Question

1. Why do people procrastinate?
2. Name three methods of avoiding procrastination that you may find useful, and why?
3. Why is it important to set goals?
4. Why is it important to schedule down time?

Answer 1

Question 01:

Procrastination refers to the action of delaying a particular task that needs to be accomplished within a particular period of time. Most people procrastinate because of the following reasons:

• Fear of failing: People procrastinate when they are too much concerned about the end results that cause a fear of failure. For example, A person may procrastinate to sing in a family gathering thinking that people might laugh.
• self-control and motivation: Lack of self-control and motivation results in exhaustion or anxiety the tends to postpone the things unnecessarily. For example, A person may not answer a phonecall thinking to call later only because he is not interested to talk to the other person at the time.
• Indecisiveness: Some people procrastinate when they are unable to make decisions at the right time. Many people keep looking for the options continuously as they look for something better than the other. For example, If an individual wants to buy a car he might keep waiting for the launch of new cars rather than buying what is available.
• Anxiety: People procrastinate because they are anxious about handling a particular task. A person who feels anxious about checking their phone bills might repeatedly delay it even though it does not solve the problem.
• Perfectionism: Too much perfectionism might delay a person to get the things done as he or she might wait for the right opportunity to get the maximum result. For example, a person might delay writing a book as he wants every line to be perfect from the start resulting in not writing anything at all.

Question 02:

Some of the methods that can be followed by an individual to avoid procrastination are:

1. By setting achievable goals: People who want to overcome procrastination need to set achievable goals in order to get the work done without delay. This can be done by including a time schedule and getting organized based on the goals set. For example, If a person wants to reduce weight instead of going to a gym directly and paying lots of money, he can start by simply walking or jogging every morning after which the activities can be improvised.

2. Using incentives: People like to get rewarded hence it is necessary to have some incentives that irrespective of how small it is. Hence it is better to use any type of incentive that can motivate to proceed further in achieving the assigned task. For example, an employee can be benefited from a bonus if he performs well in the task assigned to him.

3. Setting deadlines: Setting deadlines for each and every task help to avoid procrastination because it pushes an individual to get the things done within the specified time. The deadlines should be realistic on the other hand it should not be too lenient. For example, If an individual wants to reduce weight, the target must be set like 2 kgs per week until the final goal is achieved.

Question 03:

It is important to set goals because setting the goals gives a long-term vision and short-term motivation through which an individual can focus on getting the things done. It helps to plan and organize the available resources so that it can be effectively utilized. By setting the goals, an individual knows the direction that is appropriate and to realize the deviations if such things occur. In case of any deviations in the goals set due to uncertain situations, setting goals helps to consider the appropriate actions that can push it back on track.

Question 04:

Scheduled downtime refers to the relaxation that a person needs to get for continuously working over a particular period of time. It is important for an individual to set downtime not only to improve the physical and mental health but also to maintain a personal relationship. Being in a highly competitive environment, every employee needs to relax from work as it reduces stress and serious health issue. Studies show that at least four or five hours of downtime is needed for each and every individual in order to maintain a healthy life. Similar to the machines, the human brain needs to relax in order to function properly. Hence a scheduled downtime is very important for every individual.