One of the most common and misconceived human behaviors is procrastination. It is usually put in terms of being lazy, not disciplined, or not making time well. However, procrastination is not discriminatory. Very smart, driven, and ambitious individuals put off just as much as the rest. Had procrastination been a matter of time management, it would have been easy to correct. That it still exists informs us of something significant.
The problem of procrastination is not a time schedule problem. It is a psychological one.
Procrastination Is About Emotion, Not Effort
Emotional discomfort is the core of procrastination. Anxiety, boredom, frustration, self-doubt, or fear are some of the feelings provoked by certain tasks. When these emotions are felt by the brain it seeks an escape. Postponing the task will offer instant emotional relaxation.
This is the reason why even when people are aware of the effects, they procrastinate anyway. The immediate satisfaction of escaping pain is more pressing than the future gain of accomplishing the task. It is the brain that at that instance decides to be emotionally comfortable, rather than successful.
Procrastination is not working in avoidance. It is evading the effects the work gives you.
The Brain Is Biased Toward the Present
The human brains are programmed to focus on short term rewards rather than on the long term results. This is commonly referred to as present bias and is the reason why short-term gratifications are easily carried out at the expense of long-term objectives. The accomplishment of a significant task has its advantages in the future. Reward now can be watching a video, checking messages or taking a nap.
The future reward is far and abstract even when it is greater. The short term gratification is real and emotionally fulfilling. This is the place where procrastination flourishes because of the difference between what we appreciate and what we are attracted to at a given moment.
The brain is fighting to behave now in a form of you that is going to take place tomorrow.
Fear Often Hides Behind Delay
Fear is one of the major causes of procrastination, but very seldom it comes out in a direct manner. The fear of failure may turn the initiation of a task into a dangerous affair. The fear of success may cause pressure, expectations, and the danger of change. The fear of judgment may make normal things a source of emotion.
Instead of facing these fears, the brain opts to avoid. The reaction of procrastination is defensive. The failure to initiate prevents the mind of the risk of failure, the judgment, and finding boundaries.
Ironically, this avoidance normally causes more stress than the original job could ever cause.
Perfectionism Makes Starting Feel Impossible
Procrastination is usually accompanied with perfectionism. When the standards are too high, it seems to be overwhelming to start a task. When the result is not capable of meeting the expectations, then the mind would rather postpone than run the risk of creating something flawed.
Perfectionism makes work a strain. It gives a perception that the work should be completed perfectly or not. Within this psyche, it is safer to procrastinate than to take the risk and fail.
Waiting is a protective method against self esteem.
Mental Energy Shapes Willingness to Act
Not every activity requires the same amount of mental activity. Uncertainty, creativity, or complicated decisions demand greater mental effort. In case of low energy, there is resistance.
Time wasting is more likely to be high when there is stress, fatigue or emotional load. The human brain focuses on less effortful, more familiar activities. This does not amount to a deficiency in character. It is cognitive exhaustion.
The mind delays that which is heavy to that which is light.
Identity and Self-Talk Reinforce Delay
Procrastination is heavily influenced by the way people perceive themselves. When the task is associated with negative self-beliefs, like I am bad at this, or I always do this wrong, then the resistance to the task grows. The task turns out to be a challenge of identity, not an easy one.
Procrastination may later become a part of his or her definition. Guilt builds. Confidence drops. Starting feels even harder. This forms a loop of how delay breeds self-doubt and vice versa.
The mind does not want to do what is going to question its perception of itself.
Why Procrastination Feels Good at First
Procrastination is a short-term solution. Stress diminishes and pressure disappears when an activity is procrastinated. The brain is relieved to some degree and recompenses itself in escaping pain.
This reward instructs the brain that it works to avoid. The relief however, unfortunately, does not last long. The anxiety comes with increased intensity as deadlines go closer. Performance suffers. Shame grows. But the brain only recalls the short-term gratification and repeats the pattern.
Procrastination is cemented due to it being quick emotional reward.
Procrastination Is a Signal, Not a Flaw
Procrastination is a moral failure that is frequently dealt with, but according to psychology, it is an indicator. It is an indication of emotional overload, lack of clarity, fear, lack of energy or unattainable expectations. Disregarding the signal and putting in additional pressure tends to exacerbate the problem.
The true change is triggered when procrastination is seen with an open mind rather than as a judgment. Emotional safety goes up when the tasks are divided into small steps. Resistance is softened when the expectations are realistic. It becomes easier to start when the self-criticism is substituted with self-compassion.
The brain will gravitate toward that which appears comfortable and secure.
The Deeper Truth About Procrastination
It is not that people do not care and hence, they procrastinate. The reason why they procrastinate is that they are very concerned and feel overwhelmed with what the task signifies. Procrastination is the mind in attempt to shield itself against discomfort, failure, and threat.
The realization of this alters the solution. Stricter discipline and motivation hacks are not the solution. It is learning to be in a state of fighting with emotions.
Procrastination gets loosened when action seems to be safer than avoidance.