September 6 is Fight Procrastination Day. It is an opportunity for you to face your procrastination issues head-on. We have all been victims of that powerful urge to push an important task to a further date. Sometimes, procrastination could be a result of the daunting nature of the task or simply because you’re not feeling up to it. No matter the reason, procrastination can be a major spanner in the works; straining mental and physical health. This observance aims at promoting efforts geared towards combating procrastination in all its forms.
Hesiod, a Greek poet, was among the first to speak against procrastination. In the poem titled “Works and Days,” Hesiod speaks to his brother, who has mismanaged his inheritance, asking him not to abandon his duties.
Although the origins of the holiday are unknown, the message is similar to Hesiod’s. We need to take a definitive step to address the issue of postponing tasks. While there are hundreds of ways to fight procrastination, it is a resilient adversary and never knows when it’s beaten. It can come disguised in different forms, but the result is always the same: delay.
Through the ages, people have tried creative approaches to fight procrastination to varying degrees of success. The winning formula seems to vary from person to person; you need to figure out what works for you. Take famous artist, Victor Hugo, who resorted to working naked in his room to focus on his work.
Hugo decided that the best way to cut out outside distraction was to have no choice but to remain indoors. With his clothes held by an assistant and only returned at a later time, he had little choice but to work. James Riley is another who resorted to such extreme measures to address procrastination issues.
In modern times, we have programs and applications that can help plan your schedule effectively. Several applications can even work as a filter according to prearranged settings to help control distractions.
Fight Procrastination Day reminds us that we’re not in this fight alone; millions are struggling with the same issues. It is, however, up to you to put in the required effort to shake this habit.
