what and where to take. If opposite - you'll end up lost, not even knowing where to start. That's why you need to have some kind of a plan - first do some research on a subject, then forge your point of view, break it into a clearly stated points, develop a structure, etc. It's critical to examine every element and extract the thick of it.

Then comes misunderstanding of value also known as "what am I going to get from it". It usually reaches epic proportions because of sheer stupidity of short-sightedness. The problem lays in muddy expectations and desire of getting the result. There is immediate result from which you benefit here and now and there are long-term results that affect your life in a variety of unpredictable ways. For example, writing post on Facebook and getting many "likes" and subsequently comments is good now - that's an immediate result. Or - writing an article about the ways of perceiving information with thorough argumentation will bring you a nice grade, maybe some critical attention and possibly an offer to further develop your ideas on a regular basis - that's a long-term result. Some may not think about it this far and that's how potentially trailblazing results are getting marred by rushed execution.

Another cause can be described by such phrase: "This thing is very important. It may change the course of history. I have to do it right. If I don't - it will be a tragedy. I need to be ready. I need some time to do it right". In other words - fear of failing. Fundamental perfectionism can be perplexing at times. But there's nothing hideous about it. In the same time, such intensions and awareness is almost the stuff for the Bond villain in the Mirror Universe. Except for the fact that he's not a villain at all, because to be a villain you need to do something. The other side of fear of failing is fear of success. What are you going to do when your thing will blow the world away and everybody will wait for your next step. Like every "everybody". It is as paralyzing as it is completely idiotic, but that thought usually crawls inside a brain to irk and petrify.

HOW?

There are plenty of guides of how to stop worrying and kick the procrastination in the face. There's whole industry built around that. And there are millions of people who procrastinate to learn how to battle procrastination. Weird, huh? But the vast majority of them recycles simple tricks and tips. Here are the most effective:

• Analyze the way you get distracted from your work. What turns you off in your task? After rounding up the usual suspects - try do it the other way that will be exciting for you;
• Cut off the distractions. Got too many notifications rolling in? Got too many subscriptions to be looked through? Your classmate you ignored for decades needs your "Hello!"? The world is collapsing live on Facebook? Just make yourself unable to turn to these pitiful pleasures. Apart from sheer force of will - there are several software programs such as Anti-Social (http://anti-social.cc/) , Facebook Blocker (https://facebook-blocker.en.softonic.com) or Self-Control (http://visitsteve.com/made/selfcontrol/) that can help you accomplish that. With their help you'll be left with no choice but to work;
• Stop thinking about the hard road and the possible consequences. There is nothing at the moment and there will be nothing if you will not do the thing you need to do. The process may seem to be scary. But the wolf is not that scary when you're drawing it. You need to start. After all - the first draft is not the final draft. It's a foundation. It doesn't have to be perfect.
• Embrace your mistakes. Perfectionism is bad for you. Fear of making a mistake is the worst because mistakes are inevitable. You will make a lot of mistakes in the process. And you will learn something from them and you will become better because of it. You can refine every element in the process but you have to be aware that there is nothing perfect in this world. No further comments necessary;
• Stick to the plan. In order to move on nice and easy, you need to develop an order in which you're going to do it. Step-by-step plan with a clear set of goals. You need to break down your ultimate goal (finish the task) into an array of smaller ones - the plan. In film production terms the plan can be divided into pre-production (research), production (writing your stuff) and post-production (getting the thing together and polishing it) phases. With all that set - you'll be able to move smoothly to the victorious end;
• Don't do everything at once. Isolate your research, writing and editing - don't get messy;
• Set a time limit. It may seem stupid but having a ticking clock is hugely motivating on a subconscious level. There's something primal in fearing the clock ringing. With knowing your time limits you will be able to get yourself together fast and start working at maximum intensity. Those short burst are better than long winding whining around scarce sentences;

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And as the closing statement I would like to remind about good old Shia LaBeaouf and his memetic motivational speech: