5 ways to procrastinate and what it means about you

5 ways to procrastinate and what it means about you

When we think of procrastination, we think of this task that we regularly put on the agenda but which systematically gets postponed until the next day. However, there exists Many ways to procrastinate,

While some people will feel unable to do anything, others will keep themselves busy doing whatever is possible apart from the task at hand. Just as we procrastinate in different ways, we have diverse and varied reasons for not taking action.

5 ways you procrastinate

“Research shows that procrastination is largely a failure of self-regulation (an executive function skill),” says Nawal Mustafa, a doctoral student in neuropsychology. a publication Instagram. These include an inability to control negative emotions related to performing a task or poor impulse control. » Contrary to what one might believe, procrastination does not come from simple laziness, but from a more complex mechanism.

In his publication, the expert listed five behaviors related to procrastination and what they really say about the way we manage our time and our emotions:

  • You wait until the last minute to meet a deadline : “You avoid negative emotions associated with the idea of ​​doing this task, such as anxiety, boredom or self-doubt,” says the expert. To avoid your emotions, you keep your mind busy with activities that are more enjoyable and require less effort. ,
  • You scroll through social media instead of completing a task : “You seek immediate reward by choosing what feels good in the moment rather than focusing on long-term reward. ,
  • You set goals that you don’t try to achieve : “You feel disconnected from your future, which prevents you from staying motivated and disciplined. It’s like working hard for someone you barely know, rather than for the part of yourself that’s worth the effort. ,
  • You make long to-do lists without getting anything done : “You have difficulty taking action because perfectionism and fear of failure prevent you from doing so. This creates a vicious cycle of overthinking and analysis paralysis that makes it even more difficult to take action. ,
  • You have put off a small task that will only take you a few minutes : “Your days are unstructured, so you tell yourself you’ll leave this task at some point during the day. But without a clear plan and time allotted for this task, you keep putting it off and at the end of the day, nothing gets done. ,

overcome procrastination

At first glance, it seems obvious that to stop procrastinating, you must… stop procrastinating, stop procrastinating everything and finally accomplish these tasks. But, not surprisingly, it’s not that simple. The first step to achieve this is to identify the cause. “Awareness is essential,” recalls Nawal Mustafa. Beyond understanding its origins, procrastination can be overcome by working on perfectionism. “If you have to evaluate yourself, look at your performance not in black or white, but as a continuum,” advises Ellen Hendrickson, a clinical psychologist. psychology todayInstead of talking about 100% or 0% with nothing in between, take a balanced approach. ,

Also, some organizational techniques can help in completing the work on time. For example, avoid big objectives without any specific organization, preferring to take small steps over time. And pat yourself on the back every step of the way, advises psychosocial rehabilitation expert Kendra Cherry very good mindOther methods, such as the so-called Pomodoro method, allow you to do these small tasks that do not take much time, but are constantly postponed.