Procrastinating and emotions
According to traditional thinking, procrastinators have a time-management problem. They are unable to understand how long a task will take and need to learn how to schedule their time better.
However, psychologists increasingly realize that procrastination is an issue with managing our emotions, not our time.
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Studies show low mood only increases procrastination if enjoyable activities are available as a distraction. In other words, we're drawn to other activities to avoid the discomfort of applying ourselves.
Procrastination leads to two primary consequences.
- It's stressful to keep putting off important tasks and failing to meet your goals.
- Procrastination often involves delaying important health behaviors, such as taking up exercise or visiting a doctor.
The next time you're tempted to procrastinate, focus on this question: "What is the next action I would take on this task if I were to get started on it now?"
Doing this will take your mind off your feelings and onto an easily achievable action.
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Procrastination is the action of delaying or postponing something.
From the outside, postponing your work can seem like a big waste of time. However, procrastination can help you do your work.
People tend to procrastinate to avoid emotionally unpleasant tasks - so they choose to focus on something that provides a temporary mood boost.
This creates a vicious cycle: procrastination itself causes shame and guilt — which in turn leads people to procrastinate even further.