A Solution for Overwhelm and Procrastination
Today, I had an economics oral presentation.
While the questions were given to me last week, I’ve only started solving them last night.
Big mistake.
The last 24 hours has been the most stressful periods in a while.
Why is it stressful?
Because I’m representing my groupmates.
My performance would affect their grades.
If I answer the questions incorrectly, they will take the hit.
I don’t want to be the reason they fail.
So… how did it go, Arlo?
Terrible. But not as bad as I expected.
I could’ve aced it if I started solving the questions a week ago.
Instead, I put it off because I had “better things to do”
- other subjects
- writing on Twitter
- watching YouTube
Also, whenever I thought about the presentation, I had ideas about what I’d say, how I’d say it and how I can impress the professor.
In retrospect, this was highly unnecessary.
Due to my desire for perfection, I put off solving the problems because I was not ‘ready to work on it’.
A poor mistake — I know.
But at least I learned from it.
So what’s the lesson here?
- Don’t put off what you’re scared of.
- Start and finish work as soon as possible
The reason why I procrastinated was because of perfectionism and overwhelm.
This led to discomfort.
“Time management is pain management. Distractions cost us time, and like all actions, they are spurred by the desire to escape discomfort.” — Nir Eyal
So what are you putting off right now? The best time to start is now.
You can always add changes as you go.
Your ‘burntout’ friend,
Arlo
