What is Procrastination? How to remove it ?

Key wellness / productivity strategies to remove procrastination

1) Understand what procrastination really is (not laziness)

• Procrastination = mentally blocking yourself from doing work even though you’re physically and mentally capable.
• It’s different from laziness/rest because it’s a subjective mental delay without a real reason.

2) Identify the main causes

Common drivers include:

• Perfectionism: waiting to do work only if it can be done “perfectly,” which often leads to never finishing.
• Fear of failure: avoiding the task because imperfect results feel unacceptable.
• Task overload / feeling the task is too big: overwhelm stops action (especially common during exams).
• Instant gratification bias: craving immediate rewards, making long-term effort feel pointless.
• Lack of clarity: juggling too many goals or not knowing the next concrete step, causing scattered effort.

3) Practical methods to break the habit

• Use the 5-minute rule
  • Commit to doing the avoided task for only 5 minutes.
  • Example: reading a 700-page book by reading 5 pages/5 minutes daily.
• Break big tasks into micro-steps
  • Don’t think “months later.” Make a today timetable and divide work into small steps.
  • Focus on completing what fits within the current time block.
• Focus on the process, not the outcome
  • Instead of imagining future chain reactions (results, promotions, postings), focus on the next action directly in front of you.
• Remove temptation (especially mobile distractions)
  • Keep your phone aside while reading, writing, or working.
  • Don’t rely on willpower (“I’ll just watch for 2 hours”)—remove the trigger.
• Accept imperfection
  • Reality isn’t perfect; expecting mistake-free work leads to paralysis.
  • The message: do what you can, improve through experience, and practice by starting—even imperfectly.

4) Reframe “perfect readiness”

• Don’t wait to become absolutely perfect before starting.
• Improvement comes from doing and iterating (e.g., Edison’s experiments; cricket practice that requires real matches).

Presenters or sources

• Presenter: Not specified (unnamed speaker in the subtitles)
• Referenced sources/figures:
  • Plato (idea of perfection vs reality)
  • Edison (experiment/patent anecdote)
  • Sachin Tendulkar (cricket example)
  • Sheikh Chilli (story example describing outcome-focused thinking)
  • Mungeri Lal (dream example contrasting imagination vs action)