What Is Procrastination and How to Beat It?

We all postpone some tasks from time to time. Some call it procrastination. Some think it is a regular way of sorting out their priorities and dedicating their time to what matters more at the moment. What is procrastination? Does it have any significant impact on your life besides short-term stress? The key explanations and tips for beating procrastination are given below.

What Does ‘Procrastinating’ Mean?

To define procrastination, let’s turn to the Cambridge Dictionary. According to it, procrastination is the act of delaying something that must be done, often because it is unpleasant or boring. The word ‘delay’ in itself refers to time management, although procrastination is a more complicated phenomenon: it is a complex of committed and non-committed actions, which can also be caused by anxiety, self-doubt, or fear of failure.

So, although in many people’s minds, procrastination is something associated with passivity and inaction, it is a state in which one can show quite high productivity levels—but not in the tasks his person would actually need to complete. Often, procrastinators choose some less vital, but more pleasant duties to avoid complicated and unpleasant tasks, no matter how important they are. This state can be situational, which means putting things off happens rarely and is caused by minor boredom or misunderstanding. With time, procrastination can become chronic, and this would mean that an individual has constant problems delivering their tasks on time. They would hardly begin any work before the deadline and suffer from the non-stop feelings of guilt, tiredness, overwhelm, or other negative emotions. About 20% of adult U.S. citizens are chronic, or habitual procrastinators, according to the research conducted by Dr. Joseph Ferrari, a Distinguished Professor at DePaul University in Chicago. This state becomes a way of life if followed deliberately, and, at this point, can significantly decrease the level of life by, for instance, causing problems with getting fines for late filing their income taxes, paying bills, or else.

It does not always matter if a person has good self-discipline or motivation as procrastination can come from a total self-misunderstanding. It is a more popular problem than some might consider, and you can become one of those chronic procrastinators, too, although you may think otherwise. 

How Common is Procrastination?

80-95% of college students are reported to engage in academic procrastination as they are a bright example of a group of people who have regular tasks to fulfil, and those are often easy to monitor. They can be a good example of how easy procrastination comes into our lives and how widespread it gets. It can—and often does—affect overall academic performance, that’s why students should manage their way of preparing for classes to get good results without impairing their health. There has been a whole research conducted by Sarina Schrager, MD, MS and Elizabeth Sadowski, MD on the strategies to get more done. It states an interesting fact: multitasking, which sometimes embodies procrastination, is a myth many people believe is possible, but in reality, our brains can focus on only one thing at a time. Hence, doing a few things simultaneously is a form of self-deception, because, initially, it doesn’t let us do them faster, but rather brings tiredness and makes us work harder, not smarter. It takes 30 to 60 seconds to focus on one task after switching, which makes you work slower on it. According to the statistics, multitasking decreases productivity by 40%—still, this effect varies depending on the type of task and person’s individual features. Trying to do a few things at once can be a way of avoiding focusing on something hard and important, so it would be a good strategy to focus on something concrete and get it done—that would save much time and effort.

People can procrastinate in finishing their tasks in various fields, not exclusively at work or in their studies. It can ruin one’s sleeping schedule or negatively influence doing household chores, which, in turn, makes it harder for you to feel accomplished and comfortable with your life.

You can’t feel it instantly, but the negative impact of procrastination will slowly make you feel worse and worse until you find out the reasons behind your reluctance to do things on time and move towards your well-being.

Key Causes of Procrastination

Why do people procrastinate? The answer to this question is even more broad than the explanation of what procrastination actually is. The reasons behind an unnecessary delay of the important tasks can be various, so, to begin with, let’s consider the simple, but not so obvious ones.

Common Causes of Procrastination

This list of reasons for procrastination applies to almost all of us at different life stages:

• Not feeling like doing it. It may sound like a naive explanation, yet it’s one of the most common reasons to not start something on time believing there will be a better mood and more inspiration in the future.
• Believing you work best under pressure. Waiting up till the deadline to feel the threat of failing someone important to you can feel like a huge motivation for a procrastinator, that’s why they won’t start until the very last moment to experience more stress (that could easily be avoided and save a bunch of nerve cells to its owner). Unfortunately, it often is a flawed strategy as procrastination puts even more pressure on a person and can even harm their mental health, leading to worse procrastination habits.
• Thinking you still have plenty of time. It is a very common mistake many people make, which is especially typical for students. They often overestimate the amount of time they have before the due date and then suddenly find themselves short of days to prepare for the test, essay, presentation, etc. It can happen to adults with their jobs, taxes, or personal issues, too. We all like to have fun now and worry later, so no wonder it may get hard to see clearly how far we can postpone something that requires our full attention and effort.
• Immediate reward supremacy. The human brain always chooses what’s simple and easy to obtain, and does not consider later gratification as something significant enough to try and endure now. A long-term reward seems too abstract, and that is why it feels so nice for us to scroll social media, watch TV series, or stay in bed doing nothing—they are short term benefits, and it is much more real than the feeling of accomplishment that will (or will not) come later. This phenomenon even got its own name and is known as Present Bias. The more it develops, the harder it is to perform impulse control set priorities correctly.
• Underestimating time contribution. When thinking about the future, many people tend to be more self-confident than they are in the moment. That’s why it can be hard to leave the right amount of time to complete the necessary but unpleasant task and not put yourself under too much pressure accidentally. It often happens because we are so drawn to the short-term reward that we leave it all for the future thinking we can actually manage it easily. It’s not that big of a deal, is it? Unfortunately, many get it wrong in terms of the… terms necessary to complete the task.
• Not knowing how to do it. It is a tricky point as not many people have thought about it, but, really, sometimes we don’t start the task because we simply do not know how to do it. It might be the means and methods that stay a mystery for us, or the steps we have to take to reach the result, or the purpose that we do not completely understand. Anyway, if something about the task remains unclear, we tend to feel anxiety and real fear to start.
• Fear of making a mistake. Perfectionism has already stopped thousands of people from making great achievements as it stays a huge reason to not even begin. Being terrified to mess things often develops in anxious individuals who strongly care about others’ opinions. It is a self defeating behavior pattern that psychological science is still studying.

Medical Conditions Provoking Procrastination 

It’s not only bad habits, poor time management, bad self control, or circumstances that may force us to postpone the necessary tasks 'till tomorrow'. Although procrastination is not a medical condition in itself, some of it may come hand-in-hand with the inability to manage the duties on time.

• ADHD. Getting hyperactive and overstimulated by outside triggers makes it nearly impossible to be productive in the way most people treat productivity. Also, the racing thoughts can make it hard to even begin something, or, for example, a different wake-sleep schedule may force a person to work at night, which makes it impossible to complete the tasks by the given deadline or simply begin later because it is hard for them to focus during the day because of all the noise and fuss around.
• Depression. Patients diagnosed with depression can have hardship starting or continuing their jobs due to their self-doubt or a feeling of insecurity. Besides, depression affects the human body on the chemical level, often leading to physical exhaustion and inability to concentrate. Feeling helpless also does not add motivation to be productive, and the energy a depressed individual is capable of accumulating is often prioritized to be used for the first necessities. Although it does not apply to all, surely, and some of the depressed patients can still handle staying on the same productivity levels.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). OCD often comes hand-in-hand with procrastinating. People with OCD lean toward perfectionism, which can be quite maladaptive, and so, they find it hard to begin a task as they are afraid of failing it. Making mistakes is considered a failure with OCD, that’s why such a diagnosis can be a reason for slow decision-making and negative thoughts. Also, it seriously stretches delivering some jobs in time.

The symptoms described above can not serve as proof of a mental disorder and have to be examined by a medical specialist. It can get even harder to stop procrastinating if you experience mental health issues additionally. If you feel like you might experience any of the medical conditions listed here, it would be a good idea to consult a doctor.

Types of Procrastinators

Procrastination can be various in types, so there is a classification that allows us to sort procrastinators—it’s good for those who don't exactly understand how they can beat procrastination and finally start doing the necessary things. It has been described in the book ‘It’s About Time!’ by Dr. Linda Sapadin with Jack Maguire [1]. Altogether, there are six main types of procrastinators.

1. The Dreamer

Description: Dreamers can develop strong and really working ideas and theories, but never begin to fulfil them. It is common for this type of procrastinator to wait for a special moment or fate to give them everything ready and set them free from putting any effort into the desired result. The hardship here is that the Dreamers can’t exactly differentiate their dreams from goals and therefore, can’t plan their actions properly.

Example: A person has an idea for a novel. They know it is innovative and like anything else on the market right now—hence, it could bring both financial and social benefits to the author. Yet, they never start writing as they don’t feel like the moment is right and/or feel frustrated to begin the process because it is scarily long and laborious. 

2. The Worrier

Description: This type of procrastination is strongly associated with anxiety that does not let an individual begin working. Worriers only think of negative outcomes and keep all the ‘what ifs’ in mind, which prevents them from any kind of action and decision-making. But not making any decisions is also a decision, and that is an important idea to consider.

Example: A student doesn’t start their essay because they are afraid that the result won’t be as impressive as they hope. Another strong fear is that some other students would try much harder and overperform, which would make their work look worse. Anyway, a poorly written essay would be better than no essay at all, but procrastination talks differently.

3. The Perfectionist

Description: Perfectionist procrastinators are a little alike to Worriers, but there is a vital difference: they do not act because their major fear is not doing things perfectly, better than everybody else. Even the slightest chance that something might not turn out ideal makes a Perfectionist stay totally inactive.

Example: A job candidate doesn’t turn up to the interview because they are afraid they won’t be able to answer all the questions flawlessly and make a perfect impression on the HR and employers. This way, the missed opportunities never let them know if they were good enough and the person goes on living in illusions.

4. The Overdoer

Description: An Overdoer takes too much responsibility, saying ‘yes’ to too many tasks and doesn’t manage to finish most of them—or, sometimes, any of them at all. This type of procrastinator often has low self-esteem and is bad at prioritizing, that’s why it is so hard for them to achieve measurable success and finish what they have begun without feeling overwhelmed.

Example: An employee takes on not only the necessary or urgent tasks but also some additional ones that do not require immediate execution. An Overdoer can’t focus or sort out their priorities, that’s why it is so hard for them to complete tasks. When their to-do list grows so long it is physically impossible to check on everything, it brings frustration and disappointment, which, in turn, leads to a lack of motivation, and the circle starts again.

5. The Crisis-Maker

Description: ‘Work is done better under pressure’ is the motto of a Crisis-Maker. This kind of people always postpone all the important tasks until the very last minute to feel the rush and adrenaline, experience cortisol release, and force themselves to sacrifice their sleep and good health just for the situation to feel more dramatic.

Example: An employee knows his report deadline is two weeks due, and still does it at the very last night to feel truly productive. Crisis-Maker procrastinators create fake stress and the feeling of importance this way; for them, no work is hard if not done in a rush.

6. The Defier

Description: Defier Procrastinators are kind of rebels: they can’t accept the authority of who gives them orders and, therefore, defy what needs to be done. They might also have a different opinion on the crux of the matter, marking the given task as mundane or non-essential. The Defiers understand that sooner or later they will have to do it anyway, but create the illusion of freedom and a non-confrontational environment.

Example: A teenager is told to mop the floors by the time their parents come home from work, but cleaning up seems a much less significant task than playing video games or surfing the internet. Later, it becomes a problem, as little time left does not leave them a chance to clean properly, and the job has to be done anyway if they don’t want to fight with their parents.

We can also group these types of procrastinators into two categories: 

• driven by anxiety (Dreamer, Worrier, Perfectionist);
• driven by boredom (Overdoer, Crisis-Maker, Defier).

Generally, an individual may exhibit the traits of different types of procrastinators depending on the situation. For example, a crisis-maker in personal life can turn into a perfectionist at work.

Differences Between Procrastinators and Non-Procrastinators

Consequences of Procrastination

Chronic procrastination does not only negatively influence one’s scholar or work performance, but has a direct impact on the person's life. Here is a list of negative consequences you would probably prefer to avoid:

• Increased stress levels. A constant feeling of guilt and worrying provokes long-term distress leading to worse focus, lower cognitive abilities, and making more mistakes.
• Financial losses. People tend to be more impulsive, which results in less well-thought spending and bad financial management.
• Poor health. Constant stress and high cortisol levels may provoke not only mental or emotional issues, but also bad sleep quality and a weaker immune system, which, in turn, increases the risk of getting any illness.
• Low self-esteem. The inability to begin or finish a task makes a person disappointed in themselves, and with each failed job it is harder and harder to preserve a good image in their own eyes. The motivation drops significantly, too, and self-confidence disappears.
• Risk of developing mood disorders. Little emotional regulation, which is common among procrastinators, can lead to or be a symptom of mental illness like anxiety disorder, depression, or even bipolar disorder. 

Overcoming Procrastination

Fighting procrastination has to be a steady process; you can’t just wake up another person one day. Consider some of these tips to deal with your tasks more smoothly:

1. Know the reason for your procrastination. When you understand what is wrong with your process of getting things done, it is much easier to find a working method of dealing with this problem and succeed.
2. Create adequate to-do lists. Set realistic goals and don’t try to fulfil all weekly tasks in one or two days, be easy on yourself and only plan ahead on the things you are 100% sure you will be capable of doing in time.
3. Take little steps. Divide big jobs into smaller ones, or make a plan with stages—this way it will be clearer for you, and the misunderstanding (which can be a reason for procrastination) will simply vanish.
4. Set reasonable time limits. Besides the given due date or time, create self imposed deadlines that would come in handy with finishing each phase of your work. Time management may come as a problem at the beginning, but causes much less stress with time.
5. Work for 5 minutes. Start with this little amount of time and promise yourself to work for 5 minutes only. If you manage to do so, work for another 5 minutes. Adding the time gradually, you get your brain used to the idea of working and get in the rhythm.
6. Think of a prize. Don’t forget to reward yourself with some small pleasant things and positive emotions when the task or stage is finished (if negative reinforcement works better for you, think of the detention you’d get for not completing your to-do list).

To overcome procrastination, here are some important things to remember:

• procrastination is not a personality trait or mental illness, it is just a condition that can be improved;
• it will take deliberate practice, constant self regulation, and some manageable steps to fight procrastination;

• this process will surely last quite long.

  So, maybe you will need a change of lifestyle to learn to deliver the results by the deadline. Anyway, it will only be a positive change, so there is no reason to not try and make your future self better!

References:

[1] Sapadin, L.; Maguire, J. (1997) It's about time! : the six styles of procrastination and how to overcome them. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Penguin Books