“I will do it today”, said none of us- ever! If you still haven’t figured out the subject of today’s post, i’m going to give you a little hint- it is a state of yours where you’d rather spend hours in bed after opening your eyes updating your Facebook / Instagram / Twitter, check out that sale upto 50% off at the nearest mall, molest the joysticks of your PlayStation, binge watch Game of Thrones or sip on that sizzling mocha at the new Starbucks in town (the list is endless), than finish your pending task(s) at hand. Yes, you are right. I’m talking about the chronic procrastination we all invariably suffer from.

Procrastination is the reason why that room you thought of cleaning after your cousin’s wedding is still a mess, the preparation for that examination ten days away (as is my case) still hasn’t commenced, that presentation you were to submit to your boss still isn’t ready, that fitness regime you were going to start off with is still on the papers, that cross-trainer you bought for the same purpose is covered in dust, and those six pack abs under construction are well, still under construction- and also why I am unforgivably late in updating the blog from the past few days.

I’m quite amazed at how this fits everyone of us and wonder what makes us procrastinate so much?! It’s ironic how the jobs consuming most of our time and concentration and requiring top-notch priority are put off to a later time and then we panic as though we are at World’s end as the deadline draws near. If it’s the simple pleasure of indulging in our desires that gives us instant happiness, the monotony of the job, tendency to get bored easily, lack of interest/excitement, plain laziness or the undying faith in the fact that man works better under pressure- I’m not sure.

So what’s the actual problem you ask?! In simple words it is that the early bird catches the worm and you’d rather be the one that rises late, generously letting the bird catch it, being satisfied with the little left overs if in case, there are any worms left, or worse – if YOU remain to see the light of day.

A man without passion and a drive to achieve something is as good as an aimless animal! I strongly believe that in order to get something done a.k.a be successful, you have to pull those socks up and shrug off the laziness parasitising your creative emotion and purpose so that you deliver nothing less than your potential. Like all things fine, the price of success only inflates with each climb of the ladder. That price my friends is constant hard work and a hungry desperation to emerge a winner in your own eyes.

This is not a subject of World Peace which I’m going to blow out of proportion. In fact, it’s just a ‘thought fuel’ to get your engines of will power and determination charged to run in steady speed towards your destination. I have fallen prey to this monstrous laziness often and with time and increasing responsibilities towards my goals, I have realized that intelligent planning and time management could actually lessen the unwanted delays. All I’m implying is that you learn to prioritize your goals each day- starting with the ones requiring immediate attention so that you are left with an ample amount of time to spend in recreation without your deadlines haunting you.

Scientists have deemed the youth of 21st Century, ‘lazier than their ancestors’ and let us face it, we are generally- pathetically lazy(especially we Indians). No, it is not as cool as we think it makes us. To all those swearing by laziness, trust me there is nothing more to it than low productivity, wastage of precious time, a goal-lag and an increasing risk to a variety of complex diseases- obesity, congestive heart disease, et al. The fruits of your labor can be enjoyed to no end but remember that it is the labor that yields the fruits.

Someone once said,

“Hard work never killed anyone but why take a chance!”

I bet there’s nothing in history that has been taken so literally.
The next time you wish to delay things, make sure the first thing you check off your list is procrastination itself! Because, Later is NOW!

To infinity and back,

Maliha Taqui.