The real reason we procrastinate

“Procrastination is the thief of time.”

—Edward Young

We make light of our procrastination habits, but they can hint at deeper issues. Procrastination is actually fear disguised as resistance.

Sometimes we are genuinely too tired or busy to get to the task sure, but when some tasks are habitually “put off” and others are handled smoothly, it might be a signal to examine the underlying causes.

Most books on procrastination offer a smorgasbord of techniques but fail to examine the underlying reasons. In their book Procrastination, Jane Burka and Lenora Yuen, have conducted research into why we procrastinate as well as what we can do about it, and their results are revealing.

For some, mild procrastination is a nuisance, but for others, it can be a nemesis. Burka and Yuen recount stories of chronic procrastinators losing jobs, marriages and money because they allow simple issues to escalate. Unpaid fines and unfinished work reports become the catalysts for layers of lies to cover their problems.

Consequences

There are internal and external consequences to procrastinating. Allowing unpaid fines to escalate to jail time, for example, is an extreme external consequence. Self-loathing and despair are an example of internal consequences.

The roots of procrastination can take many forms. Perfection, external pressures, school cliques, judgement from teachers, family and peers, not to mention a fear of failure, fear of success. You name it; Burka and Yuen can trace any procrastination technique back to an early childhood memory.

Dr. Richard Beery from the Berkley Counseling Center in California formulates human assumptions into this equation: self-worth = ability = performance. By procrastinating, we separate ability from performance. If we procrastinate, we cannot be judged because we didn’t make a complete effort. “Our self-worth and ability can still be preserved. As long as you procrastinate, you will never have to confront the real limits of your ability, whatever those limits are”. Sound familiar?

What interests me about Burka and Yuen’s research is that along with the expected reasons for procrastinating, such as perfectionism, they also look at our battle for control. Rebelling against external rules make sense as a cause of procrastination, but what is groundbreaking is where they have revealed that we also rebel against our own rules. “For some, procrastination becomes their way to feel they are in control”, no matter who made the rules in the first place.

So it appears there are two kinds of procrastinators: those who measure their worth by their experience of success or failure, and those who rely on autonomy and control for their self-worth. I fall into the latter category, and so standard anti-procrastination techniques never worked for me. I have a healthy sense of self-worth around my creative skills, and so I rarely procrastinate over my craft, yet it takes me months to pay bills or do my taxes. Many creative people resist such nuisances. If you value autonomy, you might find it annoying to give into the “petty requirements of life.”

What is worse, is that we resist the rules we make for ourselves. We might decide we want to lose weight, and then immediately eat chocolate in defiance of the rules we just created for ourselves. Such is our need for absolute autonomy over our decisions.

No matter the cause of your procrastination tendencies, it is important to recognise when it happens and take steps to moderate any resistance. If there are serious underlying issues, you may need to seek therapy or counselling, but in the majority of cases, identification and moderation will do the trick.

The good news is your brain is continually changing. As you develop a growth mindset, your procrastination habits are also up for review. Be aware that change and growth is a slow process. Don’t expect to read one or two books on procrastination and be instantly cured.

The four areas of procrastination, according to the book are:
1. Low confidence in your ability to succeed.
2. Task aversiveness.
3 The goal or reward is too far away.
4. Difficulties in self-regulation, such as impulsiveness and distraction.

When trying any new technique, start slowly, try one at a time and watch for resistance every step of the way. There are many areas of life where we procrastinate: at work or school, in the home, our personal care, relationships and finances. These areas are extensive and varied and beyond the scope of this article to thoroughly address. If we start with our creativity, however, procrastination in other areas will usually abate as they are often related.

Be aware that chronic procrastination is usually a resistance around fear. Attuning to your procrastination style and circumstance is the best first step. You also need to be patient as lasting change is gradual. Establishing new thought pathways around resistance is essential before the new behaviour becomes a habit.

Structure and Routine

The most useful techniques for combating procrastination revolve around structure and routine. Here are just a few ideas:

Write lists on a daily basis. There are plenty of devices and apps in our pocket that there is no longer a valid excuse for forgetting.

Establish places for things. This can sometimes help form a collection habit, such as using a basket by the door for keys and wallet, or a shelf for receipts, a pin board for bills. By establishing routines and locations around annoying tasks, we are less likely to lose things or let them build up.

Set regular times for activities. Doing this means there is less opportunity for choice and indecision. Signing up for a yoga class at 4 PM on Wednesdays and Fridays means you are much more likely to go to yoga every Wednesday and Friday. If you set a goal to go to yoga twice a week, it is likely you will choose not to go.

Break large tasks into smaller ones and set a timer for each section. I love racing the clock to see how many dishes I can get done in 20 minutes. Even one minute can make a difference. Put one toy away. One every hour. Keep moving around the house, set a timer and see what you can get done. Turn chores into a game, and then enjoy the remaining 59 minutes guilt free.

Delegate

If there are things you really can’t do, or just don’t have an aptitude for, it may be best to delegate these tasks. Filing your taxes is a great example. People often procrastinate around financial matters, sometimes for years. Biting the bullet and paying a bookkeeper or accountant rather than struggling through ourselves, might feel like an expense, but the time and energy we buy back is more than worth it.

Set your sights lower. Done is better than perfect. It may be time to accept that your house may never look like Home Beautiful, and your kid’s room will always look like a bomb went off. Who are you trying to impress? Sometimes it is better just to shut the door and ignore it rather than spend the day beating yourself up about it. Every day we are surrounded by aspirational lifestyle images designed to make us feel inadequate. Focus on what is important.

In the end, curing procrastination doesn’t guarantee happiness. Doing more of what makes you happy guarantees happiness.

If you want to read more about why you procrastinate, Jane Burka and Lenora Yuen have written a terrific book about it. If only you can get around to reading it.