Due tomorrow? Do tomorrow.
“I’m going to stop putting things off, starting tomorrow!”
— Sam Levenson
There are various reasons why a lot of us procrastinate. Have you figured out exactly why you do it? Procrastination is an issue each and every one of us deals with from time to time.
Procrastination simply means putting things off until the last minute. I’m sure you’ve promised yourself several times to do better , but you just find yourself in a vicious circle.
“I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.”
— Jerome K. Jerome
Common reasons we procrastinate
- Lack of Motivation
You often procrastinate because you are simply not motivated enough to work on a particular task.
An employee might procrastinate when it comes to performing a task at work because they earn poorly. Another situation is if the employee dreams of being in one industry but is stuck in another.
2. Disconnect from future self.
You procrastinate because you view your future self as being disconnect from your present self. It’s a phenomenon known as temporal self discontinuity. You might delay when it comes to making certain changes to your diet because of your health; like reducing your sugar intake. But then you’ll still order that bucket of ice-cream and promise yourself you’ll start later in the future because the consequences will not begin to manifest until a couple of years which you see as someone else’s problem “future you”. This disconnect between the present and future selves can make you procrastinate in many ways.
“Procrastinator? No. I save all my homework until the last minute because then I’ll be older, and therefore wiser.”
3. Indecision
The inability to make decisions on time can make you procrastinate. This can happen when you can’t decide which line of action to take or when you need to make a critical decision to move to the next line of action.
Let’s say you have a lecture to deliver but hesitate to get prepared because you haven’t figured out what topic to speak on. There are circumstances where you might get stuck overthinking the situation while trying to make up your mind. This situation is called “choice paralysis”. The more options you have, the harder it’ll be to decide.
4. ADHD
ADHD is an acronym for Attention deficit hyperactive disorder. If you’re suffering from ADHD there’s a tendency for you to procrastinate. Due to the difficulty in focusing on a single task for long, especially when it becomes a drag, you jump from one task to the other without completing any of them. Some people dilly-dally as a result of their ADHD, however, not all forms of ADHD are associated with procrastination.
5. Prioritizing pleasure over work
The desire for instant gratification and engaging in satisfying activities can make you delay an important task. Prioritizing your present feelings will make you feel better right now, however, it can cost you when it comes at the expense of taking steps that are in line with your long-term goals.
For example, a student might delay sending out an assignment by wasting hours watching animation, playing video games, and watching television, because doing this is more pleasurable than working on the assignment.
We tend to fall into situations like this, but it becomes an issue when you can’t control it.
6. Fear
The fear of failure and negative feedback can cause you to procrastinate. Fear can enhance procrastination in many ways such as causing people to avoid finishing a task or not even beginning in the first place.
An entrepreneur with a business idea with the fear of failure will continue working on a task or project indefinitely but never take that step to make it public. Besides, some personality traits like low self-confidence are related to an increased fear of failure, which makes persons with these traits more likely to delay.
7. Perfection
A perfectionist generally dislikes making mistakes. Due to their nature, the tendency to procrastinate is unavoidable.
For instance, a copywriter might delay work because of the fear of flaws. The tendency to go over the copy repeatedly, sending it out for feedback, because they need to ensure that it perfect.
How can we stop?
To successfully overcome procrastination, follow these tips:
1. Flashback to the times you have procrastinated and why you did it.
2. Create a list of priorities from the most important to the least.
3. Breakdown big tasks into smaller bits to avoid getting overwhelmed.
4. Commit to one task per time by creating a schedule with deadlines.
5. Remove distractions from your work area.
6. Think about the big picture by imagining yourself in the future achieving your goals.
7. Accept the fact that your work might come with some errors.
8. Reward yourself when you complete a task.
Understanding why we procrastinate can help us figure out why others do it too.
