Are you experiencing Procrastination while preparing for your dream certificate in finance?

What is Procrastination?

Procrastination is to defer/delay an action. Usually a person who procrastinates is one that puts off work that should be done now till a later day or time. The word procrastinates is of Latin origin.

Each and every single one of us procrastinates, some just take it a step too much. Take me for example, this blog took me a whole day to finish as I started to distract myself with other tasks that are not as important as writing this article at the moment.

Reasons behind procrastination:

Why do we procrastinate?

Do we do so for the sake of procrastinating? Or is it because we do not want to get the job done and reap the benefits and rewards of completing our tasks on time?
For example an employee who, asked by his manager, was told to finish his report on the firm’s quarterly income statements analysis, or a student who keeps on delaying his studies till there is minimum time left, thus entering the pressure zone. Doesn’t this employee or student want to get the job done? Or is there another underlying reason behind the act of procrastination? Perhaps there are some psychological or emotional reasons behind our unproductivity.

Here are some reasons why people usually procrastinate:

• State of being overwhelmed
• Confusion
• Boredom
• Lack of motivation
• Distraction

The nature of the task or job you are procrastinating is highly correlated with the reason of procrastination. Studying for an exam can cause confusion and a state of being overwhelmed for example. Completing your daily chores at home however, could be caused by lack of motivation or boredom.

Solutions:

GTD Method:

“The most effective way to do it is to do it” said Amelia Earhart.

This quote embodies the Getting Things Done (GTD) method which was developed by consultant David Allan. This productivity system is centered around the concept of prioritization and is segregated to 5 core ideas (CCORE):

• Capture: Write down To-Do lists.
• Clarify: Clarify each item on the To-do list into smaller To-Dos, this makes the process less confusing.
• Organize: Prioritize your To-Do list in order of urgency.
• Reflect: Are you making progress? How far are you from completing your list? Take a time to reflect on your progress.
• Engage: Get Things Done. After the planning and reflecting part is done; Get Up and Get Doing, it is called a To-Do list after all isn’t it?
  P.S: Setting due dates could be a helpful tip, as it adds the element of pressure.

The 2-minute Rule:

The idea behind the 2-minute rule is that no matter how busy you are, no matter how overwhelmed, confused, bored, distracted or unmotivated you are, give yourself two minutes and as NIKE said “JUST DO IT”.

It is divided in to two parts:

Part 1: If you can finish the task in two minutes or less, do it NOW. If you are still reading this then you are not applying what you are reading, GO DO IT NOW then comeback and finish this blog.  Washing your dishes, fixing your bed, assembling your belongings and organizing your room are tasks that we usually restrain from completing, start doing them. Therefore, the first step helps eliminate tiny tasks that are usually a hurdle.

Part 2: This part is centralized around forming new habits. Not all habits can be done in two minutes. However, creating a two-minute habit that leads to doing the actual goal habit is doable. For example, if you are pursuing the CFA, your two-minute habit will be organizing your studying atmosphere before you actually start studying for your CFA. Set up your table, get your healthy energy boosting snacks, eliminate distractions and so on, all of these can be done in two minutes.

Each and every one of us procrastinates, whether  at our job, school or home, we are psychologically and by nature entitled to delay our tasks to a later time period. A lot of you will be pursuing the CFA, FRM, ICVS & CAFM certificates and are subject to experience procrastination on a daily basis. I hope this article was beneficial in your journey to upscale your career in finance and enhance your daily life routines. Set goals, write them down, prioritize them & GET THINGS DONE.

By Yazan Rai

Business Developer at IFA