Written by Ruby, 2021 Cohort
It was my second year at university that I started to notice that I probably got some serious procrastination issues. I have always put off some important assignments till the very end of a big deadline, and started to feel guilty and stressed whenever I needed to start doing the work. Procrastination has affected me a lot in many aspects of my life, not just the study in school, I was also postponing all my travel plans and social activities. Procrastination actually stopped me from doing all the things that could keep me moving forward in life. That’s when I started to realize that procrastination is a true problem for me.
Then, I began to study the psychology behind procrastination. I read and watched a lot of materials and personal experiences on how to overcome procrastination. Everything began to get better when I first noticed that procrastination is actually the reflection of an emotional problem than a time management problem. People are feeling stressed, anxious when they notice procrastination is causing them to fail at something. After that, “procrastinators” will be seeking a solution. If they fail to overcome the “time management problem”, they will be feeling more emotions that are related to depression, self-doubt or even low self-esteem. In reality, it’s not you, it’s the pressure you and others have been putting on you to succeed. It’s delaying your development.