Conquering Procrastination: A Journey Toward Discipline and Success

Last week I’ve been all about procrastination and discipline. I wanted to give you my whole story and probably ignite this fire in you. It’s all about reflection and finding what works for you. There’s no ONE SIZE FITS ALL. When I understood that I realized that I need to find my own way. So here’s my take on this. I had hard time saying it shorter so here is the full version of it 🤷‍♂️ 

Discipline is the constant human awareness of the need for action and the conscious effort to implement that action. If this balance is disrupted and there is a prolonged gap between awareness and implementation, it’s simply procrastination.

We often recognize the need for action, but sometimes this action isn’t pleasant, or we fear the implementation. This is why delays occur. We like staying in our comfort zones because it’s easy, familiar, and safe. Acting on something that scares us or requires more effort forces us out of this zone. We humans tend to stick to what’s comfortable and worry about things later, postponing the pain for the future. We choose instant gratification, seeking satisfaction elsewhere instead of getting things done and reaping the benefits of our work.

But nothing good comes from delaying action. You only postpone it for a better time, but often that better time never comes. The longer action is postponed, the more stress accumulates related to the task. Procrastination makes you stuck, and over time, it accumulates and weighs more heavily. This leads to negative self-talk, a feeling of lack of purpose, low self-esteem, and it worsens over time. There are a few problems to think about:

1. Stress and Anxiety Amplifier: Delaying tasks piles up pressure, leading to constant mental nagging and elevated stress levels.

2. Productivity Killer: Last-minute rush jobs rarely match the quality of thoughtful, planned work, undermining growth over time.

3. Cumulative Consequences: Procrastination has a snowball effect, resulting in missed deadlines, poor performance, and a tarnished reputation

Let me give you an example from my everyday life. My life often gets overwhelming. But whose life doesn't? I've got a lot on my plate—a household to manage, trainings to attend, meal plans to prepare, and a side business that needs attention. On top of all that, there's my 9-to-5 job as an engineer, which comes with its own set of actions and decisions.

When I sit down at my desk, I know there's a lot to tackle. I have important decisions to make and calls to senior engineers and management to keep projects moving forward. I’m carrying all this stress into that moment and I just convince myself to start somewhere. I still need to perform and prove that I’m working, right?

But often, I catch myself starting with easier tasks. Maybe I'll tidy up an Excel spreadsheet or handle minor tasks to ease into the day—just something plain and meaningless. Then, the temptation hits—to take a break and scroll to watch some funny shorts, just to relax for a bit before diving into the heavier stuff. Before I know it, hours have slipped by. I've filled my time with minor tasks and distractions, while putting off those crucial calls and decisions. Days turn into weeks, and suddenly, deadlines are looming closer than ever. The stress mounts, and I start doubting my ability to perform well.

I've come to realize that this pattern of postponing and procrastinating isn't helping me. It's just making my workload heavier and my job more stressful.

But breaking this habit isn't easy. It's become a routine that's hard to shake. Looking back, it's clear—procrastination only made things tougher. Starting earlier and staying disciplined would've been the smart move.

I promised not to do this again, but there was a hard realization: procrastination is my habit and I will, by default, end up doing it.

I always thought the reason I was procrastinating had to do with the complexity or duration of the task at hand. I realized procrastination is my form of stress relief.

And then the epiphany: I am not a procrastinator; I have a habit of procrastinating. Why is this important? Because if it's a habit, it's scientifically proven that you can overcome it. Let me share how I'm doing it.

All habits have three parts: Trigger (stress), Pattern (to avoid doing something), Reward (stress relief). I realized it’s impossible not to get triggered—this is simply a bad place to start treating your triggers. We are not Buddhist monks who can sit and meditate all day. We are exposed to outside stimuli and these will always trigger something in us.

The place to aim is the pattern, or how I react to the trigger—the way I procrastinate or avoid doing something.

Whenever I see myself checking my phone too much, or spending a lot of time scrolling, I catch myself and think, "Oh, I'm doing ______ again; I must be stressed about something."

First, I acknowledge the stress and try to silence my mind with a short break. Closing my eyes and taking three deep breaths, focusing on my breath, is all it takes. This interrupts the procrastination habit, which has developed as a natural response to stress, and awakens my prefrontal cortex. Then I focus on a task I'm trying to avoid for at least five minutes. If I start doing something for five minutes, I’ll probably continue.

I set an action plan for myself:

1. Recognize the trigger

2. Close your eyes and take 3 deep breaths

3. Recognize that you are shifting your focus

4. Do THE 1 THING for 5 minutes

I set a personal goal to commit to this plan for the next month. Struggle in the short term until you build a habit and be disciplined, but win in the long term by not letting procrastination accumulate. I committed to this and set my schedule, giving myself enough time to do tasks and minimize distractions as much as possible. Using the action plan, I managed to stay committed to what I said, not procrastinate on the commitment itself, which was perhaps the most difficult part.

I would see the triggers but struggle to convince myself to do the four steps. I thought it was stupid, it wasn’t working, I was just lying to myself, and there was a lot of negative self-talk. Some days it was easier to work through it, and some days it was more difficult. But sticking to my word guided me—the commitment to stay true to myself and honor my word.

As time passed, I noticed a shift. Prioritizing my work, getting things on schedule, and planning when to perform specific tasks helped my overall feeling of satisfaction, purpose, and fulfillment. If I had to categorize it, I’d put it in the following points:

1. Reduced Stress: When I commit to taking action instead of postponing, I notice that I actually free up mental space and reduce the chronic stress that comes from always having deadlines pressuring me and this feeling that I always have some unfinished business.

2. Improved Time Management: I saw how staying disciplined sharpens my focus and efficiency. By prioritizing tasks and putting them in a schedule to work on them at the exact moment, Optimized my time, maximized productivity and surprisingly I still had the free time to do something good for myself. In the beginning it was strange because of my habit of procrastination. I always had this sensation that I need to do something and I have a deadline to catch and even when I was just chilling at home I would feel that I had a task pending.

3. Higher Quality Work: Taking action promptly allowed me to invest more time and effort into each task. This leads to higher-quality outcomes and sets me apart as someone who delivers good work. I was tired of just doing mediocre things and doing them to get them off of my plate. I tried to do things as per best of my ability and not doing them just to please people

4. Increased Confidence: Each completed task reinforced my belief in my abilities. Overcoming procrastination builds momentum and boosts my confidence to take on bigger challenges and responsibilities.

5. Enhanced Reputation: Consistently meeting deadlines and exceeding expectations earns a reputation for reliability and excellence. I saw this in my 9-5 job but as well in my private life. I guess discipline opens doors to new opportunities and strengthens professional and private relationships.

6. Expanded Opportunities: Productivity breeds success. By being proactive and efficient, I feel like I'm creating opportunities for growth and advancement in my career and personal endeavors.

7. Improved Well-being: Procrastination often leads to anxiety and burnout. By overcoming it, I regain control of my time and reduce stress, promoting a healthier work-life balance and overall well-being. As mentioned above even after following everything as planned I still couldn't sit down and relax because of me being used to this feeling of constant pressure from any task. After it became a new normal I could feel much happier and satisfied.

8. Sense of Achievement: Accomplishing tasks on time provides a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. It fuels the motivation to continue striving for personal and professional growth.

There are many more benefits, but these are some areas where I saw drastic improvement in my life. My life changed for the better once I decided to stay disciplined. It all starts with awareness.

The voice within us always says GET IT DONE.

Discipline says DO IT NOW. And do it to the best of your ability. Do it to make it a habit and it becomes an instinct.

Procrastination says LATER, TOMORROW, WHENEVER I GET A CHANCE. Do what is necessary to get by or to impress others. It's okay to just do what you can, but not what you must.

We are always faced with these two choices. It's up to us to choose between discipline and procrastination.

Which one would you choose? The one where you choose to get a short term struggle but satisfaction on the long run, OR short term easy life for which the future will bear the consequences of your laziness and mediocrity. THERE IS ALWAYS THIS CHOICE.