Let's Procrastinate or not

“Procrastination is the thief of time.” - Edward Young (1683-1765)

For starters i wrote most of this blog ages ago and i have been meaning to post it , but  strangely i have manufactured a lot of reasons why posting it later made a lot more sense. We seem to think we are in control of the situation and that we have enough time, but in reality we are enslaving ourselves and stressing ourselves unnecessarily.

So...What are the causes of this behaviour? why do we procrastinate? and what are the advantages (if any ) and the disadvantages of this " thief of time " ?

CAUSES:

 "...Anxiety, low sense of self-worth, and a self-defeating mentality. Procrastinators are also thought to have a lower-than-normal level of conscientiousness, more based on the "dreams and wishes" of perfection or achievement in contrast to a realistic appreciation of their obligations and potential." This quote taken from a Wikipedia article says a lot about the causes of procrastination. It's been said it is a psychological problem caused by anxiety , though some others beg to differ blaming the situation on good ol' Laziness...which ever way you look at it Procrastination has a negative effect on our lives and our work.

WHY DO WE PROCRASTINATE?

There are several reasons why we procrastinate...some are simple and others complex...i have a list from the California Polytechnic State University paper on the subject...hope this will help.

Difficult - the task seems hard to do; we naturally tend to avoid difficult things in favor of those which seem easy to us.

Time-consuming - the task will take large blocks of time, and large blocks of time are unavailable until the weekend.

Lack of knowledge or skills - no one wants to make mistakes, so wait until you learn how before you start.

Fears - everyone will know how you screwed up.

These are more complex reasons why we procrastinate:

Perfectionism - unrealistically high expectations or standards. Everything must go completely right. It may either imposed or self-imposed. The perfectionist is long on criticism and short on praise.

• It creates a high degree of dissatisfaction and frustration because seldom is anything accomplished that is completely acceptable the very first time. The perfectionist nitpicks it to death.
• A perfectionist may delay in starting a project because he feels overwhelmed by the sheer amount of energy it will take to criticize and nitpick something, and all the frustration it will generate in the process.
• The words should, ought, must, have to occur frequently in the person's conversation. (I should get straight A's; I must do everything right the first time, etc.) “If you can't do it right, don't do it at all.”
• The desire to have everything absolutely perfect may mask problems of self-esteem and self-confidence.

How to resolve:

• Try self-reassurance that this effort or version will be good enough
• Make an effort to praise what you have done
• It's impossible to eradicate all mistakes
• You have undoubtedly found all the fatal errors by now
• Remind yourself that great writers, poets, artists at one time or another completed their work; therefore, it will be okay to say that yours is done also.

Anger/Hostility - if we are unhappy with someone, we'll often withhold our best efforts. For example, if you are upset with a professor, you are likely to delay in starting a demanding project as a way of “getting even.” But you are the one who loses; you are the one with the low grade.

How to resolve:

Determine that you are the one who is feeling upset and see how your actions will actually harm you in the long run. You are not going to let how you feel about a particular class stand in the way of your personal future, are you?

Low Frustration Tolerance - circumstances overwhelm you easily; you find situations radically intolerable and terribly unfair. Frustration is characterized by whining and complaining, and such phrases as “it isn't fair,” “this is too hard,” and “no one else has to,” etc. Feeling the way you do, it seems reasonable to “put it off” until you feel better about doing the work. The trouble is, you feel just as frustrated the next day. 

How to resolve:

the more you want something and can't have it, the greater your level of frustration.

• Get help from someone who can show you how to solve the problem
• Learn how to temporarily postpone your desires. Most of the time, you will eventually get what you want.

Self-Downing - this happens when you continually minimize your own skills and abilities and express doubt about your ability to succeed. A person who habitually puts himself down tends to disbelieve himself even when he is successful: it was “just dumb luck.” In addition, he may also find it hard to accept praise and compliments for work performed - false modesty. (“Wow, you did so well on the exam!” “Oh, I just lucked out; I really didn't know it all that well.”) 

The trouble with self-downing is that, given a long enough time, the person will actually come to believe that he is incapable of certain levels of achievement. 

Self-downing results in procrastination because the person who is uncomfortable with success will seek ways to become less successful and less visible. Turn in that important quarterly report late, and soon success will fade. (“Why did they fire you?” “I told them all along I couldn't sustain the pace, and see! I was right. I can't work at that level.”) 

How to resolve:

• practice accepting compliments about your work performance by simply saying "Thank you."
• Figure out why you feel uncomfortable with success. Did significant others in your life often make you feel that way? Were you taught to minimize your success? Why is success so scary? Will it make you stand out in the crowd? Do you feel as though others will not accept you if you are successful?
• Remember to compliment and praise yourself for work accomplished.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES:

It is argued that there are situations where Procrastination is not necessarily as bad as it is believed to be.  Based on the level of importance , a project can be pushed forward in order to tackle an immediate project of greater importance in this case procrastination is seen as a necessity.

On the other hand the disadvantages far out weigh the advantages. Procrastination gives one the false beliefe of control but ends up enslaving one and sometimes sends one to a depressive state. It has also produced mediocre results for projects that could have been a lot more advanced and of better quality.

FINAL WORDS:

DO IT NOW!!!