Procrastination

Procrastination is one of the words I learned when I came to the States as a senior in high school. Even though I learned English in Hong Kong, and even though I had delayed or postponed doing things in the past, the English version of this word was not in my vocabulary. Procrastination is to delay doing something until the last minute, or sometimes after a deadline. You often believe that thing you are procrastinating should be done in a timely fashion, yet you still come up with excuses or other supposedly more important things to do.

Why do we procrastinate, especially when we understand that it is not the best thing to do?

It comes down to two main reasons – to seek pleasure from the alternative task or to avoid the unpleasant emotion associated with the task you are trying to avoid doing.

Would you willingly delay doing something that brings you joy, assuming there is no conflict of interest? The answer is most likely not. You procrastinate because you are seeking for immediate reward or gratification from something else. For example, you are delaying to do a homework assignment or a project because you want to watch some TV. Watching TV gives you the immediate satisfaction of entertainment.

You may also be procrastinating because you believe it takes you less time to complete the work. Again, this is for something that you do not necessarily enjoy doing, otherwise, you would probably jump at the opportunity the second you can do it.

As you do not feel like doing something, you procrastinate. You convince yourself that you need the motivation to do it, or you need a right frame of mind. Another common excuse you may give yourself is that you work better under pressure, with the sense of urgency. You are indirectly convincing yourself that you do not complete a task as well if the deadline is relatively far away.

Another reason that procrastinators do what they do is that they are living in self-doubt. They are uncertain if they can perform a task well. They are doubting if they are the right people to do the job. Or they are simply uncertain of the whole situation. With this mindset, some people also use the reason for needing to seek clarity in order to avoid feeling uncertain. They make themselves believe that they need to be absolute clear on their vision of what they are doing in order to start. They avoid feeling the discomfort of uncertainty in the name of getting more clarity.

Sometimes procrastination occurs because people believe they have to be perfect. The belief that there has to be the perfect time, the perfect place or the perfect condition to do something is often masking the fact that you are avoiding the task. You are avoiding the feeling that is brought about by imperfection. You are avoiding the potential criticism you think you will receive because you are not perfect.

Procrastination may offer you a temporary relief or avoidance of the unpleasant emotions, yet there are probably more adverse consequences, especially for people who habitually procrastinate. When you know that you are supposed to do something and you are postponing its completion (or even starting it in the first place), your brain will keep thinking about the task you are delaying. You are more likely to experience stress, anxiety and even insomnia when you procrastinate. Your work may be hasty and of sub-optimal quality because you end up rushing to the finish line. Your goal changes from getting the job done well to just getting it done as soon as possible, before the deadline. Your productivity likely will decrease. Your satisfaction from completing the task also likely will decrease. With more stress and anxiety and less sleep, procrastinators are more likely to have hypertension, cardiovascular disease and other negative impacts of their health.  

People procrastinate because they want to seek immediate gratification from doing something else and to avoid the unpleasant emotions generated from doing that task they are delaying to do. To avoid procrastination, the first step is to increase awareness. Be on the lookout when you procrastinate. Acknowledge it when you do. Then ask yourself the reason behind the delay. What are you trying to avoid? What is the unpleasant emotion you are trying so hard not to feel?

Give yourself grace. Procrastination comes up because your brain is trying to protect you from feeling bad. Your brain is functioning properly. To avoid procrastination, make a to-do list and set priorities. Stick with your list. Tell yourself that even though it does not feel pleasant, you will do it anyway. Look for all the distractions and excuses you are giving yourself in order to avoid or postpone the task. Focus on the end result or the gain from completing the task on time. Celebrate you along the way. Cheer yourself on for doing it despite it is difficult, despite it feels unpleasant, despite you are uncertain of the results.

If you are a chronic procrastinator, it takes time, effort and intention to change. It is possible. The more you are willing to allow the coexistence of unpleasant emotions, the less likely you will procrastinate. You will end up having less stress mentally, emotionally and physically. You will also end up having a higher quality of work done.