Imagine an important task that you have to complete in a short time. However, you find yourself only thinking about it, contemplating it for most of the time. You know that it is important that you complete it as early as possible. You understand that you will feel less stressed out. But you keep on finding other, less important things to do.

Procrastination is the behavior of putting off doing what you need to do to reach your goal. It is also considered a product of lack of self-regulated performance.

 In some ways, procrastination shares characteristics of maladaptive daydreaming. Both procrastination and maladaptive daydreaming are thought to delay important tasks that one has to complete. Moreover, procrastination can also involve instances of fantasizing.

However, the primary distinction between procrastination and maladaptive daydreaming is that procrastination is not bound to any single behavior.

In this article, I will explain the main features and types of procrastination. I will then tell you what to do about your habits of procrastination.

Causes of Procrastination

Some people don’t have problems with putting things off.

However, most of the time, procrastination can lead to bad outcomes that can’t be fixed because it stops progress instead of reaching goals. It’s important to note that even though people have different thoughts and meanings of delay, the reasons why workers of companies put things off are still unknown, and sometimes even contradictory results have been found.

So, experts have come up with a list of reasons for it, such as personal, environmental, and goal-related factors.

Individual Factors

Individual factors are generally related to the characteristics of the individual. This could include factors such as personality, ability to concentrate, personal habits etc.

Basically the individual factors that cause procrastination are those that relate to a person’s unique behaviors, patterns of thinking and emotions that are fully or partially independent of the environment.

Environmental Factors

The environment an individual is in also has major effects on his/her behavior of delaying goals. These include social and physical domains. Social environmental factors include the relationships one has.

A social factor could be observed in an individual who is living in an environment where they have to constantly respond to people. This could lead them to put off their task incessantly.

There are also physical environmental factors that influence one’s goal-directed behavior. For example, a study shows how cold weather could lead to delaying of tasks.

Goal-related Factors

Then there is the point regarding the characteristics of the goal itself. One might find that a goal is too difficult to complete in that time period.

On the other hand, one could also think that the goal is too easy and put the work off for some other time. There is also the factor of incentive. The person might find that they are not going to be rewarded enough for their work.

In a nutshell, goal-related factors are those aspects which relate to achievability and attractiveness of the goal.

Is All Procrastination Bad?

It is important to understand that procrastination is not always bad.

People who passively put things off are procrastinators in the usual sense of the word. Passive procrastinators don’t mean to put things off, but they often do because they can’t make choices and act on them quickly. Active procrastinators, on the other hand, can follow through with their plans on time. But they stop what they’re doing on purpose and pay attention to other important things that need to be done.

When a deadline is coming up, inactive procrastinators feel suffocated and negative about their future, especially about their ability to complete the task to their satisfaction. Their feelings of weakness and self-doubt make them more likely to fail and make them feel guilty and depressed.

But active procrastinators like to work when they’re rushed. When they have to do things at the last minute, they feel pushed and driven, which protects them from the kind of pain that passive procrastinators often feel.

Overcoming Procrastination

I have established, based on evidence, that not all procrastination is bad. Now it is important to see how maladaptive procrastination can be replaced with a more adaptive procrastination.

Prepare for the Task

One leaf we could take out of the active procrastination literature is to prepare for the task, if you are delaying it.

Often times we might be tempted to forego thinking about the task completely.

But we’re not going to do that!

Instead, try prepping yourself for the task. If you have an assignment on hold, you could Google more information about it. If you have to practice an instrument, search out video guides that could prep you for it.

The main point here is to be aligned to the goal actively.

Set up a Proper Plan

I use the term proper plan because a true plan would also have some time-frame that you have to follow.

While you gather the information about the goal, set up a brief plan of your mode of action. For that, you would have to place a deadline by which you would at least have some work done. If the task appears to long, break it into 3 or 4 smaller tasks and give yourself shorter deadlines for it.

When you are aligned to your goal actively, setting up a proper plan is the next thing that should happen.

Increase Your Activation Levels in General

Research has shown that more physically active individuals can control procrastination more. In some ways, one can then understand what makes active procrastination such a positive indicator for success.

Staying active can have a very significant indirect effect on procrastination.

When it comes to physical and mental health, people who are physically active have a better opinion of their quality of life. This more positive opinion is linked to less procrastination.

There is also a neuropsychological effect of physical activity as well. Engaging in higher physical activity can better regulate neurotransmitters such as Dopamine and Serotonin, both of which play a part in motivation. In turn, a more motivated individual would find it easier to finish the task at hand.

Conclusion

Procrastination is considered as a maladaptive behavior of putting off important goals. However, the concept, as explored above is far more nuanced than that. In this short article, I went over the causes and types of procrastination and also how can one control passive procrastination.

However, if you believe that your levels of procrastination are becoming too difficult to control, there is no shame in seeking help. After all, our goals are worth fulfilling.

Mostly.