What is Procrastination?

To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness; to postpone or delay needlessly. - Webster’s Dictionary

Procrastination is a strange phenomenon.  Its purpose seems to be to make our life more pleasant, but instead it almost always adds stress, disorganisation and frequently failure.  The process has been described by psychologists as:

1. You have an objective, usually something you and others value and respect.  There may be a deadline, so you say to yourself, “I must start.”

2. You delay, briefly thinking of real and imagined advantages of starting later - “I’ll do it tomorrow when I don’t have much to do.”

3. You delay more, becoming self-critical - “I should have started sooner” - and/or self-excusing - “I really couldn’t have left the party early last night, my best friends were there.”

4. You delay still more, until finally the task has to be done, usually hastily - “Just get it done any old way” - or you just don’t have time - “I can’t do this!”

5. You berate yourself - “There is something wrong with me” - and swear never to procrastinate again and/or you discount the importance of the task - “It doesn’t matter.”

6. You repeat the process almost immediately on other important tasks, as if it were an addiction or compulsion.

The wisest course of action, most of the time, would be to simply do the unpleasant task as soon as practical, while we have enough time to do the job right and get it over with, not prolonging our agony.  But we put it off.  Why?

Now you have an understanding of what procrastination is you might want to know Why People Procrastinate?

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