It's something we've all gone through. We have a critical task ahead of us, and we know we need to get started right away. But we postponed it. We engage in other, less significant activities.
We are procrastinators.
We make relatively little progress on what actually matters because we postpone. We don't accomplish anything worthwhile. We overlook the chores that might be most beneficial to us.
We should be working on our most essential duty, but we aren't.
Naturally, this raises a number of critical questions.
Why do we put things off?
Procrastination
When you put off making decisions or taking specific tasks unnecessarily, you are procrastinating. Consider this scenario: you need to clean out your garage, but instead of doing so, you binge-watch your favorite Netflix show.
You're watching animes despite the fact that you should be cleaning out the garage.
That is the definition of procrastination.
Procrastination is not a matter of time management, self-control, or discipline, as most people believe. Procrastination isn't just a problem for the lazy and ill-disciplined.
Procrastination, on the other hand, impacts us all at some point.
In general, there are four different types of procrastination that people face on a daily basis.
Anxious procrastination - If a task causes you worry or fear, you're likely to put it off as long as possible.
Fun procrastination - There are some tasks that you would rather avoid. You'd rather have fun than do the task at hand, so you put it off as long as possible.
Time procrastination — If you have a long deadline approaching (or no deadline at all), it can be tough to find the drive to start working on it right away.
Perfectionist procrastination - Because they want everything to be flawless, perfectionists may find it difficult to complete tasks. As a result, they procrastinate forever, believing that with just a little more time, they would be able to complete the task at hand.
Why We Procrastinate
Now that you know the overall what and why of procrastination, let’s get into some of the nitty-gritty reasons that we procrastinate.
There are many of reasons why we postpone. Among the most important are:
Motivational Deficit
Procrastination can be caused by a variety of factors, the most prevalent of which is a lack of drive. Many times, we simply do not want to complete the job that is in front of us for various reasons. Perhaps we're exhausted. Perhaps we are bored by our work. Perhaps we are feeling overburdened.
We experience a significant lack of motivation for whatever reason, and consequently delay endlessly.
Objectives in general
Another typical reason for procrastination is that the overall aim is vague and abstract, as opposed to a well stated purpose.
A aim to read more books, for example, is rather abstract. A goal of reading one book every month, on the other hand, is considerably more clear and attainable.
Abstract goals are viewed as far less reachable, according to research, resulting in lesser motivation and increased procrastination.
The Benefits Are a Long Way Off
Unfortunately, most of us have difficulty appreciating and anticipating long-term gains. To put it another way, if we know we won't reap the rewards of a specific action for a long time, we are far less likely to desire to do it. This leads to even greater procrastination.
For example, if you have an exam in a month, it will be more difficult to be motivated to study right now because the reward would be so far away. This is one of the reasons why people put off their study.
Concentrating on the Future
We postpone frequently in order to keep our alternatives open. To put it another way, we hope that a better course of action will emerge in the future. This might lead to procrastination of important decisions and actions for an indeterminate period of time.
As an example, let's pretend you desire to lose weight. You ponder starting a home workout program, but decide against it because you plan to join a gym later. In actuality, it is preferable to begin exercising right away, even if you want to join a gym later. The prospect of a "better" option prevents you from exercising at all.
The Fear of Failing
If you think you're going to fail at something, you'll put it off as long as possible. After all, no one enjoys failing. The greater your chances of failing at a task, the more likely you are to postpone for an extended amount of time.
Fear of Greater Expectations
Some people procrastinate because they are afraid of having higher expectations placed on them. They are afraid that if they complete a task in a timely and efficient manner, others would expect them to do so in the future. They may even be given additional tasks.
As a result, they postpone in order to keep expectations low.
Final Words
There are different aspects or reasons why we procrastinate. And this will be hard to get rid of especially when it is ingrained habit. But there are ways we can do to overcome it. I will write this up on my next article. 😉
I think I am a procrastinator. I started writing an article but didn't finished it because I was afraid that it will be a bust.