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!

Why Do We Procrastinate?

 

If you've ever put off an important task by, say alphabetizing your drawer contents, it WON'T be fair to describe yourself as lazy, right?  After all, alphabetizing requires focus + effort and WHO knows, you went that extra mile to wipe down each item before putting it back.  And it's NOT like you're hanging out with friends OR glued in a non-stop Netflix movie streaming.  So, definitely, that's NOT laziness.  BUT that's one example of PROCRASTINATION.  BUT WHY DO WE PROCRASTINATE???

There was this recent experiment @Harvard WHERE the respondents were asked on something that really interests at all, that is, about SAVING MONEY and NOT a surprise, off hand, 79% [8 out of 10] agreed that they should be saving.  And WHEN they were asked if they want to enroll in a company plan that will deposit 2% of their salary to a savings account, 77% agreed BUT when asked if it can be done as soon as possible, voila, only 30% agreed!@#$%?  There you go.  Same idea.  Same plan.  Same benefits.  The only difference was the timing and there's that huge gap💥💥💥

That small, tiny-whiny adjustment revealed something big.  That is, we DON'T seem to make rational decisions four our future.  Similar studies have been done with good habits even like exercising and even some wellness activities.  The thing is, by default, we humans generally PROCRASTINATE even WHEN we know it hurts us.  WHY this happens and WHAT can we do to pre-empt and mitigate this recurring tendency for us to put off things instead of rolling up our sleeves and take concrete steps.  Again, we tend to circle back to our PROCRASTINATION dilemma😌😌😌

Psychologists tell us that PROCRASTINATION is no less than a behavioral issue.  Today, we want to watch Netflix movies, eat ice cream and spend some of our extra monies.  BUT come tomorrow, we may opt to write something, like a blog OR a book.  OR we'd like to be fit.  OR increase our own financial savings via some savings options.  So, the conflict arises because "TODAY YOU" and "FUTURE YOU" are not aligned❌❌❌

Our takeaway:  So, it's way beyond reasonable doubt [even from the cynics] that our general lack of consistency over time is due to overvaluing the present compared to the future.  The present is concrete and easy to imagine WHILE the future is abstract and much harder to visualize.  There we go, as to WHY we tend to overvalue the present and its rewards for now.  The thing is, even if the future benefits are greater, we tend to prefer the present ones simply because we can picture them more clearly.  So, WHY DO WE PROCRASTINATE dude???