We’ve all been plagued by procrastination at one time or another. For some, it’s a chronic problem. Others find that it hits only some areas of their lives. The net results, though, are usually the same – wasted time, missed opportunities, poor performance, self-deprecation, or increased stress.
Procrastination is letting the low-priority tasks get in the way of high-priority ones.
It’s socializing with colleagues when you know that important work project is due soon, watching TV instead of doing your household chores, or talking about superficial things with your partner rather than discussing your relationship concerns.
We all seem to do fine with things we want to do or enjoy doing for fun. But, when we perceive tasks as difficult, inconvenient, or scary, we may shift into our procrastination mode. We have very clever ways of fooling ourselves.
CAUSES
Procrastination is a bad habit. Like other habits, there are two general causes.
The first is the crooked thinking we employ to justify our behavior. The second source is our behavioral patterns.
A closer look at our crooked thinking reveals three major issues in delaying tactics – perfectionism, inadequacy, and discomfort. Those who believe they must turn in the most exemplary report may wait until all available resources have been reviewed or endlessly rewrite draft after draft. Worry over producing the perfect project prevents them from finishing on time. Feelings of inadequacy can also cause delays.
Those who know for a fact that they are incompetent often believe they will fail and will avoid the unpleasantness of having their skills put to the test. Fear of discomfort is another way of putting a stop to what needs to be done. Yet, the more we delay, the worse the discomforting problem (like a toothache) becomes.
Our behavioral patterns are the second cause. Getting started on an unpleasant or difficult task may seem impossible. Procrastination is likened to the physics concept of inertia – a mass at rest tends to stay at rest.
Greater forces are required to start change than to sustain change. Another way of viewing it is that avoiding tasks reinforces procrastination, which makes it harder to get things going. A person may be stuck, too, not by the lack of desire, but by not knowing what to do. Here are some things to break the habit. Remember, don’t just read them, do them!
If we begin with the notion that procrastination is not the basic problem but rather an attempted cure for fears, self-doubts, and dislike of work, then it is obvious that most procrastinators will have to focus on the real problems–underlying fears, attitudes and irrational ideas–in order to overcome the procrastinating behavior. After accepting this idea, the next step was to figure out what the real underlying problem was for me.
I started by asking, Am I a relaxed or a tense procrastinator? Tense procrastinators suffer from strong, sometimes mean, internal critics; relaxed procrastinators have bamboozled their self-critic by denying reality. From this point, each procrastinator must deal with his/her own unique emotions, skills, thoughts, and unconscious motives.
Types of procrastinators
It may help to think in terms of two fundamental kinds of procrastinators: one tense and the other relaxed. The tense type often feels both an intense pressure to succeed and a fear of failure; the relaxed type often feels negatively toward his/her work and blows it off–forgets it–by playing. The relaxed type neglected schoolwork but not socializing. This denial-based type of procrastinator avoids as much stress as possible by dismissing his/her work or disregarding more challenging tasks and concentrating on having fun or some other distracting activity; if their defense mechanisms work effectively, they actually have what seems like a happy life for the moment.
The tense-afraid type of procrastinator is described as feeling overwhelmed by pressures, unrealistic about time, uncertain about goals, dissatisfied with accomplishments, indecisive, blaming of others or circumstances for his/her failures, lacking in confidence and, sometimes, perfectionistic. Thus, the underlying fears are of failing, lacking ability, being imperfect, and falling short of overly demanding goals. This type thinks his/her worth is determined by what he/she does, which reflects his/her level of ability. He/she is afraid of being judged and found wanting. Thus, this kind of procrastinator will get over-stressed and over-worked until .
