Cherina Johnson is our guest blogger.

Have you ever put off doing something for a day that ended up being for weeks, months, or even years? How about avoiding to do something because it brings up painful memories, is boring, or the task seems overwhelming? If so, well let’s talk about procrastination.

Procrastination “is the act of unnecessarily postponing decisions or actions.” Merriam-Webster defines procrastination as “to put off intentionally and habitually; to put off doing something that should be done.” When something is intentional, it means it was done on purpose. On the other hand, when something is habitual it means it is a lifestyle. When procrastination gets to this point, it is hard to break. Not impossible to break, but will be a challenge to overcome. Let me repeat it again, not impossible to break, but rest assure you are likely going to have a fight on your hands in doing so. Depending on how long the procrastination has gone on will determine the strength of the stronghold it has in your life.

In order to correct procrastination in your life, you have to first be honest with yourself and acknowledge you have a problem. Well, I make myself vulnerable and share openly that I have a problem. The two areas I would like to share about is not keeping my purse cleaned out, and allowing paperwork to pile up on me to the point of clutter. Now, I carry a purse practically every day. Starting off, I already have a lot of stuff in it; however, when I throw in receipts, paper towels, candy wrappers, check stubs, etc. over time it ends up looking a hot mess inside. Recently, my every day purse was so heavy that my husband even agreed with me that I needed to clean it out. So I made up my mind and put forth the action to lighten the load. In my private time being home alone, I poured the majority of the contents of my purse on the floor and started to separate the items into different piles; keep, shred, and recycle. It was an embarrassment to see all that “stuff” that was in my purse, and that I had allowed it once again to get to that point. Whether personally or professionally, we all need to clean out some areas in our lives so that we can grow and be more productive. The second thing is allowing paperwork to pile up on me to the point of clutter. Junk mail sits on the kitchen counter that should immediately be placed in the recyclables and legitimate mail stays unopened longer than it should, which should be promptly addressed then properly filed. What kind of things are piling up in your life?

According to (Shatz, n.d.), the following are some dangers of procrastination:

•  Academic issues
•  Employment and financial issues
•  Interpersonal relationship issues
•  Reduced wellbeing
•  Worse mental and physical health.

However, (Chua, 2022) suggests ways to break the cycle of procrastination by doing these things:

•  Break your work into little steps
•  Change your environment
•  Stop over-complicating things

If you have a problem with procrastinating in your personal or professional life I hope you were inspired “to do” something about it. Join me and make a personal declaration to stop procrastination, taking one step at a time.

Chua, C. (2022, September 26). How to stop procrastination: 14 practical ways for procrastinators. Lifehack. https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/11-practical-ways-to-stop-procrastination.html.

Procrastination. Merriam-Webster. www.https:// https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/procrastinate#:~:text=%3A%20to%20put%20off%20intentionally%20and,something%20that%20should%20be%20done.

Shatz, I.  Procrastination dangers: the negative effects of procrastination. Solving Procrastination. https://solvingprocrastination.com/procrastination-dangers/.