Why Do We Procrastinate, SERIOUSLY!

 

Let's start off our light blog today with a giveaway question:  WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU DID PROCRASTINATE?  If I may guess, if it's NOT yesterday, it's last week OR within the last month?  YES, that's a blockbuster as we seem to keep breaking records in terms of PROCRASTINATION.  BUT before we whack ourselves, WHY DON'T we pause for a while and seriously ponder as to WHY DO WE PROCRASTINATE, SERIOUSLY???

NOT to defend the guilty parties [and that includes me a few times in the past], many PROCRASTINATORS know that that behavior [of PROCRASTINATING] really hurts them BUT they nevertheless keep doing it even though they want to stop.  There you go.  Many of us have that earnest desire to right the wrong BUT experts advise that before we take action, let's answer these perplexing questions:  WHY DO I PROCRASTINATE EVEN THOUGH I'M AWARE IT'S WRONG???

Experts tell us that answering these questions is a MUST-DO because in order for us to overcome PROCRASTINATION, it helps to understand WHAT causes it in the first place?  And the most common result of multiple studies tell us that we PROCRASTINATE because our DRIVE TO DELAY is irrationally stronger than that DRIVE TO ACT.  And this happens WHEN their self-control and motivation are weakened by issues LIKE exhaustion, and are opposed by issues LIKE fear.  YES, the DRIVE TO ACT represents HOW strongly we can push ourselves💙💛💚

Sometimes, a person's self-control can be influenced by HOW tired he is WHILE his motivation can be influenced by HOW long they will have to wait before they are rewarded for taking action.  And issues LIKE exhaustion and far-future outcomes can indeed interfere with our self-control and motivation and consequently reduce our own self-drive to act as can many other issues LIKE depression, ADHD, and even low self-efficacy.  And conversely, that DRIVE TO DELAY represents HOW strongly people feel pushed to avoid taking action at the moment✅✅✅

Our takeaway:  Much as PROCRASTINATION is NOT so-simple  to have a final fix, it makes sense we pin down the most common root causes LIKE:

• PRIORITIZATION of our short-term mood😡
• TASK AVERSIVENESS - because a task is boring
• ANXIETY & FEAR - afraid to be criticized???
• FEELING OVERWHELMED - that's all in the mind!
• PERFECTIONISM - that's bull____ !@#$%?
• LOW MOTIVATION - dude, got to arrest that skid!