Stay On Course! Overcoming Procrastination to Boost Productivity

Dithering, stalling, vacillation, humming and hawing, dilly-dallying, shilly-shallying

kicking the can down the road…these are just some of the synonyms for that most dreaded of words – procrastination!

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To procrastinate is to postpone and put off that which should be done now (and sometimes should have even been done yesterday!) There are very few of us who have not suffered from procrastination at some point in our lives. Some of us have turned our procrastination into an art form!

Well, maybe you’ve had enough of being a procrastinator. It’s not an easy thing to do, but it can be done! Here then are some of our recommendations on how you can overcome being someone who procrastinates too much.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

Did you know that as much as?20-25% of adults worldwide?are chronic procrastinators? That’s according to a 2014 study on procrastination and coping. So, why do so many people procrastinate? There are many different, invariably negative reasons why people may put things off. These include:

? depression

? anxiety

? other mental health issues

? low self-esteem

? ADHD

? high levels of stress in life

? boredom

Low self-belief can also be a determining factor in procrastination because one might lack faith in one’s abilities. A task may seem unachievable, even overwhelming, if a person believes deep down that they’re not up to said task.

It can even be a form of self-harm. That’s the assertion of?Dr. Piers Steel, a professor of motivational psychology at the University of Calgary in Canada, and the author of “The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done.”

The other side of the same coin as low self-esteem is perfectionism. A fear of failure can often be crippling for perfectionists. Those people will tend to put things off until they’re ‘more ready’ or ‘more inspired’. Sound familiar perhaps?

Technology is also very distracting, which is why procrastination has become an even bigger problem in the last 20 years. There’s always that next short clip to view on TikTok, Instagram or Youtube, always that post to be ‘quickly’ typed. Again, sound familiar?

Overcoming Procrastination: Instructors

There is often a lot of focus online regarding procrastination among students. However, online instructors can also do their bit in ensuring that students have?less reasons to procrastinate:

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• Inspire:make the learning as inspirational as possible. Make the content less stodgy and academic and more real-life practical.
• Encourage:?allow students to be actively involved in the learning process. Encourage them to speak, interact with other students and anything else that will engage them.
• Shorten:?avoid large blocks of content/learning, as it can overwhelm learners and make them put off needed learning.

Of course, instructors can themselves succumb to procrastination. A?survey of teachers in Germany?found the majority of them would put off work-related tasks at least some of the time. Online instructors have the additional challenge of having to be well-disciplined and self-motivated. It can get a bit isolating and there is always the risk, like any teaching, that the work becomes rote and even boring.

The online instructor needs to keep their motivation up and work at not putting things off. Learning or improving non-teaching skills can be an excellent way of doing this. For example,?learning more about search engine optimisation (SEO)?can be a great way of knowing how to direct potential students to your website, social media profile or presence on a training platform such as?Yip.

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Being on our platform is already a big plus, which is why knowing how to use SEO effectively can really boost your profile as an instructor. That can help you as an instructor not become a victim of procrastination.

Interestingly, at least five of the Top 10 countries above could be considered ‘developing’ countries. That demonstrates just how global online learning had become by 2022. As can be seen below, the growth of e-learning is undoubtedly strongest in less wealthy, so-called developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America, with Paraguay and Lebanon having seen an astounding rise of 98% and 97% in online learners, respectively, in just one year:

Overcoming Procrastination: Learners

There are few people who know how to procrastinate better than students, right! It can be very detrimental to learning. A?2023 study of students at an Italian university?found that those students who procrastinated added as much as 18% more to their workload.

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Fortunately, there are many ways in which online?learners can fight procrastination. They include:

• Be realistic:?managing your expectations wisely means putting less pressure on yourself to perform. Make a list of your limitations as a learner and then try to find ways around them. It’s easier than you think!

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• Be goal-driven:?set yourself a series of goals throughout the duration of course. Make the goals realistic and preferably small and incremental. Big goals can sometimes feel overwhelming, so breaking up your goals into smaller milestones will make your learning journey easier.

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• Be involved:?there is no denying that online learning can feel isolated and even lonely at times. All the more reason for you to get interact with both your instructor and other students where possible. Be open to ‘meeting’ your fellow students in online chat groups or following each other on social media. Remember that we are all social beings.

The Bliss of Not Procrastinating!

Here’s a short (but precious!) checklist of why it’s great to overcome your procrastination:

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• That indescribable sense of achievement!
• Being in control of your studies, career, emotions, whatever!
• Never having to say ‘I’m sorry!’
• Not having to fret!
• Not feeling bad about yourself!
• Getting on top of your emotions!
• Harnessing a positive mindset…

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?“Procrastination has been called a thief—the thief of time. I wish it were no worse than a thief. It is a murderer; and that which it kills is not time merely, but the immortal soul.” Wow! Those were the uncompromising words of the 19th?century Presbyterian minister, William Nevis.

His words may be a little extreme, but the man made a very good point. Perhaps you’ll procrastinate less of you think about procrastination as being that lethal to your precious time! At the least, it is indeed a thief of your time and, thus, your very life.