Why we procrastinate

We have all been there – having something really important that needs to be done but leaving it to the last minute because apparently, everything else seems more interesting, and ultimately regretting not doing the task, exactly like how I am struggling writing this paper last minute. Simply put, this is procrastination. When we procrastinate, we find ourselves performing trivial activities instead of working on important, meaningful tasks. However, it should not be mistaken as laziness – unlike lazy people who simply don’t do anything and are just fine with it, procrastinators do have the desire to complete the task at hand but simply can’t force themselves to start. Procrastination is one of the main barriers blocking us from getting our job done, making important life decisions and making our dreams for future a reality.

Studies shows that people regret things they haven’t done more than the things they have done. The feelings of guilt and regret caused by missing an opportunity stays much longer than the mistake that occurs in the process of achieving something. Knowing this, why is it so often that we have trouble persuading ourselves to do the things that should be done? There are several aspects leading to procrastination and one of them is decision paralysis. The number of opportunities that today’s world offers is astounding. Modern society believes that the freer people are, the happier they will be and thus idolizesliberty. So then why is it that more and more people are depressed and stressed than in the past? This is because with more freedom to make our own decision follows its consequences. When we choose from many options available to us, we question if our decision will bring us happiness or if we are doing the right thing. This causes confusion and thus demotivates us from doing anything at all.
Lack of willpower and self-discipline are also often perceived to be the leading causes of procrastination. Both of these are very hard to gain when we have to do something we do not like, leading us to not start the task at all. While all of mentioned causes are somewhat important compounds, they are not the primary causes. The real reason we procrastinate is because the task we’re putting off makes us unhappy. And we are trying to manage our own mood by avoiding something we know will bring us down which is a very reasonable thing to do. As Tim Pychyl, psychology professor at Carleton University in Ottawa puts it – “Procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not a time management problem.”

We often find ourselves procrastinating over a task that is much easier to complete by spending hours on tasks that are difficult and take all our might, for example, cleaning the whole house over making a small phone call. The tasks that we put off aren’t necessarily effortful – in this case, it is more the fear of making an important phone call than the difficulty that holds us back. Such tasks may be boring or distasteful, or we may resent having to do them. They may come with a risk of bad feelings or they may be frightening, especially if the task at hand is challenging or something we’ve never done before and aren’t sure we can do well. And even though self-discipline might help us get over our procrastination, the fact that we’ve procrastinated doesn’t mean we’re undisciplined. It means we are overwhelmed by negative emotions and we’re coping with them the only way we know how – by pushing away the job that’s making us unhappy as much as possible.

Now we know procrastination has a lot more to do with our emotional state rather than character flaws, it will get much easier to fight it. When we find ourselves procrastinating, it is important to not get angry at ourselves, engage in negative self-talk and obsess over all the bad that will happen because we missed the deadline. Since the reason why we’re procrastinating is that we’re overwhelmed with negative feelings, it should be obvious that making ourselves feel even worse will only add to the problem. Rather, it makes much more sense to cut ourselves some slack and forgive ourselves. Next, we need to dig deeper into the problem and try to figure out why we’re procrastinating. Once we’ve answered that question, we may be able to find ways to make the job at hand less upsetting and if it’s tedious, perhaps we can make it more fun by listening to music or asking a friend to keep company.

We can fight through our procrastination streak and motivate ourselves to work by breaking the task into smaller chunks. Rather than discouraging ourselves by a big load of work, breaking the task into small portions and completing the task little by little over time helps complete our work on time. We can also set goals on priority basis for the day and make a habit of completing it at any cost. With a set of goals, we won’t be confused over our priorities and concentrate to complete our important task. We further motivate ourselves by setting a reward for goal completion like treating ourselves to our favorite snacks. And finally, and most importantly, we must believe in ourselves, our ability to accomplish anything and steadily steer our future towards a satisfied path.

(Shradha Gurung: Student of Kathmandu University.)