Why we procrastinate and how to finally stop doing it

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Laziness and deadlines have nothing to do with it, emotions are to blame for everything. Here's how to take control of them.

What is procrastination

This is a voluntary postponement of planned activities, which can lead to unpleasant consequences. Many people think that this gap between the need to work and the work itself is due to laziness, poor time management, and lack of motivation.

In fact, the reasons lie in a violation of the control of emotions. Procrastination occurs because certain tasks make us feel bad.

People put off or avoid unpleasant things in order to feel good now, and neglect adverse consequences in the future.

To break this habit, you need to pay attention to your mood and thoughts that appear when you are faced with such tasks.

Why do people procrastinate

It can be a character trait or temporary behavior. Some people deliberately postpone the task until later - they engage in active procrastination, which sometimes helps to develop creativity and improve work results.

Canadian scientists from Carlton University observed student behavior and found out that they procrastinated when faced with stressful or unpleasant tasks. To distract themselves, the students did things that were more attractive to them.

It's important to note that the task can be stressful and frustrating for one person and downright simple for another. It depends on personal perception. And even a simple task can cause procrastination if it takes too long to think about it.

Research has also found this connection: if a person is in a bad mood today, tomorrow they are likely to procrastinate. But if he procrastinates today, it does not mean that tomorrow his mood will deteriorate. That is, procrastination is a consequence of a bad mood, not a cause.

The connection between procrastination and mood has been established by German scientists. They concluded that people are less likely to procrastinate if they can handle and benefit from distracting emotions. The good news is that you can learn to control your emotions.

Emotional control refers to the ability of a person to cope with emotions, experiences that are associated with them, and thoughts. There are many mechanisms of such control: some are good - breaks, sleep, conversations with friends; others are bad - smoking, fighting, self-harm.

Under the influence of stress, anxiety, or unpleasant emotions, people behave impulsively just to feel relief. However, if they are confident that there is nothing to fix their bad mood, they will not procrastinate, because it still will not help.

People in this situation sometimes have negative recurring thoughts - procrastinatory cognitions. These are memories of past experiences or experiences of procrastination as a phenomenon. Emotional control will not get rid of them. They are on a par with anxiety, stress, negative emotions.

Sometimes procrastination is a symptom of a mental disorder. For example, even the simplest task can be stressful for people with depression or anxiety disorders. And a person with low self-esteem puts off work and misses deadlines just to prove their feelings are right.

How procrastination works

The process of procrastination can be explained using a diagram based on the cognitive-emotional system of the individual. Its essence is that a person's behavior does not depend on his character traits, but on how he perceives the situation and his role in it. How a person behaves in different circumstances is influenced by five factors:

• how a person interprets information about the world around him and his experience and how he relates to it;
• a person's ideas about what he can do in a certain situation and what not;
• its goals and values;
• expectations and beliefs related to the possible consequences of behavior;
• emotional reactions and mood.

That is, procrastination is the result of how a person assesses the situation with a task: what emotions it evokes in him, what consequences its fulfillment or non-fulfillment will lead to, how he coped with similar tasks before, how all this will affect his mood.

For example, when a student does not read a research paper in any way, it may mean that he is worried about the results. Perhaps he has already dealt with the works of this author, did not understand anything and is sure that he will not figure it out again. Or he considers himself not smart enough in principle to start studying the material.

Procrastination ultimately leads to the fact that there is no time to complete the task. And a person either simply does not do anything, or begins to worry: he has anxiety, a desire for instant pleasure, he begins to regret.

In any case, all this turns into a deterioration in the quality of work and changes in relations with others. Fear of facing these consequences is a common cause of procrastination.

Such beliefs can arise from problems with self-esteem, memories of past experiences, or a tendency to exaggerate little things.

When the urge to complete the task wears off, we move on to distracting activities that help us avoid unpleasant emotions and correct the bad mood for a short time. For example, we meet with friends, watch TV shows, surf the Internet.

This is a very simplified procrastination process. Motivation complicates it.

How motivation affects procrastination

The realization that postponing a task can have consequences can in itself motivate you not to procrastinate. But this is not always the case.

In some cases, motivation is somewhere in the background, in others it helps to go towards the goal. However, the concern about completing a task remains in place until it is completed. Having reached the limit, it can manifest itself in different forms, for example, in the form of an inspiring surge of strength in the middle of the night to take and bring the matter to an end.

The tricky part is that motivation and procrastination can get along well with each other, creating cognitive dissonance.

The brain then has to deal with two conflicting thoughts at the same time. Oddly enough, this is what can help to achieve psychological comfort. The brain will force you to act in order to resolve internal contradictions as quickly as possible. But it can happen in a different way.

Thoughts have two paths: one leads to problem solving, the other leads to procrastination. Problems can arise if you get stuck somewhere in between - at the crossroads of anxiety. There you will find a double blow. You will be worried about completing the task and also about not doing it.

This condition can interfere with sleep quality, be productive, and move towards successful procrastination. Yes, it happens. The point is, people usually don't just procrastinate. At the same time, we postpone the task and try to force ourselves to take on it with the help of internal motivation, a system of rewards, expectations of happiness, fame, pleasure.

When procrastination becomes a habit, these two opposite courses of action can cause problems, such as a lack of independence and a lack of sense of accomplishment - procrastination will enslave you. To prevent this, you need to fight it.

10 ways to beat procrastination

1. Realize that you are worried about completing the assignment

You may know about this, but not fully understand all the details. You need to dig deeper and turn to your feelings. Try to keep a diary: write down your actions and the emotions you perform.

This technique can be combined with others to help combat negative thoughts. For example, breaking a large task into several: if going to the gym makes you anxious, start small - wear sneakers, carry a gym bag, and so on. The smaller the step, the less emotion it evokes.

2. Keep tasks closer and distractions farther away

Try to mentally give more meaning to the task and discount distractions. If that's not enough, change the environment to suit your needs.

For example, if you pay bills online, but regularly postpone the process, even when you have money, make sure you remember all the details. A forgotten password or personal account number are unnecessary obstacles that lead to procrastination.

Think about the problem in specific terms and talk about it in the present, not in the future tense. This will make it more real and tangible and reduce the chances of procrastination.

3. Relax before bed

Stretching, yoga, meditation, or some other relaxing practice will help your brain reboot. Then you can calmly plan things for the next morning, convince yourself that there are no reasons for alarm and the task is doable, even if it requires effort. After that, procrastination will give way, and you will be able to sleep peacefully.

4. Prepare for the task mentally

Make a plan of action, a list of what to do or what not to do. This is not necessary for self-organization, but for controlling emotions. Working through tasks in your mind will help you better understand your mood and prepare for possible negative reactions in advance.

5. Reduce stress with the IBSR method

A common cause of procrastination is pre-test anxiety: anxiety about passing the exam, preparation for it, and its results. Request-Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) can help avoid this. It consists of three stages and does not only help students.

1. Analyze procrastinating cognitions at five levels: emotions (stress, anxiety), influences (procrastination, irritability), causes (bad experiences, family pressure), short-term benefits (improved mood, hanging out with friends, watching YouTube), and results (bad grades, dropping out), job loss).
2. Imagine a reality in which conditions have changed and you do not have procrastination knowledge. This should help change your point of view.
3. Look for evidence that your procrastinating knowledge is wrong. For example, you may recall how well you did in school or university, what you accomplished in the past, how well you did a test.

6. Develop new habits and get rid of old ones

Try to give up habits that are detrimental to productivity, such as perfectionism or surfing the Internet. Conversely, get ones that help fight procrastination: making the bed, eating right, exercising.

7. Use a strategy of emotional self-regulation

It has four steps.

1. Identify the task for which you are procrastinating.
2. Become aware of the unpleasant emotions associated with it: boredom, fear of failure or judgment.
3. Train yourself to tolerate these emotions. Let them exist, do not suppress them.
4. Tell yourself that you are strong and resilient. Give the task more meaning and devote yourself emotionally to it.

8. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness helps control the effects of procrastination by improving quality of life and health. It becomes easier to deal with emotions and resist the effects of stress.

9. Forgive yourself for procrastinating

Think about the tasks that led to her in the past, and forgive yourself for that. No feeling of guilt, stress or anxiety. This will make you less likely to procrastinate from such tasks in the future.

10. Use the Pomodoro Technique

It is a time management method in which tasks are divided into time intervals. It will help to change perception from the position of "How long does it take" to "What can I do in 20 minutes." This can be helpful in combating procrastination.

Proceed according to the following plan:

• Set a timer for 20-25 minutes;
• During this time, work without distraction.
• After the timer rings, put off your work and rest for 5 minutes.

Repeat the steps again when the cycle (one "tomato") is over. After the fourth cycle, the break can be made longer.