How I overcame procrastination

First, I’ll like to ask, why do we procrastinate? Why do you procrastinate?

I used to believe procrastination was because I was lazy and I had no motivation. I remember worrying about why I just couldn’t complete my 30days of yoga lessons for beginners, why I couldn’t just continue coding and develop apps to improve my career as a programmer or even, why I start my fitness journey and quit halfway.

Asking and beating myself up severally with why am I so lazy questions. I asked my friends who are programmers what motivates them, or why do want to code for the rest of their lives? Well, asides it being what they love, a few said money and a few said to help solve problems. And still, I didn’t get what I wanted from their answers I needed to find mine.

Frankly, I’ll tell you procrastination has nothing to do with laziness and also, waiting for motivation is horse shit. I figured this out through the 5secondrule by Mel Robbins. (I dive towards self-help books) Reading this book has been so helpful to me, she developed the 5secondrule as a tool which did help her stop procrastinating and make a change in her life. And this has helped me too.

After Reading, I knew some of my unasked questions had been answered. So now, why do we procrastinate?

The 5secondrule helped me realize that I had been procrastinating because of stress. Let me explain, I had to figure out what was stressing me out and I knew it was financial stress, worrying about how I’m going to pay my bills and my fees and provide for my daily needs, so this just made me sad and I’ll always want to sleep it off and stay curled up in bed.

So In simpler words, procrastination is our response to stress.

Now, I used the 5secondrule in my own way. The 5seocndrule is about counting down 5.4.3.2.1…. And finally doing what you planned to do, just like a rocket about to be launched but this time you count down from 5.
Initially, I started with 5 then reduced it to 3. And now I am a superwoman who eventually finished her 30days of yoga lessons and created a new healthy lifestyle/daily habits.

How did I use this tool to change my lifestyle?

I was trying to achieve getting a lot done in a day like yoga, writing, working, going to the gym, eating, reading, taking a nap and drinking a lot of water. So, I’ll usually list them on a sheet the previous night (or in the morning) and get to it the next day. And the 5secondrule did help me keep up with it and now, I get a lot done in a day and I have been able to keep up with it.

Finally, if you want to stop procrastinating, I recommend you read her book “the5secondrule by Mel Robbins”. I can only share how it has helped me overcome procrastination and I tell you it is a continuous practice every day, not just in getting things done it can also be applied to different areas of your life.

5seconds away from saying something mean to your partner, from reacting, from eating that which you said you will stop.

Practice who you want to be.

If you want to make a change in your life or lifestyle, the first step is to try.

Just Sharing.

Featured Image:
Miguel Bruna