Procrastination: An Excuse

Everyday spent Procrastinating is another day spent worrying about that work. Do it now, and move ahead in life.

People think that delaying work and shoving it over your future self is something that will bring you relief as you are “completely free” for the moment, though as relieving as it may sound it is NOT!

The term PROCRASTINATION, [pronounced as pro-cras-ti-na-tion] the action of delaying or postponing something. Is a common disadvantage that resides in all humans whereas psychologists have been trying to figure out the science behind procrastination for over 120 years. William James stated that ‘nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task’.

What is the reason for Procrastination? 

Census numbers note that 75% of teenagers are considered procrastinators, with 50% doing so regularly and to a level that is considered problematic. The three most common ways that they report procrastinating are: Sleeping, Gaming and Binge Watching. Researchers have found that procrastination is associated with low self-esteem, irrational beliefs, a fear of failure, depression and poor study habits. Furthermore, those who procrastinate have been found to be more stressed and likely to fall sick or make excuses near a deadline, often culminating in lower exam results.

Why do people Procrastinate?

Those who are not confident in their academic abilities are most likely to procrastinate, followed by those with low levels of self-regulation. This is logical, “as we put off things that we are not good at and are more likely to procrastinate if we can’t manage distractions”. Those with low self-esteem also procrastinate. One possible reason for this is, procrastinating can be a self-protective strategy, providing a handy excuse to hide behind (‘I only failed because I didn’t try’). Those with a rebellious streak are also likely to procrastinate, as they are likely to see externally imposed deadlines as controlling and therefore may try to act to avoid them.

How to overcome Procrastination?

We can help those who procrastinate by applying the following tips:

1. Perform the task for few minutes:

Not only do procrastinators pass away time distracting themselves doing ‘unwanted things’ but they also delay starting the ‘right’ things. To combat this, Professor Richard Wiseman talks about The Zierganick effect, which describes how once you start something, your brain remains alert until you finish it. Starting a task is often the hardest part, if you can persuade someone just to start it for a few minutes, the brain’s desire to set it through for completion would then take over.

2. Improve self-regulation ability and beliefs:

Self regulation is the ability to select appropriate strategies and self-correct them during a task. The Sutton Trust describes this as one of the most efficient and effective strategies to help Pupil Premium people. Procrastination has been described as ‘a failure to self-regulate’; however, procrastination researchers state that knowing self-regulation is important it is not enough to overcome procrastination on its own. To be effective, students need to have the confidence to implement these strategies and skills.

3. Manage your environment:

If you see attractive temptations, you are more likely to be distracted by them, and therefore procrastinate. For example, having your phone out and in sight even if you are not using it, can make you perform 20% worse than if you had put your phone away ‘the mere presence of a cell phone may be sufficiently distracting to produce diminished attention’. Consider your working environment every time you sit down to finish up a work task keep it “Sustainable Not Comfortable”.

4. Do the hard and important tasks first:

Our daily biological clocks, known as our Circadian Rhythm, ensure that we are often at our most alert. The harder the tasks are, the more energy and concentration we need to complete them. It therefore makes sense to do the hardest and most important tasks first because trying to start them when you are tired is difficult, often resulting in people extending them off for other days.

5. Set yourself a short deadline:

In his meta-analysis on procrastination, researcher Piers Steel notes that ‘it has long been observed that the further away an event is, the less impact it has on people’s decisions.’ Break down the task and give yourself a short deadline for each part. You can always take the help of a supervisor or set a timer and ensure to stay hydrated with time.

6. Increase confidence and self-belief:

People who believe that they won’t be successful at the task at hand are more likely to procrastinate. One way to increase their confidence is to highlight how others who have been in a similar position have been successful (psychologists call this ‘modelling’). This can make the task at hand seem achievable and provide a possible template to follow. Ensure to push them at a level they tend to work onto and not get demotivated by the comparison technique.

Delaying work seems an easy task but when you have to finish it up with more work that you will get in, you would tend to regret not completing your work when you already had it and that is exactly how we become a trap of our own stress which tends us to go into guilt and rage, it then turns procrastination into a habit thinking it soothed the mind by relieving the tension in the present and that is how people get latched onto it.

Skipping work for a valid reason/emergency purposes is completely understandable but only if it is mentioned rarely, if you will overdo bringing up such reasons then it would no longer help you as it would have turned into an excuse to escape work and tension. So make sure to use your reasons wisely with time!

These were some important points shared on today’s write up by Jianna Thomas (Vice Head Girl). We hope you will diligently adhere to all the points mentioned.

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Incase you tend to know and read more about the term Procrastination and how to conquer it then we have got the perfect source for you. Down below are a few top listed books (highly recommend) to those who often procrastinate but require a cure for it.

1. Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Conscience Guide to Strategies for Change

This book, which was written by eminent procrastination researcher Timothy Pychyl, first explains why we procrastinate and then explains how to overcome procrastination given the reasons why we do it in the first place.

2. STOP PROCRASTINATING: A Simple Guide to Hacking Laziness , Building Self Discipline and Overcoming Procrastination

This is a relatively concise guide on the topic, that focuses on giving you actionable tips on how to stop procrastinating.

3. The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done.

This book, written by Piers Steel, a prominent procrastination researcher, uses an equation-based model to clearly explain why you procrastinate and what you can do in order to stop.

4. The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play

This book written by a licensed psychologist, outlines a system to help you learn how to get things done in a timely manner, while eliminating the stress and anxiety caused by them, so you can increase the amount of time you spend having fun without feeling guilty about it.

5. The Thief of Time: Philosophical Essays on Procrastination

This book contains a collection of essays written by different scholars, that address questions such as “how can we analyze procrastination in a way that does justice to both its voluntary and its self-defeating dimensions?” and “what kind of practical failing is procrastination? Is it a form of weakness of will? Is it the product of fragmented agency? Is it a vice?”.

6. SOON: An Overdue History of Procrastination, from Leonardo and Darwin to You and Me

This book examines the phenomenon of procrastination through psychological and historical lenses, and focuses on how it affected various notable people throughout history. It offers a relatively sympathetic and positive view of procrastination, and suggests that it can help us figure out what matters to us.

We hope you liked today’s blog and hoping the data shared with you was helpful enough. Stay tuned for more blogs!

Comment down below and share what measures do you take on tackling with Procrastination.

-Written and Edited by: Jianna Thomas (Vice Head Girl)

-Date: November 13, 2021