Micro-Procrastination: The New Devil in the room

INTRODUCTION

With hundreds of productivity apps and software releases each day aimed at making us all more productive and efficient, there is a secret villain that stops us (the millennials and whatever you want to call the people born after them) from completing daily tasks. People call it "procrastination" which according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary means

"the act of delaying something that you should do, usually because you do not want to do it"

We have all procrastinated at some point in our lives. Be it not hitting the gym, completing projects on time, or learning new things, procrastination has been with us all throughout our lives. However, in this modern age, procrastination has transformed into something that I would like to call "micro-procrastination".

Every day, we all aim to complete certain tasks, regardless of when their deadline might be. The closer the deadline, the more priority we give to that task. However, on some days or even for weeks together, you would have noticed that you did not complete the task that would have taken you hardly a day or two to complete. In some cases, this might have been your core task, such as completing a project, a report, or a presentation. After wasting weeks together, you would have realised that you spent a month to complete this tiny task. Let’s look at what went wrong.

This is the story of how your day, week, or month passed by, even before you realized it.

THE STORY

9 AM: You brew a cup of coffee and sit at your work desk. You plan to complete a task that is part of a project and must be completed in a couple of weeks. So, you create a plan and a schedule of how your day is going to be.

9:15 AM: You open your email, and you have a few action items that you must complete, which may be sending a file, preparing a short presentation, or even completing a learning module.

9:45 AM: You are briefly interrupted by a couple of colleagues who want some data or information about a topic from you.

10:30 AM: You feel like stretching yourself and go on a short walk around the office. On the way, you meet a couple of friends and have a short chat.

11:00 AM: You come back to the office, and the inbox is again filled with more action items. You've completed them all, and it's already time for lunch.

1 PM: You come back from lunch and are a bit tired and distracted. You realise that you have not started with the task and glance at your phone to check what’s happening on the internet.

1:30 PM: You finally start with your task, but you don’t know what exactly to do or how to proceed. Although deep down inside you know the solution to it, you are hesitant to think much since you feel it will take a lot of time and have no immediate reward. Hence, you decide to do the auxiliary small tasks to satisfy yourself that you have made some progress.

3:00 PM: Tea break

3:30 PM: Some more minor tasks and clearing the inbox

4:00 PM: Thinking of evening plans

5:00 PM: Call it a day since you convinced yourself that the task would take more time and cannot be completed within that day. So you push it to the next day.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

You would have noticed that, unlike the traditional form of "procrastination," you did not intentionally postpone the tasks. Certain events happened that day in such a series of ways that the day was completed without even you getting to the main task. This cycle keeps going on for days, sometimes even weeks. You will be referred to as a low?performer," "distracted," "late bloomer," or similar terms, but deep down you know that your potential is limitless.

This is exactly what I refer to as "micro-procrastination", an issue faced by the majority of working millennials and the students who are currently in school or college.

MICRO-PROCRASTINATION

Micro-procrastination refers to the small, seemingly insignificant tasks or distractions that keep us from getting our work done.

These tasks may only take a few minutes to complete, but they add up over time and can leave us feeling unproductive. For example, checking your email every few minutes, scrolling through social media, or organizing your desk are all common forms of micro-procrastination.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT?

Unlike regular procrastination, which typically involves putting off a large task or project, micro-procrastination involves delaying small, easy-to-complete tasks. These tasks may seem unimportant on their own, but when they pile up, they can take up a significant amount of time and mental energy. Micro-procrastination also tends to be more subtle and harder to recognize than regular procrastination. We may not even realize we're engaging in micro-procrastination until we've wasted hours on small tasks instead of focusing on more important work.

HOW IS IT IMPACTING US?

Micro-procrastination can have a significant impact on our productivity and overall well-being. Constantly switching our focus from one task to another can lead to mental exhaustion, stress, and burnout. It also prevents us from fully engaging in deep work, which requires sustained attention and concentration. When we're constantly checking our email or social media, we're not giving our brains the chance to fully engage with the work we're doing.

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Tackling micro-procrastination can be quite hard and take some time. Here are a few simple techniques that can help.

• Set clear priorities to avoid micro-procrastination.
• Break tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks.
• Limit distractions during work time.
• Use time-blocking techniques to stay focused.
• Practice mindfulness to increase awareness of your own thoughts and behaviors.