Finding a Productive Work Environment
If you are wondering where students and remote workers are in the evenings, they are most likely in a milk tea shop. This might come as a shock, but when you think about it, a calm ambiance, a variety of food and drinks, cozy sitting areas, and free WiFi are a writer’s dream. Coincidentally, this is where I found myself one afternoon when I tried to catch up on a load of assignments. As I walked to the tables, with my Hokkaido milk tea in hand, I noticed the diversity of people in the room. There were people chatting, a group of buddies playing board games, and in a corner were a group of people looking busy, heads buried in their books and fingers glued to their laptops. In that moment, I thought “there are my people.” I was ready to crush the work that was ahead of me and join the focused students in the corner.
The Hindrance of Perfectionism
I was maintaining good focus on an essay that I was working on, until I had to work on the central argument. I was dreading this section of the essay because I knew that I had to elaborate on my topic regarding free will and illusion. Mind you, I am not the best at piecing information together. As I worked, I was afraid I would not be able to build a clear and cohesive structure for my argument. The fear of not being able to do a good job was too much for my brain to handle and beforeI knew it, I was already five minutes deep into scrolling through my phone. The urgency at which I felt I had to create a perfect essay the first time around hindered my writing experience and made it one of stress rather than creativity and thoughtfulness.
An hour into the essay, I was already feeling hopeless. I was ready to leave the shop when out of the corner of my eye I saw a group of friends who were also huddled behind their books and laptops. Imagine my surprise when I learned that they were watching a performance of a famous K-pop star. It was a relief because here I was beating myself up for not being focused on my work, and there they were, the most studious looking group you can imagine, taking it easy. Perhaps they were just taking a break, or maybe they were also having trouble focusing like I was. A break is always an essential part of a work session, but there was a difference between my stressed procrastination and a productive break. Nevertheless, it was comforting to think that I was not alone in my troubles with focusing.
Managing Emotions to Manage Procrastination
It was frustrating that no matter how determined I was to finish the work, my mind would not cooperate. Even during high school, I would put off assignments until the last minute because I was afraid to feel overwhelmed. I thought that I was going to have to live with this struggle of focusing forever until I read Christian Jarrett’s article “Why procrastination is about managing emotions not time”.
In the article, Jarrett described his own experience with procrastination during the height of the pandemic. Jarrett stated that according to traditional thinking, fellow procrastinators like him are said to have a time management problem. However, researchers like Tim Pychyl from Carleton University and Fuschia Sirois from the University of Sheffield, disagree and propose that procrastination is an issue with managing our emotions, not our time. Procrastinators put off work to avoid the discomfort of dealing with the work. In order to feel better in the moment, procrastinators do fun accessible activities like scrolling through TikTok to boost their mood. The article also presents how procrastination can be a misguided emotion regulation practice. Yes, it may bring short term relief, but in the long run it can bring harmful habits like “doom scrolling” –a term coined for the seemingly endless internet scroll– and mental health issues such as anxiety.
Combating Stress and Practicing Meditation
The great news stemming from the article was knowing that there are steps I can take to combat my procrastination issues. Viewing them as an emotion regulation issue provided me clues on how to address my procrastination problem. In my case, I easily feel overwhelmed with work; In addressing my procrastination issue, I decided to manage my workload and divide it in a way that would be easier for me to manage. Additionally, I realized that most of my anxiety stems from the fact that I always worry about the future and the consequences of my current actions. To counteract the stress my hyperfixations caused, I began working on my mindfulness by meditating and exercising.
There are different forms of meditation that I do to help clear my brain: One method is the 1 minute breathing exercise workout on Quabble. This exercise is especially helpful when I have a larger workload ahead of me. Further, staying off my devices has made me more present in my day to day life and reduced my use of media as a crutch.
Before you judge yourself for being a “lazy procrastinator”, first, take a step back and think about the factors that may have played a role in your procrastination. Consider that maybe your procrastination is an emotional regulation issue as opposed to a time management issue. At the end of the day, we are all human. We can only do so much in a day. Sometimes doing less is not a setback, but is a step forward in the right direction.
Ways to Manage Overwhelming Workloads
Here are some tips that can help you to manage overwhelming workloads while being accountable for your mental health:
Break down work into sections: By separating your assignments into sections what was once overwhelming is now manageable as a day to day task.
Set boundaries for your time: Everyone needs a work life balance, by setting boundaries you can instill work hours that help prevent you from feeling burnt out and emotionally drained.
Reflection and Meditation: Self reflection and goal production are a key part of feeling successful in your work. Practicing breathing exercises and locating points of stress can help you gain back control of your working mindset. If meditation is new to you, here is a tool to get you started on your meditation journey.
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