Meaning of Procrastination and Possible Solutions
Procrastination is an action where an individual avoids performing an expected task that they are supposed to do. In other terms, it can be defined as an act of delaying a task that was already scheduled despite knowing worse consequences in the long run. In all concepts of procrastination, there is an aspect of postponing duty delays with a task or terminating the task altogether. Based on such elements, a procrastinator is presumed to delay the task when they develop fears of late completion of the task or start the job behind the expected time (Bisin, & Hyndman, 2020). In several cases, procrastination is seen within an environment of a learning institute. Students typically prefer to do an alternate task of their choice and rather than the expected job from their instructors. As a result, they become victims of procrastination, even if they are not associated with idleness. The discussion focuses on the reasons why people procrastinate, the effects of procrastination, and the possible interventions to procrastinate.
Institutional procrastination can also be referred to as a continuous reflection of postponing duties at work. Procrastination involves a situation where a student fails to complete their assignments in time or fails to prepare for examinations. Despite procrastination being associated with learners, it is phenomena that continuously dominate the whole world. Some of the reasons why most people procrastinate may be as a result of feeling overwhelmed about the task, anxiety, and lack of motivation (Hooda, & Saini,2016). Other people tend to procrastinate due to fear of negative feedback; or as a result of the complexity of the task, which may appear demoralizing. Some people usually lack the energy to perform the task, and for some, it may be as a result of sensational seeking.
The astonishing aspect of the condition is that it usually affects people negatively since the most crucial task is generally avoided. Besides, one is only indulged with activities that satisfy their needs, which leads to an undesirable behavioural condition. In the long run, one may get depressed or suffer from stress due to the failure of accomplishing the intended task. In general, procrastination is seen in different aspects of life, with the most commonplace being educational centers (Hooda, & Saini,2016). For example, most students tend to postpone doing their assignments or prepare for exams and involve in other activities of their preference. Such circumstances are based on the lack of encouragement to finish the assignment within the specified duration. Most procrastinators in school usually end up failing to achieve their academic goals, and in the long run, they develop psychological stress.
The most common types of procrastination are behavioural procrastination and decisional procrastination. With behavioural procrastination, the victim always develops personal strategies that enable them to shift the blame and exempt the action. For instance, a student may perform poorly in school and deploy procrastination as a defense mechanism. They would defend themselves with the lack of effort rather than lack of ability. Others may defend themselves with lack of time (Tamannaeifar et al., 2016). Most procrastinators are associated with low self-esteem and personal doubts on how people perceive their abilities. With decisional procrastination, the victims tend to mask off a decision while handling with choices or conflicts. In most cases, the procrastinators in this model tend to fear to make errors, and they always try being perfect. They usually try to seek a vast range of information about the best alternatives before making decisions. While seeking information, they tend to face the danger of personally being sabotaged due to the full range of choices while trying to be perfect.
Most procrastinators often subjected to optimism on their abilities to perform the task within the specified timeframe, and they always reassure themselves that everything is possible. With such speculations, they tend not to begin the job. For example, one may estimate to complete a paper within six days while having two weeks to complete a task, thereby delaying the work (Li et al. 2020). Others comfort themselves that they only work better under pressure. Some of the characteristics of a procrastinator include being late with work, having a hard time starting to work on a task, and others usually complain about the difficulty of the work. For some procrastinators, they typically lack a schedule to help them accomplish their tasks (Tamannaeifar et al., 2016). Other procrastinators tend to leave most of their work pending while the rest always have different priorities apart from the intended one.
Most people often confuse procrastination with laziness, yet the two have quite different concepts. With procrastination, one is involved with other activities rather than the task that is supposed to be done. With laziness, one is inactive, and the individuals are usually unwilling to work. A procrastinator will generally ignore the present task and tend to engage in other activities that seem to be relevant or those that they perceive as being secure (Tibbett, & Ferrari, 2019). Based on such an aspect, the consequences of procrastination may even be more severe than expected. In harsh conditions, procrastination may cause depression, and in some cases, it may lead to loss of a job. Continual procrastination may make someone be disorganized or create self demoralization.
Overcoming procrastination plays a crucial role in keeping one focused and in avoiding engaging in other tasks rather than the intended duty. Some of the steps to overcoming procrastination include personal awareness of procrastination. One should identify the reasons why they are procrastinating and the purpose of procrastination in their lives (Tracy, 2017). Most problems often require a source for them to be effectively solved. Other people perceive procrastination as a way of protecting themselves from the feeling of the inability in oneself. However, if one can determine the challenges associated with procrastination in their lives, then they opt to face the challenge and start being productive and solve the problem. Understanding the primary source of procrastination is a crucial step to stopping the act. The second step to solve procrastination is time management. Time management strategy is an essential element in avoiding procrastination, mainly when categorizing the order of tasks to accomplish first. When one can effectively manage time, then anxiety or fear associated with the job are reduced, thereby making the individual complete the task while relaxed. One should be flexible in managing time to reduce stress and face the problem positively. For example, one may schedule work through the listing of tasks in order of the time limit and order of preference (Eckert et al., 2016). When such a timeline is followed, then stress-related issues become minimal, and procrastination is avoided. Managing the timeframe helps in breaking down the task, and one can enjoy the rewards of completing the job in time. The third approach to overcoming procrastination is seeking motivation. Through motivations, an individual finds a productive reason in performing the work. Productive reasoning helps one to achieve positive and satisfying results.
Overcoming procrastination may be achieved through active engagement, probably in class, or in the relevant field of one’s life. Being busy is useful in understanding the concept under study, thereby having more interest in the task. Additionally, one should act accordingly by removing the anxiety, which may prevent the individual from performing the job in time. Besides self-assessment, commitment, setting targets, and being realistic may help in overcoming the challenge of procrastination. When all the guidelines are met, then every person will be able to overcome procrastination. Despite being a challenge in most people’s life, procrastination is manageable.
References
Bisin, A., & Hyndman, K. (2020). Present-bias, procrastination, and deadlines in a field experiment. Games and Economic Behavior, 119, 339-357.
Eckert, M., Ebert, D. D., Lehr, D., Sieland, B., & Berking, M. (2016). Overcome procrastination: Enhancing emotion regulation skills reduce procrastination. Learning and Individual Differences, 52, 10-18.
Hooda, M., & Saini, A. (2016). Academic procrastination; A critical issue for consideration. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 6(8), 98-99.
Li, X., Buxton, O. M., Kim, Y., Haneuse, S., & Kawachi, I. (2020). Do procrastinators get worse sleep? A cross-sectional study of US adolescents and young adults. SSM-Population Health, 10, 100518.
Tamannaeifar, S., Gharaee, B., Bakhshizade, A., & Sheybani, F. (2016). The investigation of the relationship between behavioral and decisional procrastination. With personality characteristics among students of Tehran Universities. International Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences, 3(2), 15-20.
Tibbett, T. P., & Ferrari, J. R. (2019). Return to the origin: What creates a procrastination identity. Current Issues in Personality Psychology, 7(1), 1-7.
Tracy, B. (2017). Eat that frog!: 21 great ways to stop procrastinating and get more done in less time. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.