YOUTUBE AND PROCRASTINATION
I know you have heard about “Netflix and Chill”, but have
you ever met his ugly side cousin “YouTube and Procrastination?”. If the answer
is yes, then welcome to the club of the “I have exams in two days but I found a
series of videos of alpacas dancing to Gangnam Style to watch”.
What is Procrastination and how it started? Human beings
have been procrastinating for centuries. The problem is timeless, in fact, that
even Greek philosophers such as Socrates developed a word to describe this type
of behavior, Akrasia. Akrasia or Procrastination is the act of delaying or
postponing a task or a set of tasks. Basically, doing everything except what
you are supposed to do.
But why do we do it? You see, human behavior is almost
entirely driven by emotions. We approach what brings us positive emotions and
avoid negative ones. We procrastinate on situations that elicit painful
feelings, such as things that are boring or frustrating. And this is scientifically
proven, “Medical imaging studies have shown that mathphobes appear to avoid
maths just because even thinking about it seems to hurt”, explains Barbara
Oakley in A Mind for Numbers, “The pain center of the brain lights
up when the contemplate working on math”. It is the same for procrastinators,
“Sometimes the procrastinator thinks he or she won’t do a good carry out the
task. Often the person carries some degree of shame or guilt, and they may not
even be aware of it. With just enough shame, that it makes that already a
difficult task seems near impossible.” affirmed A. Chris Heath, a psychiatrist
in Texas.
Although procrastinators think they are delaying distress
and negative emotions for postponing tasks, they are actually damaging their
bodies and mind. Procrastination puts off an unnecessary burden on our bodies
and immune system by causing boatloads of stress and other negative emotions,
like guilt, shame, and self-criticism. Another issue is that chronic
procrastinators needlessly delay health behaviors because they are harder to
keep, such as eating healthy, exercising and even getting enough sleep. Pulling
all-nighters and putting junk food in our bodies may not be a big deal in our
heads, but in the long run, it results in serious health conditions as diabetes
or heart diseases. Not to mention the loss in energy, productivity, and
vitality, for delaying even small easy tasks. Last but not least, for the
hardcore procrastinators, the lack of self-control that causes procrastination
in the first place, may also lead them to engage in activities that are
well-known to cause physical harm, for example, smoking and excessive alcohol
use.
While it may seem like a
difficult near to impossible task, it is possible to overcome the challenges of
procrastination. Psychologists have agreed to a few tips to help us tame the
procrastination beast. Take these as some examples:
- Listening to your favorite songs while doing
your work will optimize the performance and even the quality. As well as
there are a few genres, such as “lofi” or “classical”, music that
contributes to a higher focus on the tasks.
- Breaking the work down into smaller tasks. Take this
for example, if you are writing an essay, start by planning it out then move forward into writing each paragraph. If it’s a
disorganized closet that discourages you to pull your best outfit every morning, just attack one small section at a time. No matter what is on your “to-do” list, break it down into more manageable tasks, and I promise they won’t feel so bad.
- It is very important to put aside whatever might
interrupt you from your work. Take this as an example, if you are always
tempted on chatting online with your friends, then you need to either put your
phone in another room or just turn it off. This step in probably the
hardest to keep but the one that will help you the most to accomplish your
work.
- My favorite small solution is: deciding the
reward when you finish your work. A small treat upon successful completion of a task can provide tremendous motivation. So, treat yourself for some
sushi and a face mask after working really hard on that 25-page essay or take a long hot shower after working out.
- Last, take a deep breath and face the obstacles with the right attitude. If you do that, then you can go anywhere you choose to and
accomplish every goal you want.
To sum up, procrastination is a challenge we have all faced at one point or
another in our life (Take, for example, this blog post that I had planned on
finishing two days ago). It is not always bad, sometimes procrastination can
even lead to great things, it all depends on the person. If you are someone who
works well under pressure, you are most likely to use procrastination as a tool. You have
might not even realize but your mind is subconsciously collecting ideas and
processing things at the speed of light, and that’s why you postpone it every
time. But don’t take it from granted. What I advise you is to not let the demon
of procrastination lead you in every moment of your life, it is important to
try to evolve and grow self-motivation.
REFERENCES:
Made by: Seabra, Rafaela (8606) rafaelaseabra4@gmail.com
Professor: Araújo, Patrícia
Interpersonal Skills Class
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