Why Do We Procrastinate?

“I will do it tomorrow.”

“I can work better at night so let’s just stop here.”

“I have a huge amount of time to do this task so I can finish it later.”

Are you familiar with these ideas? And do these ideas put you in a position that is hard to manage as the deadline is close?

Let’s first define the term “procrastination”. According to a very general definition, it means avoiding the work that needs to be done within a certain amount of time knowing that it may have negative consequences. At this point, “delay with awareness” is the critical part. We already know that it may not be a good idea to do so, yet, we procrastinate.

In fact, the motivation behind procrastination might be different for each of us. Yet, research says that there are some possible common causes as well.

One of the main reasons for procrastination is “the fear of failure”. It means that the more fear we feel about attaining our goals, the less likely we are to take steps to do so. This behavior, procrastination, may provide a comfort zone by preventing us from facing the fear of being unsuccessful or even its probability. The core idea here is “all or nothing”. We may tend to think that “if I don’t want to fail, I can just let it go”. Some recent studies on procrastination also show that people regret not doing things more than they regret doing them.

Another reason can be “perfectionism”. The idea of “all or nothing” steps in here as well. One’s motivation behind procrastination might be that the task should be perfect when it’s done, if it’s not going to be perfect, better not to do it at all. In this way, there might be delays in starting or completing the task. Perfectionists worry that failure may elicit criticism from colleagues and authorities so they tend to procrastinate more when they are more afraid of failing and facing judgment.

It’s also possible that we procrastinate because we can’t decide when to start which task. Having difficulties in determining the priorities is a very natural situation. Yet, this kind of decision paralysis may lead us to procrastinate as well. Some cognitions here might be: which task is more urgent, how to put them in order, which one is more essential, etc. It’s possible to become demotivated while drowning in these thoughts. The state of being demotivated is a valid reason to procrastinate, isn’t it?

A 2013 study found that procrastination is a “short-term mood repair”. To put it simply, it is more about focusing on the “urgency of managing negative moods” rather than staying on task. We try to run from some negative moods and feelings caused by the stress of finishing a task by regretting doing it “now”. The repetitive, self-blaming thoughts most of us tend to have after procrastination are known as procrastinatory cognitions. Dr. Sirois (2004) says that the thoughts we have about procrastination typically exacerbate our distress and stress, which in turn causes more procrastination. There is actually a vicious circle here.

How can I protect myself from procrastination?

One option is to forgive ourselves when we delay a task. A study shows that self-forgiveness promotes productivity by allowing the individual to leave behind procrastination behaviors and focus on the upcoming task without the burden of past actions. In this way, we can realize that it is not too late to finish the task and get back our motivation to do it.

In fact, many studies show that self-compassion supports motivation and personal growth. Not only does it reduce the psychological distress that we know is the primary culprit of procrastination, it also actively increases motivation, enhances feelings of self-worth, and nurtures positive emotions such as optimism, curiosity, and personal initiative.

The main point is not directly to stop procrastination, but to know and support ourselves. Identifying our motivations and cognitions under our procrastinative behaviors might be very valuable as a step in reducing these behaviors. It must be known that procrastination is not some kind of laziness. If we delay a task, there is always a reason and it is important to recognize what our needs are in order to start or finish the task. Taking personal notes can also help us after we decide what we need. It can be helpful to make a priority list and a to-do list that includes both our work tasks and self-supportive points such as “taking a 15 minutes coffee break” or “doing a 10-minute body stretching” before starting a big task. They all depend on one’s needs and cognitions. Don’t procrastinate being nice to yourself and showing self-compassion :)

Thank you for reading.
See you in the next newsletter.

References

2014, May 20. Breaking the Perfectionism–Procrastination Infinite Loop. Web Standards Sherpa. https://webstandardssherpa.com/reviews/breaking-the-perfectionism-procrastination-infinite-loop

Kane, B. (n.d.). 3 Proven Strategies to Help You Overcome Fear of Failure. Doist. https://blog.doist.com/overcome-fear-of-failure/

Sirois, F.M. (2004). Procrastination and intentions to perform health behaviors: The role of self-efficacy and the consideration of future consequences. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 115–128.

What is procrastination? PROCRASTINATION.COM. https://procrastination.com/what-is-procrastination

Wohl, M. J., Pychyl, T. A., & Bennett, S. H. (2010). I forgive myself, now I can study: How self-forgiveness for procrastinating can reduce future procrastination. Personality and individual differences, 48(7), 803–808.

Zhou, M., Lam, K. K. L., & Zhang, Y. (2021). Metacognition and Academic Procrastination: A Meta-Analytical Examination. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 1–35.