*PROCRASTINATION* I remember one of my teachers tagging procrastination as the thief of time. I did not understand, but I have recently found out that procrastination is more than a thief; now it is an armed robber of time. A thief might secretly come without you noticing, but you see an armed robber, they come when you are aware and take from you in your presence. Procrastination comes with arms, with enough vices and weapons to forcefully take all your time. It gives you reasons not to do anything now and the benefit of postponing. Makes it seem like the best decision you can make now is to decide not to make any decision. Have you ever wondered how strategic we are when it comes to doing nothing all day? How do we know how to do everything that is not important, and avoid the real issue of life? Well, to some extent, we all find ourselves at this stage of procrastination. Procrastinating is not just laziness, but most of the time an emotional regulation problem. We are all emotional beings, and most of the time we are being directed and ruled by our emotions. Not that we cannot manage time, but our brain constantly seeks momentary pleasure. That is why when you are reading, you feel sleepy, and immediately you pick up your phone and start scrolling, you don’t feel like sleeping anymore. It’s a problem, actually, but the good side of it is that there is a solution. Procrastination is a region with a boundary, on the north by over-caution and fear, south by alibis or excuses, on the east by doubts and worry, and on the west by refusal to accept reasonability. And most of the time we find ourselves living in this territory, sometimes I do too, writing this work, I have found myself procrastinating. Procrastination usually doesn’t become an immediate problem, but over time, it can become a full-time occupation that you dedicate your life to. We are most of the time ruled by procrastination, we know we should do something, we really want to do it, but we don’t want to do it now, and we think doing it later will be better, and then later comes and we feel the same way till the silent arm robber willingly takes all our time with perfect justification. A quick solution is to adopt the opposite of procrastination, promptness. In other words, “Do right fast, then think about it later”. When should you start? Now. Usually, the problem starts, you can learn not to think about it, and you just do it; the rest is easy. Once you are thinking and checking options, you are failing already. Because the best option your brain suggests is to procrastinate and seek momentary pleasure, Starting is the problem; the journey is usually easy. When should you wake up? As soon as the alarm rings, don’t even think about it, because your body will always suggest comfort for you, and that is exactly where discipline comes in, not just motivation. People's drive are like a vehicle's fuel tank; when full, they make the vehicle function, and when empty, they do the opposite. So they need to be fueled again before they move. My mummy sometimes calls people like that, a wheelbarrow, they always need a push. When nobody is there to motivate them, they give up, but once people push them again, they are alive. The problem with that is you can never be successful like that, you need discipline to stay on track, and every other person’s motivation and compliment is an addition. Maybe how we see discipline is the problem, we assume that discipline denies us our freedom, which sets some bondage around us and deprive from something. Waking up early to study feels inconvenient; most of the time, it’s depriving us of our sweet early morning sleep, but imagine the compounding effect of that on your knowledge. Imagine all sort of ideas and knowledge you will accumulate over time. Let’s all have a shift in mindset and embrace discipline as a source of freedom and not bondage. Why is discipline related to procrastination? Staying disciplined and committed over time can form reliable habits and routines that overwrite procrastination.
