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Humans have wired themselves to fall prey to the habit of procrastination. 

It has consumed us to such an extent that Greek philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle coined it: Akrasia

Akrasia, also known as lack of self-control and act of procrastination, is when you act against your judgment and tend to do certain things even though you are aware that you should do something else.

Does everyone fall prey to procrastination?

Even the famous writer Victor Hugo could not help himself from procrastination on drafting “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”

Hugo had planned to finish the book within a year. Instead, however, he did everything apart from writing. He realized how much he had been procrastinating only when he got a strict deadline from the publisher.

How did Hugo complete the book?

Upon receiving a less than three months deadline, Hugo locked all his clothes in a chamber. The lack of good attire forced him to stay indoors and dedicate all his time to writing. Nevertheless, he successfully wrapped up the final draft, and the book was published on 14th January 1831, two weeks early.

Why Do Humans Procrastinate? 

Procrastination can be linked to the behavioral economics of time inconsistency. Our purpose is associated with a long-term goal. However, the human mind bends towards instant gratification. Thus, we seek instant gratification. The lack of clarity when it comes to where we are and where we visualize ourselves leads to seeking ease and thus procrastinating.

How To Escape The Loop Of Akrasia? 

There are three ways to free your mind from falling into the trap of Akrasia.

Plan for the foreseeable future: Victor Hugo used the method of “commitment device” to accomplish his goal and defeat procrastination. 

It is a method to either increase the damage caused by bad behavior or decrease the efforts required to take good behavior—this trains your brain to adapt and feel comfortable.

Design A Smooth Start: The guilt of procrastination always ways more than not kick-starting an assignment. Then why do we keep it for later? Because we find it difficult to start in the first place.

A remarkable way to work is to break the assignment into smaller groups, so it is easy to start.

Work On Implementation Intention: An implementation intention is when you state your intention to implement a particular behavior at a specific time in the future. It will bring in the sense of responsibility and decrease the chances of procrastination. 

[Via]