Vinod Anand

PROCRASTINATION is a type of behavior which is characterized by deferment of actions or tasks to a later time. The word itself comes from the Latin word procrastinatus: pro- (forward) and crastinus (of tomorrow). It refers to task avoidance or delay. In fact, it is the thief of time where there is a delayed action, and one keeps on putting off something that requires immediate attention.

It means postponement of doing what one should be doing; In other words, it means putting off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness. It also means postponing or delaying needlessly, and acting later than planned, scheduled, or required.

Quite often people say that they would do a given job tomorrow without knowing that tomorrow never comes. The present is always “today”, and, therefore, saying that they would do the task tomorrow implies that they would never do it.

From one perspective, there appear to be three criteria for a behaviour to be classified as procrastination: it must be counterproductive, needless, and delaying. From another angle it is of two kinds: a) the relaxed type: here the postponement of the given responsibility is viewed by the given person (the procrastinator) negatively, and as such, it is avoided by directing energy into other tasks.

It is common, for example, for relaxed type procrastinating children to abandon schoolwork but not their social lives. Students often see projects as a whole rather than breaking them into smaller parts. This type of procrastination is a form of denial or cover-up; therefore, typically no help is being sought. Furthermore, they are also unable to defer gratification.

The procrastinator avoids situations that would cause displeasure, indulging instead in more enjoyable activities. Such procrastinators refuse to renounce the pleasure principle, instead sacrificing the reality principle; and b) the tense-afraid type: it is usually linked with negative feelings like overwhelmed with pressure, unrealistic about time, uncertain about goals.

The procrastinator feels he lacks the ability or focus to successfully complete his work, he tells himself that he needs to unwind and relax, that it's better to take it easy for the afternoon, for example, and start afresh in the morning. He usually has grandiose plans that aren't realistic.

His 'relaxing' is often temporary and ineffective, and leads to even more stress as time runs out, deadlines approach and the person feels increasingly guilty and apprehensive This behavior becomes a cycle of failure and delay, as plans and goals are put off, penciled into the following day or week in the diary again and again.

It can also have a debilitating effect on his personal life and relationships. Since he is uncertain about his goals, he often feels awkward with people who appear confident and goal-oriented, which can lead to depression.

Tense-afraid procrastinators often withdraw from social life, avoiding contact even with close friends.

According to It's About Time by Dr. Linda Sapadin there are six types of procrastination that a person can be solely or a combination of. The styles are The Perfectionist, The Crisis-Maker, The Dreamer, The Defier, The Worrier and The Overdoer. Each title is self explanatory though each has a unique way of overcoming each type.

The lesson that we have to learn from what I have said above, though briefly, is that we should do two things everyday: a) try to finish the task that we have been postponing, and b) try to do something new.

Once we are used to these two things of daily routine, procrastination would say good bye to us.

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Government ready to facilitate return of Sikh youth: Chidambaram

ON the lines of the offer made to Kashmiri militants, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said the Government is ready to facilitate the return of Sikh youth who took political asylum abroad during militancy in Punjab, provided they give up violence.

“If Sikh youth want to return, having given up militancy, giving up violence, given up the demands of Khalistan, (then) we will certainly facilitate the return of Sikh youth,” he said.

Mr. Chidambaram’s remarks comes two days after Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal slammed the Centre for leaving Sikh youths out of the ambit of its proposed move to facilitate the return of Kashmiri militants who have crossed over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) if they shun the path of violence.

The Home Minister said, “If the government of Punjab wishes to draw up a scheme, I will be very happy to consider that.”

He was speaking after laying the foundation stone of country’s first integrated check post, which will provide support facilities to ensure smooth movement of people, goods and transport across the Indo-Pak border.

“When the country is one, what is the harm in giving general amnesty to Sikh youth who want to shun violence and join the mainstream,” Mr. Badal had said.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had raised the issue of surrender policy for Kashmir militants during the conference on Internal Security in Delhi earlier this month.

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