Why Do We Procrastinate?

Written by Dimitra ~ Category: Good Life ~ Read Time: 3 min.

Procrastination is the state in which we have trouble persuading ourselves to do the tasks we should or would like to do. Instead of working or doing something important, we keep distracting ourselves by performing meaningless activities.

For instance, you are at the office, you have a full list of ToDos, we see it, and then you stand up and start cleaning your desk. Then, you make yourself a cup of coffee, grab something to eat, scroll in your social media, and, three hours later, nothing productive has come up so far.

Some time ago, I was the master of procrastination. As a result, I could not stick to regular working hours since the things I didn’t do on time were piling up waiting for me. Every day, I made myself the same promise: Today is a new day, you won’t spend time doing unnecessary things, and you will be able to finish all your tasks on time.

I cannot even begin to think about how many hours I have been procrastinating for no reason. Consequently, I was practically working all day, and I couldn’t manage to have personal time and space out of work. Even though my work performance was not affected, I didn’t have actual time not only to rest but even run any other errands.

Then I realized that procrastination was not just bad time management. My whole career depends on time management, and so far, I haven’t faced any serious problems due to procrastination -at least in my professional life.

I have thought about it a lot, and since I decided to stop procrastinating, I have drawn some conclusions regarding why people tend to procrastinate.

  1. Procrastination is not a matter of willpower. Willpower is, in general terms, the ability to control one's actions, emotions, or urges. As a person, I always could prevent myself from acting impulsively; I wouldn’t drink a whole bottle of wine or study a lot before an important exam or meeting, for instance.

  2. Anxiety and the feeling of failure may be the reasons for procrastination. Some people tend to be anxious and afraid that what they do is not enough. While completing an important task, procrastinating is maybe their “shield” against bad reviews, which they think they will get after completing their homework. See also The Impostor Syndrome.

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  1. Vague goals or no goals. For most people, plans make them move on and keep on working and living. We all set goals at some point, but for some people having a clear goal is the motivation they need to get the job done. If, for some reason, the goal is abstract, e.g., I have to do that because I need to be good at my job, it is a goal but not a specific goal. On the other hand, “I have to do that because this way my promotion is closer” is a more specific goal.

  2. Inability to decide. Some people do have a problem making decisions, a phenomenon called analysis paralysis. Instead of making a decision, they tend to spend too much time analyzing and thinking without concluding a decision. This way, they procrastinate, thinking about options and dilemmas, and end up doing nothing.

Are you a procrastinator? Read this to help you overcome it.


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It took 2 coffees to write this article.


About the author

Dimitra

Dimitra is a Translator and Localization Expert and Language Lover. She loves her job and she runs her own company. When she doesn’t work (rarely) she is practicing her (five) foreign language skills to her coworkers -but, to be honest, nobody understands what she is talking about. She also likes writing. About her job. And that is what she does in The Working Gal.

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