What if procrastination is just not a habit, but rather an indicator of potential covert psychological problems? Procrastination is putting off tasks. Focusing on non-essential activities by ignoring the urgency is also a form of procrastination. It whispers ‘later’ in your ears until time runs out and regret sets in.
A student who has upcoming exams but puts off studying until the eve of the paper is a prime example. We can procrastinate the procrastination. Now the question is how to overcome or delay the urge to delay by taking control instead. By taking into account the psychological perspective, we came across several reasons to procrastinate. Exploration of such factors will help us to delay the delay.
.Expectancy theory explains lack of motivation, lower success and reward expectations may lead to procrastination. As we experience, positive reinforcement and reward increases the chances of an event occurring. If a child is not appreciated for his good behaviour, such as cleaning his room, he will delay cleaning the untidy room or often will not do it.
“If you are procrastinating, find the reason behind it. Pay attention to your emotions, because they are the true indicators of your soul’s need – we need to address these personal feelings to avoid delaying in what we can achieve now”
According to Self efficacy concept, fear of failure and not meeting expectations may lead to delaying off tasks. For example, a position holder student who was unable to clear an entry test will fear and delay other exams or initiatives because many people around make him feel lower for not clearing the exam. He labelled himself as people say and often gets bothered and unsatisfied with what he is doing. So, he often delays the assigned work due to meaninglessness.
Arousal theory explains researchers found that overwhelmingly or unpleasant tasks may lead to task aversion. A child, who finds his summer vacation work a burden and mental fatigue, always delays starting the work. Here, the task overload causes delay in taking the first step. People often procrastinate using it as a coping or defence mechanism to avoid temporary stress or anxiety. An employee who delays making his presentation to avoid the stress of research and data collection is procrastinating.
In “Goal setting theory”, it is explained that ambiguous or unclear paths may lead to the delaying initial steps. Someone wants to learn a new skill but doesn’t know what and how to learn. Here thinking what one should learn and what resources should be used will delay the process of learning.
There can be several reasons in addition to these potential factors. Bad past experiences, regrets, lack of intrinsic motivation, disturbed mental health and laziness can lead to putting off vital tasks. Relating this concept to developmental psychology we can better understand the coping strategies.
Developmental psychology explains that procrastination can be a learned process. Our children learn from environment and situation around them. If their habit of procrastination is detected in early age we can help them to overcome it. Consider a 3-year-oldgirl who notices her older brother delaying his assignments. She also puts off her work and begins to play with toys or engages in other unwanted activities. Her mother realizes that she is procrastinating. When her mother inquires her about homework she says ‘I will do it later, like mybrother, because there is a lot of time to submit it’.
Now it’s mother’s turn to take appropriate action so that it may not become her permanent habit. What mother can do at that time? Her mother should talk to the girl and her older brother nicely about it. Limiting the distractions, dividing the task into smaller chunks, leading them with example, praising each step of the process and rewarding her at task completion. This will enable the girl to stay focused on work within given time period.
Counselling Psychology also provides insights and guidance to resolve this issue .Counselling Psychology describes discussing the underlying emotional state and issues as essential .It describes the self-compassion as a key component. Be kind and gentle to yourself regarding past mistakes or not meeting other expectations. Self-awareness, clear goal setting, recognising the emotional triggers like fear and anxiety that avoids you from taking step, positive self-talk will enable to overcome the the phenomena.
In a nutshell, the urgency of time is to help oneself and people struggling with such situations. If our children, siblings, friends or anybody around us is procrastinating, then it’s a point to be pondered. There is a need to talk about what we or othersfeel. It’s necessary to unravel the mystery of others’ acts of procrastination. If you are procrastinating, find the reason behind it.
Pay attention to your emotions, because they are the true indicators of your soul’s need. If we procrastinate and get angry at just by seeing at that work it means we have a hidden. The fear may be of not meeting expectations or not achievingsuccess. These are the subjective experiences .We need to address these personal feelings to avoid delaying in what we can achieve now!
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The writer is an undergraduate student in Psychology and can be reached at shanzashadab@yahoo.com
