Signs you are a procrastinator and how to stop

You know you are a procrastinator if you live by the mantra ‘you work best under pressure.’ This is because you are always doing things last minute and probably all your friends have nicknamed you “the latecomer.”

It is said that most people procrastinate because they fear failing in the tasks they are supposed to be doing. However, why would someone procrastinate washing dishes? Do they fear breaking cups or plates?

Under serious circumstances, failure might be the reason why people procrastinate but the biggest fuelling factor is laziness. Here are signs that you are a procrastinator:

When you are always waking up late, getting to work late and finishing tasks late, you are definitely a procrastinator. This obviously means you are incapable of planning your time and keeping your schedule. You just let things role. Also if every time is bedtime you need to think twice about how you do things.

When you constantly find yourself starting new projects without completing previous ones, there is the problem. At the beginning of every project you are very enthusiastic and you can’t wait to start, however when the going gets tough you start creating excuses and in the long run you give up. You have no push.

When you can see how your day will end before it even begins then you have your answer. You don’t do much, you probably wake up in the morning, lounge all day maybe sleep. You are too tired to do anything and you obviously don’t exercise. And every day it’s the same story. You are a procrastinator.

Do you ever find yourself making a mess of everything? Are you always late for meetings, parties, movie night? You are always spilling coffee on people? If yes, then you don’t plan your time well. People around you have probably stopped relying on you for anything.

How you can deal with procrastination

Once you know and accept the fact that you are a procrastinator the easiest way is to start by setting small but achievable goals for yourself. You can start with small hurdles like making your bed and doing one or two house chores for a change, before moving to more serious tasks. This way you can work on your habit of sleeping all day and postponing tasks.

Since change is a process you will need someone to help you through the journey. It is not a simple thing to commit especially when you are used to giving up. When you have someone checking on you and ensuring you are on the right track, it could be a good start.

The main reason why you keep postponing things you are supposed to do is because you are tired. You don’t get enough sleep at night to restore your energy. Your sleeping patterns are compromising your daytime activities. When you get enough sleep at night, you will have enough time to do more activities during the day.

When you fail to plan you plan to fail. Whether all you have to do all day is just make breakfast and watch TV. Write it down. It will be fulfilling at the end of the day when you tick out something you managed to do as planned. Keep it positive, drop the giving up attitude and you might just start seeing things in different light.