Ten Reasons Why People Procrastinate
I’ll get it done tomorrow … it’s really not that important … it won’t take long to do. These are some of the excuses we tend to use when we are avoiding engaging in a task we have been set to complete, or in other words when we are procrastinating.
Procrastination refers to a process by which one unnecessarily postpones decisions or actions. Despite the fact that procrastination often produces a number of negative outcomes including a worse academic performance, lower income, anxiety, stress and even a reduced physical and mental wellbeing, many of us tend to do this regularly.The overarching reason why we tend to procrastinate is that the negative factors of completing the task at hand outweigh our levels of self-control and motivation, at least for the time being. However, the specific reasons why we engage in this often, self-sabotaging behaviour tend to be more varied.
The rewards are too far in the future: This is phenomenon known as temporal discounting or delay discounting and refers to one’s tendency to discount rewards if they are far in the future. People will often procrastinate on tasks that offer some sort of incentive that is too far in the future, often preferring to engage in tasks that will offer them shorter-term rewards instead.
Indecisiveness: People may procrastinate due to a difficulty in making decisions. When one is unable to make a decision in a reasonable timeframe, they can often become paralysed and unable to move forward with the task at hand.
Burned out: When we are burned out, we are often too exhausted to engage in even the simplest of tasks such as looking after our personal hygiene or engaging with family and friends. More complex tasks therefore will often take a low priority and can often seem almost impossible to begin, let alone achieve.
Task aversion: Many people procrastinate for the simple reason that they dislike the task at hand. A particularly difficult essay on a boring subject for example is not very appealing and might therefore lead to greater levels of procrastination in comparison to an essay on a topic one is passionate about.
Perfectionism: People who tend to be perfectionistic and take great pride in their accomplishments may also be more prone to procrastinate. Often, these people can become so fearful of making a mistake that they retreat from taking any action at all, thereafter, leading to procrastination.
Fear of failure: One study compared the behaviours of ‘chronic procrastinators’ to a group of ‘non-procrastinators’ under two circumstances. In the first, the groups were told they were to undertake a math test in which they would be evaluated on, in the second they were told the test was purely for fun. In both circumstances they were given 15 minutes to either prepare or engage in fun activities. Remarkably enough, the chronic procrastinators procrastinated more when the test was evaluative rather than fun. On this notion, procrastination is seen as a ‘self-handicapping’ technique as it is more appealing to do nothing and fail, than to try and fail, running the risk of seeming stupid.
Overwhelmed: Another reason people often find themselves procrastinating is in circumstances in which they feel overwhelmed with the quantity or intensity of tasks they have to complete. Often when this happens, they can feel almost frozen in an attempt to figure out which task to tackle first and thereafter decide that avoiding them is an easier short-term solution.
Low self-efficacy: Self-efficacy refers to one’s confidence in his or her own perceived capabilities to successfully perform a task. When a person has a low self-efficacy, they essentially believe that they cannot handle the task at hand leading to procrastination.
Perceived lack of control: If we feel that we have little control over the outcome of a particular task, we are much more likely to procrastinate on this task or make excuses for why there is no point in attempting it. For example, if a student believes that their teacher particularly dislikes them and will give them a bad grade no matter what the quality of their assignment, they are much more likely to procrastinate on this task.
Mental illness: Particular mental illnesses can often exacerbate one’s tendency to procrastinate. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for example can make it difficult for a person to focus on a task for an extended period of time. Depression can also lead to difficulty concentrating and a lack of motivation and self-efficacy. Anxiety can also lead to procrastination in which a person may feel anxious about a particular task, often procrastinating which unfortunately only exacerbates the anxiety; this is referred to as a negative feedback loop.
Procrastination is something that we all do from time to time, however out motivations for it may differ. By understanding the reasons behind why we engage in this behaviour we can put ourselves in a better position to address it.