I’ll Do It Later: A Tale of Procrastination
Matshona Dhliwayo emphasises the significance of completing tasks promptly with his statement, “Doing things at the last minute reminds us of the importance of doing things in the first minute.” From this statement, we all can relate to having those times where we don’t feel like we can pull through to finish all the work we need to get done. When this happens, we tend to procrastinate about everything that is necessary and important to us. Let’s take a deeper look at its insights and how it affects us psychologically.
What is procrastination?
Procrastination is the act of intentionally or habitually putting off something that can be done immediately. It’s kind of a blameworthy delay, especially through laziness or apathy, which is nothing but an aimless waste of time.
The word procrastination came from the Latin word “procrastinatus,” where “pro” means “forward” and “crastinatus” means “of tomorrow,” adding up to the meaning deferred until tomorrow. It’s a process where we often choose to do something other than the task at hand, despite knowing that this delay will cause us to suffer in the future.
Besides, procrastination is a typical human behavior that controls us from being productive, affecting our psychological and mental health. The act of procrastination may vary from chronic to situational. It is known that almost 80-95% of students often engage in procrastination, putting off their academic work, which leads to suffering in the long run.
Why do we procrastinate?
Procrastination can have detrimental consequences for our productivity, well-being, and overall success. While the reasons for procrastination vary from person to person, some common factors include:
Fear and Anxiety
Being afraid of doing something new or starting something one might not be able to finish is the most natural human trait, and this is one of the major causes of procrastination. People mostly procrastinate out of fear of failure. The more anxiety we experience about a task, the more likely we tend to put it off until later. But the truth is, the scarier it is, the more it’s worth it in the end. Usually, all the things that are not in our comfort zone or we are not habituated with make us procrastinate, even though the thing is important for us. Also, the fear of being judged or embarrassed can cause us to put off scheduling meetings or completing projects. For example, we often delay an essential medical checkup, being afraid of a diagnosis. Students tend to procrastinate about their academic work, fearing failure to complete it properly.
Low Self-esteem
Having a lack of faith in one’s abilities often becomes a reason for procrastination. Believing that one can carry out tasks is essential for being productive because if we don’t believe that we are able to get good results with whatever we are doing, it’s not possible to get motivated to do that. If our sense of self-efficacy is low, we’re less likely to begin a task or to see it through. Low self-confidence and lack of belief in oneself make us subconsciously avoid doing the work because we think that we aren’t good enough and then build a whole scenario in our mind of how everyone will see it or criticize our work, which will make us feel even worse. If we can’t overcome this self-deprecating cycle of thoughts, we might be the ones saying procrastination ruined our lives.
Prone to Distraction
Distraction in our surrounding environment can prevent us from focusing on the task at hand. In spite of being fully motivated to work, it’s hard to see any progress when we are constantly distracted. This negatively affects our productivity and leads to procrastination. Many of us can relate to the lure of social media over a dreaded activity, such as paying bills or completing assignments. But we live in a high-tech era and are surrounded by people. So, it’s not possible to fully eliminate distractions, but we have to learn to handle interruptions and focus on what’s more important.
Perfectionism
Worrying about not being perfect can play a role in procrastinating more. People tend to delay tasks because they believe they won’t perform well and want to put off a task until they suddenly feel more inspired or have a better idea, although inspiration is more likely to strike once a person starts a task. This is mostly related to the desire to pursue a more preferred option later. But why should we pressure ourselves so much for being perfect even before we start? Without even trying, we just can’t conclude that we can’t do this perfectly. We should remember that done is always better than perfect.
Low Motivation
It’s probably the most common cause of procrastinating when we are not just motivated to start a task. It’s completely normal as a human not willing to work all the time, but if that’s a continuous thing, then it’s certainly a concerning issue. People’s motivation to work can be reduced for various reasons, including low value or delayed outcomes, not having proper deadlines, low expectancy of positive outcomes, and difficulty in associating tasks with outcomes. Moreover, having inertia or the tendency to keep doing what we are already doing also involves various psychological mechanisms, which eventually results in reducing motivation for starting something new.
Lack of Prioritisation
If our priorities are not clear, then it’s very common to get busy instead of being productive, which is also procrastinating because we are postponing one important task but doing many other things. Getting ourselves occupied with tons of unrelated tasks like responding to emails or doing chores will not likely take us closer to our goals. We have to set our priorities straight to organize our life according to them and not waste our time on less important stuff, procrastinating about the important ones.
Conditions of Mental Health
Sometimes, underlined mental health conditions can likely be a reason to procrastinate more. For instance, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) can make it difficult for someone to concentrate on work and eventually more likely to stop engaging with it. Hyper-fixation, another symptom of ADHD, causes procrastination when people are extremely focused on tasks they enjoy, avoiding less compelling responsibilities. Similarly, depression can also cause someone to procrastinate by making them feel tired and reducing their interest in outcomes. Indecisiveness, another symptom of depression, also contributes to procrastination. Sometimes, you just don’t want to do it even though you have no causes or other things to do. You just can’t convince yourself to do that.
How does procrastination affect our life?
“Procrastination is like a credit card. It is a lot of fun until you get the bill.” - Christopher Parker
The impact of procrastination on our lives extends beyond mere inconvenience, echoing Christopher Parker’s analogy that likens it to a credit card – enjoyable initially but burdensome when the consequences emerge. Procrastination, a habit familiar to us all, has far-reaching implications. When the tendency to delay essential tasks becomes ingrained, the repercussions not only influence our life, productivity, and happiness but also cast a shadow on our mental and physical well-being. Some evident repercussions of succumbing to procrastination include:
Taking a Toll on Mental and Physical Well-being
Procrastination affects people’s well-being and happiness and is related to a wide range of mental health problems, such as stress and anxiety, which cause people to experience different negative emotions like guilt, shame, frustration, and sadness. It also increases the rate of physical illness. It is seen that that 94% of people experienced that procrastinating has a negative effect on their happiness. When students were asked, almost 80% of the responses were negative. Moreover, procrastination is also associated with issues in adjusting to and coping with physical health problems. In addition, a specific type of procrastination leads to specific health issues. Whatever the issue is, it definitely causes harm to both our mental and physical health.
Serving a Major Barrier to Academic Success in students
In students’ lives, procrastinating or putting off daily homework or assignments is one of the biggest obstacles in the way of success. It is associated with a wide range of academic issues such as lower exam scores, poor performance on tasks, increased course failures, longer study duration, and eventually dropping out rather than graduating. Eighty to ninety-five percent of college students report that procrastination occupies most of their time in the form of behaviors like sleeping, being on phones, or playing games, which eventually hampers their academic performance.
Jeopardising Opportunities
We often are indecisive and procrastinate about doing something new, such as applying for a new job or a new university, but forget that most opportunities and chances come around only once. If we don’t make the proper use of it for procrastinating, we may never get a second chance.
Posing a Threat to Careers
Procrastination can also be harmful to our career and can sabotage our goals if we are not rigid about it. It also includes various employment and financial issues, and it reduces employers' productivity and work performance. For example, when employees are wasting most of their time, they often tend to hurry to complete tasks before deadlines, which leads to low-quality work and makes them frustrated.
Eroding Self-esteem
While procrastinating or purposely delaying our important tasks, we are not only wasting our precious time but also reducing our productivity. When we fail to achieve what we want, we lack self-confidence and doubt ourselves, thinking that we are good for nothing. This eventually leads to a cycle of more procrastination.
How do I navigate the perils of procrastination?
I personally believe that procrastination is a deadly habit that can reduce one’s productivity to a huge extent, and its effects are far-reaching. So, I always try my best not to be habituated with this, but oftentimes I find myself delaying or putting off my necessary work until the last minute. When I first started my university, I was having issues coping up with the new courses and different environment. Due to sudden academic pressure, I started procrastinating, as I was afraid of not being up to the mark, but I always try not to make it a habit.
How can we overcome procrastination?
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase; just take the first step.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Overcoming procrastination requires a multifaceted approach, beginning with the fundamental step of simply initiating the task at hand, fostering a sense of momentum that mitigates the grip of procrastination. Setting precise and realistic goals, coupled with a steadfast determination to achieve them, forms the foundation for long-term success. A crucial aspect involves introspection to identify the root causes of procrastination, followed by the formulation of a comprehensive action plan. Cultivating willpower and motivation becomes paramount, creating a positive mindset that fuels one's commitment to tasks. Ultimately, the overarching goal is to increase overall productivity, turning the tide against wasted time and transforming inertia into purposeful action. This is how individuals can systematically dismantle the barriers of procrastination, paving the way for sustained success and accomplishment.
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” - Abraham Lincoln.
Procrastination is often called the thief of time and opportunities. No doubt, it is a tough habit to beat, and sometimes it’s completely natural to feel demotivated to work or to be lazy. But if it’s not addressed properly in time, then it can get out of control, which will eventually lead us to failure in every sphere of life. So, we must always try to remain ever vigilant about our potentials, creativity, and try to make the best use of every opportunity that comes into our life.
