PROCASTINATION: HARMLESS OR HARMFUL!!!

 

Procrastination: Harmless or Harmful?

Whether you’re a student or a grown-up doing a 9 to 5 job, you’ve probably procrastinated at some point in your life. It is indeed completely okay to take your time to work – no need to rush it. It is also true that the amount of productivity you engage in does not define your self-worth. However, while it might not seem a life-threatening hindrance, procrastination doesn’t just delay work, but it also makes one question themselves and dislike themselves in the longer run. People who consider themselves to be procrastinators have been found to have poorer health and financial stability. If you’re a serial procrastinator, likely, you don’t have a very high opinion of yourself. Procrastinators are likely to see themselves as lazy people. But is that all there is to it? Do human beings simply procrastinate because they’re lazy?

The answer is: no. Just like most of the phenomena we possess in our behavior as human beings, procrastination is complex. In this article, we explore why we procrastinate, how to overcome it, and how to live a more procrastination-free life.

What is Procrastination?

Procrastination refers to delaying decisions and actions, without a rational reason for it. In other words, when you procrastinate you avoid doing a certain thing even when you know you should be doing it. It may come out as a dirty habit that you just cannot get rid of. Even though one knows the negative consequences of delaying work, one continues doing it.

Procrastination and Laziness: Are you just lazy?  

A lot of times procrastination can be confused with laziness. However, both are two different things. To put it simply: lazy people don’t do things because they don’t care about the work they’re supposed to do. They simply prefer not to do it for their own pleasure. Procrastinators want to work, but dreadfully get stuck in the cycle of not doing anything. This leads to poor consequences and a lot of uncalled-for guilt. Tasks that one procrastinates doing don’t have to be official, like a college term paper; but may also include hobbies that people may want to engage in, like, painting.

That being said, procrastination has been found to co-exist with mental health problems, stress, worse grades, lower salary, and inability to pursue one’s goals.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

There is no one single answer for a why. Individual differences exist all over behavioral science. Years of research has led to the formation of the following explanations:

The Future Self: A popular theory surrounding the roots of procrastination involves the concept of the “future self” and the “present self”. When we plan out to do a task, we are making plans that will have outcomes for our future selves. For example, doing your college assignment now will give your future self good grades. However, when the time to do our task arrives, the present self has to take action. Years of research have shown the present self to prefer immediate rewards over more valuable long-term rewards. Therefore, when you procrastinate, your present self is failing to put long-term rewards as its priority, instead choosing to do what feels good at the present.

Self-Control and Motivation: Self-control and self-regulation are what we rely on when we are faced with decisions and tasks. These processes push us to get things done. Further, motivation also plays a major role. Some tasks, like cooking, may have immediate rewards; which is why we get up and do them. Other tasks, like exercising, may have long-term rewards, which lowers our motivation to do it. We may be extra optimistic about the future, telling ourselves we have time and can always start later. Some demotivating factors that make us procrastinate include anxiety, fear of failure, low self-efficacy, low or late rewards, and so on.

Indecisiveness: Making decisions is not always easy, especially for overthinkers and people high on anxiety. Not being able to set up a plan of action results in a continued delay of tasks. Further, some people may ponder for way too long on their options. For example, trying to decide what topic to write your research paper on. Or what to wear for a date, wasting time and getting late for the date. Research shows that the higher number of options one may have, the higher can be both their procrastination time, and indecisiveness.

Abstract Goals: When your goals are abstract, it may be hard to follow up on them. These can include goals that may be less possible to happen. For example, one may decide to “learn music”, without setting up a plan. In contrast to this, deciding to buy a guitar and join guitar classes will have immediate results. The steps to take to “learn music” in this case would be laid out. Vagueness means that you will have to put mental effort to finish a task. The effort might make people procrastinate.

Other than these factors, some more important causes of procrastination include perfectionism, anxiety, patterns of self-sabotaging behavior, and feeling overwhelmed.

How to Stop Procrastinating?

As mentioned before, procrastination can have bad consequences on people. It is not a healthy way to go about life. Therefore, it is important to work on yourself and overcome it. Here are a few tips on how to go about it:

1)    Follow a 3-step plan:

a)    Figure out the roots of your procrastination. This article mentions some major roots of procrastination in people, but there are many more possible causes that you can read up on all over the web. Acknowledging your roots and problems is the first step to overcoming them.

b)    Establish a goal and an action plan. Do not choose a vague goal. Be precise, and think about how you can get there beforehand. Don’t overthink it, instead let your steps be as small as it is comfortable for you. Make them possible for you to achieve. For example, if your goal is to lose 5 kilograms of weight, let your first step be something as small as deciding to waking up every day and going for a walk. Build up from there. Make changes in your diet, and gradually increase the amount of exercise.

c)     Follow up on your plan. It is easier said than done, but all of your effort and planning go to waste if you don’t follow up on your plans. Keep yourself motivated and focused. Set up alarms for tasks. Give yourself little treats after finishing a step towards your goal, and withdraw rewards for yourself when you don’t. Without self-discipline and regulation, overcoming procrastination would be close to impossible.

2)    Adopt Anti-Procrastination Strategies. Anti-procrastination strategies can help you let go of a procrastinator lifestyle. These are things you have to adopt in your personality and everyday behavior. Here are some anti-procrastination strategies:

a)    Forgive Yourself. It’s okay to forgive yourself and move forward. Forgive yourself for self-sabotaging behaviors in the past while making the promise to do better from now on. That is the first step. Following up and keeping committed to your promise to your own self is the second.

b)    Baby Steps. There is no need to rush it. It’s okay to breathe and take your time while getting better. So, set small goals for yourself. When you’ve achieved these small goals, go for the big ones.

c)     Ask someone to check on your progress. Let someone know about your small goals. When one feels accountable to another person, they tend to feel more pressured to achieve their goals. If not a person, let your phone give you reminders.

d)    Reward Yourself. Pat yourself on the back when you’re done with a task. Be kind to yourself. Try to be happy and proud of your progress instead of being preoccupied with how much there is left to do.

e)     Visualize Future Consequences. When you feel the urge to procrastinate, close your eyes. Count to 10 and visualize your future self facing the consequences of delay. Or, visualize what it would feel like when you finish it. Visualize the happy consequences your future self may face. Empathize with your future self and motivate yourself to finish tasks.

f)     Develop Self-Confidence. Through all of these strategies, convince yourself of your capabilities. Eliminate your fear of failure by succeeding and working hard. Tell yourself you’ve got this.