Are You a Procrastinator?

I’m sure everyone who clicked in has some degree of procrastination, right? Before we solve this problem, we need to understand what procrastination is. Only with the right remedy can we completely eradicate the symptoms.

What is Procrastination?

Procrastination, as the name implies, is a behavior pattern where people deliberately delay taking action when they need to complete tasks or make decisions. Despite being aware of the negative consequences of such delays, the urge to procrastinate is irresistible. Procrastination is not limited to work or school; it can also occur in various aspects of daily life, such as delaying household chores, health check-ups, or important life decisions.

The above explanation helps you identify whether you have procrastination. Most of the roots of procrastination stem from deep within us — our psychology and emotions.

People often equate laziness with procrastination, but they are not the same. Simply put, procrastination is intentionally delaying the completion of something. Laziness is having an idea but not wanting to act on it, essentially waiting for something to fall from the sky. The difference lies in one wanting to do something but not wanting

Examples of Psychological Factors [1]

Back to the point, procrastinators consciously delay tasks, ultimately causing the quality of the tasks to plummet because they didn’t account for the time required. In this example, it’s clear that a procrastinator always gives excuses to themselves and those around them, such as “there’s plenty of time.” This is one of the most common and deadly excuses. I’m sure all of you have “valid” reasons for delaying tasks, right? Don’t ask why I know, because I’m one of them. Have you noticed that when we do anything, there are reasons for not having enough time? Have you ever thought that this reason might be due to your own indulgence in time and failure to manage it, consciously delaying time?

This is a procrastination issue caused by psychological factors, a false sense of hope due to the feeling of having a lot of time.

Examples of Psychological Factors [2]

At this point, we might think it’s okay, we can handle it, but because of the difficulty of the task, we keep telling ourselves, “I can’t do it today; I’ll continue tomorrow.” This way, we fall into a cycle, and in the end, the task is either only partially completed or started but never finished.

Avoiding high-difficulty tasks that take a long time to complete is actually a human norm. People usually prefer short-term, easy, and enjoyable activities, while tasks that do not provide short-term satisfaction are quite the opposite. Simply put, this is the concept of short-term pleasure followed by long-term pain.

Procrastination due to avoidance can lead to a significant decline in task quality, which is indeed quite shocking.

These two examples are just two of many, and I will illustrate more in other articles. Now, I want everyone to understand the issue of procrastination.

The Psychological Mechanism of Procrastination

The main factors leading to procrastination mostly come from one’s psychology and inner self, with a small portion coming from inherently low resistance.

Indeed, a small number of people find it hard to resist short-term pleasure due to inherently low resistance, making it difficult to immediately refuse short-term pleasure.

As mentioned earlier, another major part comes from one’s inner self and psychology. People who fear failure tend to delay tasks to alleviate and avoid the fear of failure, thereby gaining temporary inner peace.

People who avoid tasks due to high difficulty and long completion times end up procrastinating repeatedly.

Those who seek immediate feedback, such as immediate pleasure, feel that tasks hinder their happiness and prefer to enjoy first and then work.

These traits are best described as human nature rather than personal character flaws. As I mentioned before, humans prefer short-term pleasure followed by long-term pain and like to do things that bring quick returns, such as happiness. These are all about seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. I’m not making excuses for my procrastination; rather, I recognize these as inherent human traits. What we can do is continuously improve ourselves to avoid severe procrastination.

External Factors

In addition to psychological influences, external factors also play a role, especially the impact of electronic devices. I believe psychological factors have a greater influence than external factors, possibly in a 70%:30% ratio. I am also a person who uses my phone frequently, but I will not prevent anyone from using their phone due to potential impacts.

Humans have a strong attraction to interesting things, so it is common to procrastinate due to addiction. Of course, it’s not just electronic devices; they are just a simple example. What I want to say is that no matter what interesting thing you face, you need to know when to stop to prevent procrastination.

Do You Really Think You Are a Procrastinator?

Don’t worry, my title is not wrong. I just want you to confirm one more thing.

Most people think procrastination is just delaying the time to complete a task, but actually delaying the time to complete something doesn’t count as true procrastination.

Procrastination has a second layer of meaning, which is whether the delayed thing is completed within the delayed time.

For example, [1] the company gave me a week to complete a survey report, but I delayed it until the last two days, which is Saturday. I had to finish the report, and I did it.

[2] The company asked me to complete a survey within a week, but I delayed it until the last two days, which are Saturday and Sunday. I only completed half of it.

The difference between the two is whether it was completed. If you are like that, you are not actually a procrastinator. You just delayed things. So if you are like that, don’t blame yourself. As long as you complete the work on time, it doesn’t count as procrastination.

A Quick Summary and My Advice

After reading all this, I believe it’s important to say, “Don’t blame yourself for procrastinating. It won’t help you get out of the situation you’re in. Instead, you’ll only get stuck there because of your emotions. Actively identifying the cause and addressing it is the best way to treat procrastination. I believe that both you and I are working towards eliminating procrastination from our lives.”

For more articles, click this link to my blog: — C.CALVIN’S LIFE BLOG (ccqwslifeblog.com)