Although procrastination is not a directly business-related topic, I recently gave a short lecture on it so I would like to share some interesting facts with you as well. Procrastination of important things and obligations does not necessarily have to be related to business, but as it permeates our private life, it often affects our business life as well.
What are the real reasons for human procrastination? There is a surprising amount of scientific literature and research dealing with this topic. Some reasons may seem like common sense and self-explanatory, but some go a little deeper into the human psyche. So let’s get started.
Term definition
Etymologically, the term “procrastination” comes from the Latin: procrastinare, pro- (forward), and -crastinus (until the next day).
Procrastination means putting off obligations, delaying and postponing the beginning or completion of obligations.
Postponing some obligations or decisions happens to everyone at least occasionally, but overall about 20% of people suffer from chronic procrastination. Both sexes are equally represented, with slightly more men. Otherwise, it is a very common phenomenon among students (about 50%).
Not every postponement of obligations is procrastination. “Real” procrastination must meet 3 main criteria, i.e. it must be:
- unproductive
- unnecessary
- irrational
Irrationality is a very important factor here, because postponing an obligation can also be for rational reasons, for example unpredictable situations, weather conditions, etc.
Causes and consequences
There are many causes for procrastination, but the most common are fear of failure, lack of motivation, perfectionism and high expectations, low self-confidence, insecurity, problems with authority.
Procrastination consequently leads to increased stress, anxiety, feelings of guilt, loss of productivity, failure to fulfill obligations, etc. All these feelings push people even deeper into procrastination and it becomes chronic, like a vicious circle from which there is no easy way out.
Different perspectives and approaches
How does science explain the causes of procrastination? There are more approaches to this topic, and I will single out a few of them:
EVOLUTION
Many thousands of years ago people were focused mainly on short-term results. Survival on a daily basis was imperative. Strategies, planning, long-term goals were not in their sphere of interest, the important thing was to find a safe shelter and food. This is why our ancestors made sudden decisions and postponed all things that had distant and uncertain results.
The modern world and the standard of living has changed significantly and places a much greater focus on long-term goals and planning.
NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
The neuropsychological approach describes procrastination as a problem in the prefrontal cortex – the area of the brain responsible for executive functions.
Executive functions are skills that enable us to focus, plan, set priorities, and carry out plans and tasks.
There are many different types of such skills, so people can get stuck at different stages in the process. Someone can stop at the very setting of the goals, someone at the very end, but the result is always procrastination.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
The socio-psychological approach considers the regulation of emotions and moods responsible for procrastination. Procrastination is an attempt to avoid negative emotions, such as stress, anxiety or discomfort. In this way, we choose a short-term good feeling even though we know that it will have negative consequences later.
Regulation of emotions here would mean that we accept these negative feelings and recognize that they will not just disappear later. Emotion regulation and executive functions are closely related to self-regulation.
Self-regulation is the ability to manage and control one’s own behaviour and thoughts and change them in accordance with the requirements of the situation.
Self-regulation includes the ability to inhibit the first response, resist irrelevant stimuli, and persist in tasks even when we do not enjoy them.
Research and key factors
Numerous studies have been conducted on the topic of procrastination, and I will mention some that were particularly interesting to me:
Imagining the future
One Stanford study showed that procrastination is closely related to how people perceive their future “self”.
The research participants were given the task of imagining and describing 3 concepts: self, future self and a complete stranger. Their neurological activity was measured during their descriptions – normally it should be equal when describing themselves and their future self and significantly different when describing a stranger.
The results showed that certain respondents had a very weak perception of the connection between the present and the future “self”. Their neurological activity when describing their future self and a stranger was almost equal. These individuals were significantly more prone to procrastination because they did not feel that it would be them in the future who will bear the consequences of inaction.
Impulsivity
Other research shows that the key to procrastination is impulsivity. Impulsive people live in the moment and want everything immediately, it is difficult for them to control themselves and delay any gratification. They don’t have the ability to endure short-term discomfort for long-term gain.
Impulsivity thus leads to procrastination, poor organization, distraction and difficulty in planning work in advance. Even after starting a project, impulsive people are very quick to get distracted and give in to distractions.
ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
Studies were also conducted to determine whether persons diagnosed with ADHD show different levels of procrastination. The results from one study showed that about 35% of subjects without ADHD suffered from chronic procrastination, while as many as 75% of subjects with ADHD suffered from it.
Two symptoms associated with ADHD have proven to be key – attention deficit and sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT). A lack of attention is also manifested in a lack of persistence, organization and tendency to distractions. On the other hand, SCT manifests through frequent daydreaming, confusion, slow behaviour and forgetfulness.
Personality
Personality, as the totality of an individual’s characteristics and behaviour, naturally has something to do with procrastination. Research has shown that people who procrastinate are often disorganized, impulsive and easily distracted. There can often be a big difference in motivation if the task is given by someone else.
Furthermore, it has been shown that procrastination is not actually a flaw in personality or skill, but rather a disconnect between task requirements and motivation. Procrastinators are not motivated extrinsically, but intrinsically. Therefore, potential rewards or sanctions will not increase motivation. Such person must want to do something on his own, i.e. they must have their own internal motivation to perform the task.
Way of upbringing
Of course, the extent to which parental upbringing influences the development of procrastination was also investigated. The authoritarian style of parenting showed the worst results in terms of later development of procrastination in the child. This style can be described as low in warmth and high in control – children are strictly controlled, required to be very obedient and often threatened with sanctions.
In this way, the child’s development of control is reduced and the valorization of an achieved goal is not developed. Procrastination can also appear here as a way of rebellion, or passive aggression.
Defense mechanisms
Our defense mechanisms are actually our excuses. How can we “rationalize” procrastination to ourselves and resort to avoiding a stressful situation or location?
- denial and trivialization – some other task is more important at that moment or that key task is not really that urgent or important,
- distractions – doing anything just to forget about the task,
- hypothetical or untrue scenarios – comparing the consequences of one’s behavior with other, much worse situations,
- valorization – satisfaction due to completed things that were done in the meantime, while actually the stressful task should have been done,
- blaming – falsely attributing procrastination to some external factors.
Potential solutions
Is there a universal solution to procrastination? Unfortunately, of course there isn’t. We are all so different and complex that it is impossible to create a recipe that would suit everyone. However, almost all research indicates that self-regulation and facing the problem is in every case a significantly better solution than avoiding and procrastinating.
I don’t want to sound like some kind of self-help guru, but there are many different solutions and simple tips, for example:
- independent monitoring – set goals for completing the project, monitor progress and reward yourself after each completed goal,
- break a big problem into small steps and tasks that are easier to master,
- remember that not everything has to be done at once and have realistic expectations of yourself,
- try to start with the task for just a short period of time, for example only 5 minutes (that way it is more likely that you will continue),
- accept negative feelings instead of using them as an excuse to procrastinate,
- understand that performing these unpleasant tasks is a way to get rid of stress and get out of the vicious circle,
- understand that the discomfort we feel at that moment will be even greater later,
- realize that the future “you” is the same as the present “you”, and not some other person who will bear the consequences of procrastination,
- project yourself in the future – try to imagine the good feelings you will have after completing the task, and on the other hand, the bad feelings you will have if you do nothing.
One of the most radical solutions for procrastination is to remove absolutely everything that can distract us and that actually serves to “rely on” as an excuse or distraction when we should start a stressful task.
Illustratively, this would mean sitting in a completely empty room (of course, not very easily feasible in practice). The example is actually related to prison sentences and solitary confinement. Staying in an empty room with nothing to do is a form of torture, because our brain does not like to be “bored”. If we have nothing to do and no distractions at all, we will almost certainly start doing anything, even that thing we are trying so hard to avoid.
Just imagine being in solitary confinement for a while, after a while you would most likely do any task with pleasure.
Although we have all experienced putting off something important for various reasons, procrastination can be a very serious problem if it turns into chronic behaviour. The causes can be different, but the basis is often fear and short-term avoidance of stress.
After the lecture, individuals from the audience asked me how to tell the difference between laziness and procrastination. It was actually a good question, and the answer lies in the feeling of guilt. If the person feels guilty for delaying the obligation, then it is procrastination. If there are no negative feelings – you are just lazy. 😉
Let’s end this topic with a well-known quote from Horace:
Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero.
Or in translation: Seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow.
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