How many years have passed since the time you said you wanted to start going to the gym? How about that small business you said you wanted to start? If you look back on this date, how many things did you say you were going to do but made excuses for, promising to do the latter? If you can relate to all these questions then you should face the fact that you are a procrastinator (and it's not something to be proud of). If you can't bring yourself to stop this horrible habit then allow us to help you with that. Here is a list of reasons why you should stop procrastinating.
It Decreases Your Productivity
With every day that you postpone something that you are supposed to have done, you become more and more unproductive. All the time that you are wasting, not achieving something that is supposed to be crossed off your checklist, for no apparent reason, is a day that you are becoming unproductive. In the long run, you'll notice how this will affect your collective results but it'll be too late. You need to stop procrastinating now, if you want a productive life.
It Increases Stress
Have you ever noticed how, regardless of you saying you are going to do something, and then not doing it or convincing yourself to do it another time, you'll find yourself thinking about that very thing for the entirety of your day? Your mind has a way of trying to notify you about things that you may have forgotten about and in doing this, when it comes to something that you may have been procrastinating about, you'll become more stressed and anxious when it is brought up. So why wouldn't you just rather get it done so that you can enjoy a peaceful and stress-free life? After all, you already have a lot of things to worry about without adding this to the equation.
It Promotes Laziness
One thing about knowing that you can choose not to do something by rescheduling it is that you will become lazy. More often than not, the reasons that people use are so that they can procrastinate on things related to them wanting to rest or do something productive. While it's okay to rest if you are really tired, it's not okay for you to use the same excuse after having been resting all weekend and you are just not ready to go to work. Procrastination is key to being lazy, so if you want to break this bad habit right now, let go of being a procrastinator and embrace doing things when you say you will do them.
You'll Lose Opportunities
Opportunities don't come when you are ready to clean up your act and find them. They come randomly and the sad part about it all is that if you miss your opportunity one time, you may have to wait decades till another opportunity aligns for you ( that’s if you won't be procrastinating then as well). You always need to be ready for opportunities and this means doing things when you say you will do them. Whether it's a job application, a networking program, a meeting with someone or a task, just do it when you say you'll do it. Don't waste the chances you get as you may never get any more of those.
It Will Hurt Your Reputation
One thing you have to understand is that all the things that you are doing and all the characteristics you convey are building up your reputation for you. Whether this reputation is good or bad is now up to you. Just keep in mind that every time you fail to finish a task on time, leg off at work, show up late for meetings and cancel meetings, you are building a negative rep sheet that people will refer to every time they talk about you. To preserve your reputation, stop being a procrastinator and tap into your inner energy and resilience so that you can be a better person and so that people can regard you more highly, due to your reputation.
It Affects Your Personal Growth
Your growth comes from all the experiences you take part in and see through. Whether the outcome is positive or negative, you will learn a lesson that will make you a better person and increase your growth. However, if you start skipping on experiences altogether, you'll miss growth opportunities that would have been tailored for you. An example is how, if you had started going to the gym last January as you promised yourself, wouldn't you have the body that you want by now? If you'd started that business venture, wouldn't you be where you wanted to be financially by now? If you notice the pattern, every time you procrastinate, you are robbing yourself of room to grow. You, therefore, need to work on this and stop normalising this uncalled-for behaviour.
It Becomes A Cycle
Once you start procrastinating, chances are that you are going to keep on at it. This is because once we attune ourselves to certain traits, we become used to it that at some point, they will become a reflex response. You should, therefore, challenge yourself to do the things that you have set for yourself, regardless of any barriers. This will help in that instead of getting accustomed to something as negative as procrastination, you will get accustomed to resilience and hard work.