What is procrastination, its types and development mechanism. How to recognize a procrastinator in yourself. Why is it so tempting to postpone things for later and how to deal with it. Procrastination is a person's property to postpone the adoption of important or unpleasant decisions, deeds, events until later. Such a person will find for himself a lot of "necessary" activities, just not to do what is really important. As a result, he has problems at work, in the family, in school. However, this tendency is not innate, so you can fight it.
Description and mechanism of development of procrastination
The term "procrastination" itself appeared in the late 70s of the last century and has an Anglo-Latin origin: from the English. "Procrastination" - "postponement", "delay"; from lat. "Сrastinus" - "tomorrow", "pro" - "on". That is, literally translated as "postponing until tomorrow."
According to scientists, about 20% of the entire adult population suffers from the tendency to ignore and be distracted from responsibilities and important matters. Instead of doing something important, they are ready to keep themselves busy with small things: smoke breaks, snacks, watering flowers, playing games, surfing the Internet or social networks. Or banal doing nothing.
Moreover, more often than not, the desire to postpone the implementation of a task arises when this task does not fit into the definition of an easy or pleasant one. This can be housework, a study assignment, writing a diploma, calling an unpleasant person, etc. That is why the procrastinator finds a lot of reasons to postpone a case that is unpleasant for some reason for later.
He can convince himself that there is still enough time before execution, that the problem will somehow resolve itself or lose its relevance. A lot of people just think that nothing is more stimulating than a deadline or being spurred on by others.
By choosing this way of solving problems and problems, the procrastinator himself complicates his life. Postponed cases gradually accumulate and require much greater physical and mental effort. Such a person loses the trust of others, receives the status of "unreliable". Hence, failures at work and in school, scandals in the family.
Procrastination should not be confused with laziness or slowness. In this case, the person does not want to do anything or does it slowly without any twinges of conscience. In contrast to the procrastinator, who experiences anxiety, and especially sensitive ones - and pangs of conscience, from the fact that they cannot solve problems in time. Or they simply cannot start those "pleasant" things or tasks.
You cannot name the tendency to put things off until later and rest. While resting, a person gains new energy. The procrastinator, on the other hand, spends his energy on small, distracting from the main task of the case. Such a waste of energy forces, coupled with reluctance, postpones the implementation of the latter even more. That is, there is no work and no rest.
On the contrary, performing work in an emergency mode requires a lot of physical and nervous tension - much more if it were done without haste and on time. In such a regime, doping is often required in the form of energy drinks and coffee, the regime and quality of nutrition are disrupted, lack of sleep and chronic fatigue are observed.
Important! Procrastination is a waste of life potential, a manifestation of weakness, lost opportunities and missed opportunities that you can regret for a lifetime.
The main reasons for procrastination
Every procrastinator has his own reasons for putting things off until tomorrow. At the same time, they can change and intertwine with each other depending on what task is in front of him and what level of complexity it has.
The most common causes of procrastination are:
- Traits … Irresponsibility, shyness, conservatism, selfishness are fertile ground for procrastination.
- Specificity of the task … It is easiest to put off doing something that is very difficult, boring, or unpleasant. That is, what you don't like causes internal conflict and resistance. This could be going to the doctor, starting a diet or exercising, spring cleaning, looking for a better job, talking to an unpleasant person, etc.
- Fears and phobias … The basis of the fact that a person postpones business for later may be lack of confidence in his abilities, fear of making important decisions, fear of failure, change, self-restraint to be successful and rich.
- Failure to identify the importance of life goals and prioritize … A person with such qualities simply cannot "isolate" the really important from the set of tasks and problems, wasting energy on less significant ones and constantly doubting the correctness of the decisions made.
- Rebellious character … Sometimes the need to do something urgently or quickly creates a feeling of resistance simply because well-established deadlines violate the boundaries of personal freedom. Also, internal rejection can cause the imposition of other people's views, stereotypes and conditions that run counter to internal beliefs.
- Perfectionism … The desire for a perfect result in the end can delay the deadline for completing the task due to the endless "polishing" of small details of the case.
- Problems with timing … Often, the delay in making decisions or completing a case is the result of a person simply not being friends with time. He either does not notice its course, or he cannot organize it.
- Lack of resources … The novelty of the task or its complexity, when the procrastinator does not have the necessary experience, knowledge, and skills, can interfere with meeting the deadlines.
Signs of procrastination
The tendency to postpone things for later not only does not help to bring them to the end, but also contributes to their accumulation. Therefore, it is very important to recognize such a trait in yourself in time so that the fight against procrastination is successful.
The main signs of procrastination are:
- Desire for distraction … If, before or during an important task, you are drawn to do something else (smoke, have a cup of coffee, look at Facebook or VK, read news on the Internet, wash dishes, clean your desktop on your computer, etc.), this means that the procrastinator within you is in an active state.
- Time consuming … You also need to think about your behavior when you spend a lot of time on the task. Not because of its complexity, but because of your distractions on other, less important things. At the same time, you do not meet deadlines or do work on a deadline. This entails the need for constant justification before oneself or those who set these tasks, coming up with "excuses" and listening to not the most pleasant statements about oneself, reduces the quality of work.
- Non-punctuality … Chronic delays in work deadlines, delays, failure to fulfill promises and obligations without sufficient reason also indicate that you tend to shirk responsibility or important work.
- Failure to fulfill the plan … You should also be wary of procrastination if you often don't follow through on your own plans. For example, if you planned 4 things for the day, but did 2. At the same time, you had all the conditions to fulfill the plan or even exceed it.
- Family, work or school problems … Failure to fulfill promises, missed deadlines, procrastination and ignorance of problems can be reflected in all areas of your life. At work, you can lose clients, the trust of superiors and colleagues, and even the job itself. In the family - create an atmosphere of distrust, quarrels and gain the status of an unreliable, incapable person. In studies - to reduce academic performance and turn teachers against yourself.
Important! In fact, the procrastinator lives in each of us, and in small doses it can even be useful. If he introduces difficulties and problems into life, he must be expelled!
Varieties of procrastination
Depending on how the propensity to procrastinate is manifested, it can be divided into several types. Most often, one type of procrastination predominates, although there are also combinations of several varieties.
The main types of procrastination are:
- Daily procrastination … Everyday things that we do every day fall into the field of vision of this species. The motivation of a person who has fallen under his influence is often the belief that postponing the completion of the task to the next day will not bring some kind of global catastrophe. As a result, the mountains of dishes grow, dust accumulates, the fat layer increases, etc., as well as self-criticism because of this.
- Neurotic procrastination … In this case, the very need to make an important decision drives a person into shivers and panic, especially if this decision changes the procrastinator's lifestyle and quality of life.
- Procrastination in decision making … This kind of procrastination tendency is inherent in people who are generally afraid to make decisions. Any, not even the most important ones.
- Academic procrastination … It is typical for schoolchildren and students, since it covers everything (solutions, work, tasks) with regard to study and the educational process.
- Compulsive procrastination … It combines two tendencies at once - to postpone both the execution of affairs and decision-making.
Ways to combat procrastination
Before choosing a way to get rid of procrastination, you need to honestly admit to yourself that you have it. The next step in the fight against postponement until tomorrow will be to find out what exactly is the reason behind it. And only now it is possible to determine how to deal with this "pest" of a successful future.
Method number 1: list of important things
Make a list of the most important things to do. It is interesting that in most cases there are fewer of them in the written version than in the head. This is the first bonus for the first completed case.
After that, you need to carefully re-read it and decide on priorities. It is better to do this according to the following criteria: the importance of the case, its urgency and necessity.
At this stage, it is very important to critically treat the items on the list and boldly delete from them what is no longer relevant or important. Not everyone will find such filtering easy, so we recommend using the “desirability criterion” for this. Substitute just two “I want” before each to-do list. If, when pronouncing the resulting phrase, you have no internal resistance, the item remains on the list.
If “I want” is more like “I have to,” cross out the item completely or move it to a separate list. This way you will see what is really important to you. Something that you can spend your time and energy on. And it will be easy and pleasant to do this, since the list will no longer contain such "parasites" as unpleasant, unnecessary and irrelevant cases.
Next, you need to find out why you did not do the important things that remained on the list earlier. We find the cause and eliminate it.
After such a "cleaning" of the tasks set, the picture will become even clearer: you will see that in reality everything is not so bad, and in order to master your list, you will not need so much effort. And fighting procrastination will be much easier.
Now you take this list and do one thing a day for a week - no more, no less. According to the principle "done the job - walk boldly." Then look for yourself: you can do more - double the rate, but with obligatory rest breaks (at least an hour), good nutrition and sleep.
Method number 2: organization and planning
Making a to-do list isn't the only way to combat procrastination with organizational methods. Make it a rule to plan your day, including using the same list. If everything is clearly distributed throughout the day, there will be no time for "distractions".
If the task at hand is really difficult or time-consuming, break it down and complete it gradually. Do not forget to take breaks between the already completed parts of the work.
Method number 3: revising priorities
Find tasks that are important (necessary), but not to your liking. And that is why you are often put on the back burner. Take a good look at whether you really should be doing them. Perhaps their implementation can be delegated to someone else, or even deleted from the list of important things.
Most often, this list includes unloved jobs and learning problems. In this case, there are 2 options for action: the first is to change work, place or direction of study; the second is to change the attitude towards them. The latter involves reconsidering your attitude towards work or study and finding positive aspects in them.
If fear is the cause of procrastination, find it and let it go. If necessary, with the help of psychologists.
Set yourself realistic tasks with realistic deadlines. Tasks that are urgent and important to you should become paramount.
Method number 4: motivation
Rejoice and celebrate all your successes. Motivate yourself with the fact that it will bring you the completion of all tasks on time. The range of motivations can be very different - depending on the scale of the job done. A clear conscience, a good night's sleep, a clean apartment, a nice press, a salary increase or career growth, etc.
Root out the "germs" of attempts to put things aside at once. If you feel like you want to check your mail or make a cup of tea - take a break from the task at hand, but not like that. Take a walk or sleep (if possible). Rest is also a good treatment for procrastination.
Train your willpower - little by little, starting with simple "exercises." For example, if you want to improve your physical condition, introduce morning exercises (jogging) into your daily routine or try not to eat after 6.
How to deal with procrastination - watch the video:
To summarize, procrastination is a scourge of modern humanity, standing in the way of success and self-development. Getting rid of it takes a lot of effort. But the result from this can significantly change your life for the better, open up new horizons for you.
