Why people procrastinate
It is often assumed that procrastination is a matter of willpower, but the underlying reasons why one procrastinates is far more complex than that. Psychological concerns ranging from anxiety, fear of failure, to any other negative emotions can cause one to delay things unnecessarily. Exhaustion can also play a part in causing procrastination. The formula for overcoming your procrastinating urges is as follows: as long as your motivation and self-control outweigh their demotivating counterparts (such as fear of failure and anxiety), you typically will manage to get your work done on time.
Reasons for procrastination
Poorly defined goals
People are more likely to procrastinate when their goals are vague rather than clearly defined. For example, aiming to “get fit” is far more vague than aiming to “go to the gym at 8a8 am3 days per week.” Giving yourself a more specific, concrete goal makes it harder to procrastinate.
Rewards set too far in the future
There exists a phenomenon called temporal discounting or delay discounting, whereby people procrastinate on tasks which are associated with rewards that they will only receive a while after completing the task. For example, it’s easier to overlook the potential value of attaining a good grade on an exam that is set far in the future rather than a few days away. This is a big reason why some people wait until the last minute to complete necessary tasks.
“It will be easier later on”
Sometimes people procrastinate on tasks because they are overly optimistic about their ability to more easily complete those tasks later on. I’ve certainly made the excuse of “I feel extra sluggish today. I’m sure I’ll feel better tomorrow, and then I can finish this task, and it will be much easier to get through!” But in reality, I’ll typically get hit with a wave of guilt later on for wasting time that I could’ve spent working.
Indecisiveness
Many people struggle with making decisions efficiently. They may flip-flop or spend way too much time volleying ideas around, which may be beneficial to a certain degree, but as the clock ticks on, there comes a point when brainstorming has to stop and work has to begin. To combat this form of procrastination, limit your options and be firm in the decisions that you make. Try not to spend too much time looking back and wondering if another choice would have been better. Just stick with the work that you’re doing, and focus your precious time there.
Feeling overwhelmed
Being overwhelmed does not feel good, and while the stress of having tasks pile up may be motivating to some, for others it can fuel anxiety and be detrimental to productivity. If you’re easily overwhelmed, try breaking up your task or assignment. Rather than saying “I need to clean my whole house before I go to sleep tonight,” try saying, “I have one hour to clean my bedroom.” Grab all of your cleaning supplies, and shut yourself in your room. The task will seem so much more doable when broken down in such a way.
Anxiety
People often procrastinate handling tasks that they feel anxious about. For example, someone who gets anxious about talking on the phone may repeatedly put off making a call. This, while natural, can be super problematic, as rather than nipping it in the bud and making the call, you’re stretching out a stressful experience and creating more anxiety for yourself in the long run.
Now that you’re aware of some of the many reasons why people procrastinate, hopefully, you can analyze why you’ve been prone to procrastinating in the past and start taking steps to be more productive. Lastly, we all fall victim to procrastinating now and then, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Just know that there are steps you can take to make a change, and once you get into some better work habits, you will feel that “last minute” anxiety start to melt away. And boy, does it feel good.
BarakahLlahu fihi