Procrastination can be simply described as voluntarily delaying or postponing important tasks, despite knowing it will have negative consequences.

We are all guilty of procrastination, whether we like to admit it or not, but some people are better equipped to deal with it than others.

In my case, I started questioning my lack of action back in my University days. When I realised that I always handed in my coursework late, resulting in unnecessary stress and a rollercoaster of emotions. I asked myself, ”Why do I avoid doing the coursework in advance, knowing full well the consequences of delaying those actions?”

For a long time, I continued to procrastinate, doing other less relevant things or unrelated things altogether. Part of the issue was that although I understood the coursework, I always seemed to get lower grades. My main problem was my inability to put those ideas to paper.

The lower grades and the fact that I'm my own worst critic did not help me with my procrastination. Growing up, I was never confident, so I questioned my ability to perform tasks well, was full of self-doubt, and constantly compared myself to others. My negative thoughts and low self-esteem were big contributing factors to my procrastination.

At the time, I recognised I had a problem, which was half the battle. The next question was, what do I do about it? A friend suggested steps to overcome my procrastination. He noticed I struggled putting my ideas on paper, which made me reluctant to start assignments. He recommended reading to help with this. Although I wasn't a keen reader and didn't read much as a kid, I realised it was my only option.

Next, I struggled with verbal communication. So, I began verbalising course material with my colleagues. If you can't verbalise what you learn, it’s hard to write it down. Lastly, I had trouble memorising core coursework. To address this, I wrote the material repeatedly until it was clear in my mind. We procrastinate because we find things difficult, so you need a plan to overcome those difficulties.

Starting was easy, but developing the right mindset, having the discipline, and blocking negative emotions were challenging. I'm no different from anyone else; we expect quick results when we make changes, and when we don't see them, we find excuses to quit. But I knew I couldn't quit. I had to consistently put in a little bit of work every day despite the negative emotions. It wasn't easy, but going through the motions helped me persevere. I graduated through perseverance, help from peers, and the ability to control my negative emotions.

The first thing you need to do to overcome procrastination is realise that you have an issue. Then, you need to break down your goal into smaller more manageable tasks and action them regularly. Tell your family and friends of your intention (goal), this is a commitment from you to your loved ones of your plan. This will motivate you to keep your goal alive.

Find a person that you can share your weekly progress / issues with, talking about it with someone can help you to stay focused and help you review your progress. This could be a friend who has experience in the field that you are pursuing or someone who is heading in the same direction as you.

And finally find a community of like-minded people. If you surround yourself with people who are as excited as you about the same things, achieving your goal becomes much easier.