I’ve always wanted to do a lot of things.

Write a book, write a storyboard, learn to draw again, go back to school… the list goes on.

I honestly haven’t attempted to do any of that even though I have fresh new ideas daily, and perhaps it’s because I’ve become great friends with procrastination. Recently, choosing to just sit and think about doing something has become a better option than actually doing it, and while it’s okay to procrastinate every once in a while (very rarely), I feel that there’s some negative repercussions of it as well.

The most important pain of procrastination is just not getting your work done. I know, I know. So you have a big test coming up, plus homework, and a night shift at work. The wise thing to do would be to finish all your work and study for that exam, but life has been so stressful that you don’t study as hard or do your homework. Or maybe you were gearing up to do a project and start a hobby one day and that one day transformed into three days and then a week and then so on. Procrastination can seem like a short break, but if you’re not careful it can last a while.

I think another pain of procrastination is feeling like you aren’t doing anything because on the one hand, you aren’t but inactivity can lead to other issues such as anxiety and depression. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering why I haven’t accomplished much but my friends have accomplished a lot and it all boils down to a couple of things: a) I’ve been working hard on other goals, but b) those goals aren’t towards the goals I want, and c) it’s just not my time. That’s not to say that I don’t feel some type of way about it all; I’ve worked hard for a while but procrastination makes it seem like I did nothing really. It’ll do that to you.

So how do we escape the pain of procrastination?

The simple answer is to just do the things you’re supposed to do. If you have assignments due in a week, start early and finish early. If you have a project at work, do it. That’s not to say just dive in headfirst and push through a buttload of work. That’s why it’s better to start earlier, so that you can take your time. Every little bit counts and the more you do and space it all out, the less procrastination is going to take over you.

It’s also really important to not drag yourself down for procrastinating. Stuff happens and sometimes you just need a break. Take a day or two if you need it but make sure to continue doing what you do, be it school, work, or hobbies.

Your goals won’t come to you.