Procrastination

Posted by Rachel Mwale on May 02, 2018 in

It had been a while since I had actually listened to a sermon from beginning to end so my friend decided that we should meet up and listen to one together.
I went for a sleepover at her house one Saturday to do what I had been putting aside for some time and a little bit of catching up.
We had initially planned to listen to one of Brother William Marion Branham's tapes but we got caught up in eating noodles, doing our hair and of course blabbering to each other about all sorts of things. Soon enough it was 10pm and we still had not listened to the tape... so we decided to play one of Brother Branham's sermon; REMEMBERING THE LORD, it was a very good sermon I tell you. In a blink of an eye it was midnight and we had to go to sleep or else we were going to have a hard time waking up in the morning to prepare for church and make it on time.
That was such a hassle yet it only required good timing and of course less blabbering. 😂
We are procrastinators!!

Many of us fall under this spell of procrastination and I'm afraid often times than not there is no breaking it.
Just a few incarnations of laziness, an unfocused mind and of course ignorance gives just the right amount of procrastination. Instead of doing important work we choose to 'fiddle with miscellaneous things.'
Sort of like a demon, possesses us yet we don't have any idea of it. However there are those rare ones who are immune to this thing. Which means they have the ability to know that they are procrastinating and yet surprisingly they don't do anything about it. Until it eventually turns into a habit... And that my friend is where we bump into Old habits die hard. An enemy that could have been avoided.

Here are a few scenarios of the subject at hand;
1. Is it your turn to cook supper today?
-"Wait until every family member is home then start cooking."
2. Do you have an examination in three weeks?
-"Wait until the night before the exam to study."
3. Do you have an assignment due tomorrow morning?
-"I can do it early in the morning before I start preparing for school, I just have to wake up early."
Procrastination is a bad habit! It stops production. It gives birth to laziness, pressure, mistakes that could have been avoided and rush decisions. It also brings about unhappiness to yourself and those around you. It causes us to put off very important work that could have been done with much ease and concentration.
We all know that nobody is perfect but we would be a step closer to perfection if we avoided procrastination.

I remember one time when I procrastinated and the end result was bad.
One Saturday I was so lazy and I had every opportunity to wash my school uniform, let it dry and even iron it. But I said "I'll just do it tomorrow!"
The next morning I woke up late so I didn't wash it "I guess I'll just do it after church."
But then after church my dad had plans that we should take a mini road trip to test drive the new car. Did someone say road trip? I wouldn't miss it for the world. So I hopped right in and off we went! (I'm a travel maniac.) When we  arrived home later that day it was already dark and I was exhausted, so I washed only those I'd wear the next day.
I woke up in the morning and there was no electricity so I had to go iron my uniform at my neighbors house. (Embarrassing I know!!) I didn't even have enough time to polish my school shoes so i wore them as they were. Tried rubbing them off with a tissue in the public transport though. I got to school late and got whipped by the school gate for late coming.

There seem to be so many ways of procrastinating and every single time it would have been avoided with correct timing!

Nowadays when I feel like doing something later, I just tell myself that,
That's the devil, he's trying to lure you into his trap. Run! Do not listen to him. Seriously! Do not take heed of his trap. Ruuuuun! Don't make the same mistake you could avoid regretting.
"Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee."

Procrastinating causes someone to work under pressure and they don't put their best potential into the work because all they are focusing on is finishing it. Which means the little mistakes that could have been avoided would be very much present. Procrastination leads to irresponsibility too, the moment we choose to do something later when we currently have nothing as important to do spoils our character. We adapt to negative characters which one way or the other end up affecting everyone around us. So good people, let us avoid this dreadful deed and remember that now is always the perfect time!

How do I avoid procrastinating?
1. I write a to-do list and make sure to do everything on the list.
2. I find some sort of motivation, something that will drive me to achieving my task! It could be that you want to relax later on or you could win an award for doing it.
3. Stay away from social media platforms! I isolate myself from my Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp until I achieve my goal.
4. Now is always the best time to do something! Later is an enemy of progress. Avoid doing something later, you would do it in such a hurry and under pressure which would bring out a bad outcome.
5. Tell a friend about it. This way they keep asking how far I am, which would be bothersome and a natural reminder to push me to work!

Best wishes breaking the spell of procrastination!!😂🙌