Procrastination and Motivation (Or the lack thereof)

Installment #1
#10 Elise Smith

What is procrastination and why do we do it?

Procrastination is the act of voluntarily postponing or delaying something. Also known as “I know I need to do the thing. But I’m not gonna do it right now.”

There are three main types of procrastinators:

1. Arousal- those who are motivated by getting a sense of euphoric rush by the impending due date.
2. Avoiders- those motivated by a fear of failure. One would rather be seen as lacking effort than lacking ability.
3. Decisional- those who struggle with the inability to make decisions so the decision making task is put off.

There are many theories as to what causes procrastination including environmental factors and genetics. Tests have been done on identical and fraternal twins to see what correlations lie between DNA and parenting styles/environment. Procrastination is seen in many people who have grown up with authoritarian style parenting as they never had the opportunity to discipline themselves.

Views do differ though, when it comes to procrastination. Some researchers see it as a lack of self control or laziness. Others however, believe it has to do with how our brains work. As the laziness theory would not account for high achievers. Many psychologists believe that procrastination through avoidance is a coping mechanism.

The five main factors that contribute to widespread procrastination is absence of structure, unpleasant tasks, timing and self confidence. Procrastinators often seek out distractions. This means doing other tasks such as cleaning, laundry or tasks that are more pleasant. They get a sense of accomplishment without ever doing the task that they are putting off. Procrastinators also justify their procrastination by saying that they are motivated by deadlines or work better under pressure.

Some argue that procrastination has evolutionary roots. Back in the days of catching and killing your food we were motivated by short term goals such as eating and staying safe. Now in this modern world we are faced with the need for long term goals such as focusing on planning our lives out by the time we graduate high school.

Finally, many procrastinators are motivated by the euphoria that a deadline brings or the fear of failure. Procrastinators often put off a task by doing other tasks, so they still get a sense of accomplishment. Procrastination is described as giving into the good feelings and prolonging the bad ones.

Check out this TED Talk:

Inside the mind of a master procrastinator| Tim Urban | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU

Questions to consider:

• Do you consider yourself procrastinator?
• What motivates your procrastination?
• Do you feel you work better under pressure?
• Why do you think people procrastinate? Do you believe that it is a lack of motivation/laziness or does it have to do with how our brain works?

Installment #2:

The consequences of procrastination and how to beat it.

Sources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/procrastination

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKyHX0zqynk

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/27/why-you-cant-help-read-this-article-about-procrastination-instead-of-doing-your-job/?utm_term=.ecb2b5ca21df