Procrastination: Why do we have it
Procrastination. Some might say they are productive, some might say they are not. I say we all are procrastinators at heart, in different ways. Everyone has been a procrastinator at least one time or another. Admit it or not, but how many times did you finish that assignment two minutes before the due date, or rushed to get work done before it was too late, or even delayed getting up from your bed once you woke up. Hey, I even delayed writing this article. All these are examples of procrastinating behavior. So, you just might ask yourself, What really is procrastinating?
What is Procrastinating?
Well, procrastination comes from the Latin word “procrastinare” which means to push off till another time (New York Times). Often at times procrastination is seen as ‘laziness’ and/or ‘being slothful’, but in reality it is being distracted by your surroundings, and/or avoiding doing a task. Most experts in this field say procrastination is “Self-regulation” and/or “ emotional-regulation” and have other viewpoints on this habit. Well according to the informational experts of the ‘SicShow’ the educational science YouTube channel, one of their theories is that procrastination started from our ancestors, for instance when our ancestors thought into the future for a task but then pushed away that task with other tasks, like collecting food or running from a predator and/or a threat. Which because of those instincts pushed them through another day, surviving. In result carrying a gene/instinct to focus in the present then thinking about the future and the bigger pictures to fulfill their needs at the moment then (Scishow). But don’t blame your genetics just yet, because another theory of procrastination or the trait impulsivity and lacking executive function could be because of environmental reasons.
Could mood affect procrastination?
Could mood or environmental events provoke procrastination? Good question. Well, from the research I’ve collected through the New York Times article “Why You Procrastinate (It Has Nothing to Do With Self-Control) If procrastination isn’t about laziness, then what is it about?” by Charlotte Lieberman, I’ve learned that the negative feeling of anxiety and dread that is experienced during procrastination is because of the self-awareness toward procrastination, that could even dishearten the means to try to finish the big task at hand. So then why do we choose to procrastinate in the first place? Well that might be because of the feeling tied with the big task, so doing much smaller tasks could give us gratification, and make us feel better more quickly (Lieberman New York Times). In so doing procrastination.
Boring vs. Fun
What sparked this article was a Ted Talk by Tim Urban and his theory on why we procrastinate. Although it ties in details to the New York Times article theory, Urban’s theory to why we procrastinate is very insightful. In this Ted Talk Tim Urban illustrates that our brain has a few key components ‘the common sense’ and this ‘fun monkey’ or what I think is to represent the reptilian side of our brain. The ‘fun monkey’ is looking for rewarding tasks and/or easy and fun tasks, whilst the main task is boring and hard to achieve. So instead of doing the boring and hard task the childish/emotional/reptilian side of the brain resorts to things that make it happy(Urban). It’s like when a player of a game does the side quests instead of the main task at hand because it is more rewarding to finish smaller things than doing something longer that takes more time to finish. The child brain we call the ‘Instant Gratification monkey’ gets so side tracked and distracted that it leaves no room for the person to even get to the main project they started in the first place. The reptilian side or the childish side doesn’t think about the future or the past and lives in the present. Tim Urban states “The fun you have in the Dark Playground isn't actually fun, because it’s completely unearned, and the air is filled with guilt, dread, anxiety, self-hatred,”(Ted Talk 6:56).
Is this all a lie?
At the beginning of this article I explained that it’s not so left or right and that everyone is a procrastinator in different ways, there is a field of in-between. In the Ted Talk, Tim Urban also explains that there are two main different types of procrastinator those with a deadline and those without. Those with a deadline, like an assignment or arriving some place on time, have time to procrastinate and then reality kicks in and then that’s when the procrastinator sparks into action. So basically procrastination is in reality hitting yourself in the face. The panic surges the procrastinator to their senses and common sense and the animal instances and reptilian brain starts to panic finishing your goal at hand. Anytime a deadline gets too close or dangerous, the procrastinator panics to get it done. The most deadliest, well maybe not deadliest but hardest to defeat type of procrastination is projects without deadlines like working out, going to sleep early, or eating neatly. All these things we think about but never end up doing. This is because there is no way to go into panic to starting or even start to think about; because their is no risk for shocking you into reality and to take action, so the reptilian brain takes over the animal instincts and it becomes an endless cycle of procrastination.
End to a cycle
So those are three theories to why we procrastinate. A little task here and a little task there and you got a trap, the procrastination trap. Theirs no real way to fully stop procrastinating, but maybe that step is to start now, or maybe tomorrow, or maybe later.
On a side note, I hope you enjoyed this article and learned something new. If there is anymore theories or questions on this topic please e-mail me at auleafs@gmail.com. Thanks!
Article by: Autumn S.
Edited by: Autumn S.
Works Cited:
Lieberman, Charlotte. “Why You Procrastinate (It Has Nothing to Do with Self-Control).” The New York Times, 25 Mar. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/smarter-living/why-you-procrastinate-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-self-control.html.
Schiller, Ali. “4 Main Types of Procrastinators, and How to Avoid Being One — Business Insider.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Oct. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/main-types-of-procrastinators-how-to-avoid-accountability-coaches.
Show, Si. “Why Do We Procrastinate?” YouTube, 18 May 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKyHX0zqynk.
Swanson, Ana, and Tim Urmban. “The Real Reasons You Procrastinate — and How to Stop.” The Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/27/why-you-cant-help-read-this-article-about-procrastination-instead-of-doing-your-job/.
TED, and Tim Urban. “Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator | Tim Urban.” YouTube, 6 Apr. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU&ab_channel=TED.
