Procrastination: Reasons & Remedy

Procrastination Vectors by Vecteezya

Deadlines are the cutoffs when jobs meet their culminating point. But when a delay occurs due to any reason, it is procrastination. Reasons could be intentional, habitual, carelessness, or laziness. Sometimes, it may be over-confidence or disliking.

In medical terms, people call it “Ergophobia” which means “fear of work”. It is a combination of fears like failing a task or public speaking. Fears create anxiety which leads to procrastination.

At times, the impact of procrastination is negative and severe. Which may extend to a psychological disorder. Doctors diagnose procrastinators with mental illness.  The illness of depression, anxiety, neurological disorders, and low self-esteem.

“Do first what you don’t want to do most.” ― Clifford Cohen

Google Survey

A question put to 1,000 adults in the UK between 6^th  and 8^th  January 2020 using Google Surveys, “How often do you procrastinate?” the result shows: -

ü   15.6% of people claim never go procrastinate

ü   14.4% admit to procrastinating rarely

ü   27.4% do so sometimes

ü   22.1% do so often

ü   20.5% procrastinate daily

So, 84.4% of individuals procrastinate in some way.

Reasons & Remedy

          There could be several reasons which lead to procrastination. The next paras hold fewer causes and possible remedies to ponder upon.

Time Management:          

People see the project, its deadline, and the available time. They miscalculate that plenty of time is available therefore let’s do another task. They focus on the tasks according to the timeline but fail due to the wrong estimation. When deadlines are on their head then they panic and unable to manage. Even at times few projects do not have any completion date. The time miscalculation enforces procrastination.

Remedial Measure

People can complete their projects by making a breakdown of the timeline. Gantt Chart is the best tool which helps in making a schedule of a project into stages. Even for the projects with no deadlines. There are alternatives to the Gantt Chart that also serve the purpose.

Perfectionism

Perfectionism leads to an infinite loop. People do critical self-evaluations and never satisfied, so keep striving for better results. The room for improvement myth keeps them rejecting their outcomes. The pushing factor of perfection leads to a shortage of time. It also produces a lower standard output. Resultantly, perfectionists’ prey to procrastination. 

Remedial Measure

There is a workable way to get rid of perfectionism. Analyze and check your few completed projects. Try to find out some improving spaces. You will get some areas that need enhancement. Convince yourself to avoid the perfection complex.

Self Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) helps perfectionists to reduce perfectionism. They recognize their irrational thinking and seek alternative ways to handle situations. Carrying out an effective self CBT without a therapist at home which will be helpful.  

Confidence

The most common factor is confidence. Procrastination occurs due to over-confidence or lack of confidence.

People afraid of criticism and worry about other’s opinions. They lose confidence in themselves and tend to procrastinate.

Another stress factor is the level of overwhelming confidence. People think that they know how and when to start the project. They claim to complete the task as per the timeline and tend to procrastinate.

Remedial Measure

People can overcome the habit of overconfidence by: -

ü   Be truthful to own self

ü   Think the consequences while taking a decision

ü   Look into the past examples of their failures

ü   Be open to constructive criticism

ü   Stop compare themselves with others

 People can overcome the habit of lack of self-confidence by: -

ü   Acknowledge and accept the mistakes

ü   Convince yourself that you can do it

ü   Don’t be afraid of failures

ü   Celebrate success more often

ü   Stop compare themselves with others

Afraid to Commit Mistakes

In medical terms, people call it “Erratophobia” which means fear of making mistakes. Some people think that it is better to do nothing than committing mistakes. Fear of committing mistakes improves performance to some extent. But undue fear leads to procrastination.

Remedial Measure

People can overcome Erratophobia by: -

ü   Be ready to accept the greater adversity

ü   See around and observe, other people also commit mistakes

ü   Do commit a mistake and learn from it

ü   Mistakes enhance the competency

ü   Leave the comfort zone and you will see sky don’t fall

Overloaded with Tasks

People tend to take on projects in the lust of earning more. Or even over-estimate their capabilities. They are unable to complete the projects. Such people end up with procrastination.

Remedial Measure

People can overcome this aspect by: -

ü   Gauging their capabilities by self-judgment

ü   Managing workload according to their skillset

ü   Learn to say no to the extra projects

ü   Enhancing their skills, get the help of others

ü   Making use of technology (Tools)

Under-Pressure Syndrome

 Few people think that they perform well under a pressurized environment. They wait for the right time to start a project and fail to complete within a given time frame. The pressure tactics lead to procrastination as it affects focus and judgment. It also creates unwanted tension.

Remedial Measure

  Follow the schedule of the project. Think about performing the task without any pressures. If you can perform well under pressure then you can do your best under no pressure.

Conclusion

  Procrastination can be intentional, unintentional, or habitual. But it is not a disease that is incurable. If we understand the causes and misconceptions, we can handle it appropriately.

“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” ― Charles Dickens

Besides minors, time management is the main cause of procrastination. By effective timeline management of any project, people can handle procrastination.