Blog Marcos L. Mucheroni Filosofia, Noosfera e cibercultura

Procrastination means postponing tasks that are normal in everyday life

Credits Harvard Business Review

and other exceptional ones that cannot be postponed, the same Society of tiredness (Byung Chul-Han wrote a book) is also the society of procrastination.

Postponing tasks is counterproductive, when you want to optimize your time and have time to rest, do leisure or meditate, you need to not procrastinate and do the necessary tasks so that there is time available to feel the Aroma of Time (another book by Byung Chul- Han).

However, we can be involved in unnecessary activities, in small and large vices, which in addition to stealing our time, also steal our time to stop, rest and Be.

It is a human problem of all times, for those who believe that this happens because of new media and cell phones, which can be addictions like others, as the ancient poet Hesiod (800 BC) wrote: “leaving your work until tomorrow and the next day” is a human problem.

Harvard researcher Caroline Webb in an article in the university magazine wrote: “this is because it is easier for our brains to process concrete things rather than abstract ones, and the immediate discomfort is very tangible compared to the unrecognizable and uncertain future benefits”, Therefore, activities that take us out of our routine and place us in a social dimension, that is, with the Other, move our brain to “uncomfortable” regions.

Believing that you have to wait until you’re in a good mood to do something is a trap that can lead to procrastination. Joseph Ferrari, a psychology professor at DePaul University in the United States, discovered that the thought “I’m not in the mood to do X task” can lead to a vicious cycle.

Perform small tasks, which professor and researcher Tim Pychyl tested and confirmed the effectiveness of: “one that students started, they evaluated the tasks as less difficult and less stressful, and even more enjoyable than they thought”, so this returns the routine.

Tasks such as making the bed, preparing breakfast, removing the dishes and washing them, and others can also bring a reward, taking away stress and restoring harmony around you.

If done to do something good, and if done well, they also bring a spiritual reward and they often feel an “inexplicable” relief that is the result of doing something well.

Reference:

Webb, Caroline. How to Beat Procrastination, Harvard Business Review, 2016, Access in: february 2024, Available in: https://hbr.org/2016/07/how-to-beat-procrastination