Actually the word ‘procrastinate’ has become one of my favourite words now that I know its meaning. Before, I never even bothered finding out its meaning. I just skipped the word in my mind while reading an English novel. It’s a favourite word as I love to procrastinate myself. I am a procrastination Master. And I am sure that you would love to know its meaning by now.
Procrastination is the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, and thus putting off impending tasks to a later time, sometimes to the “last minute” before a deadline. It is also referred to as the art of being functional without the hassle of structure. People may procrastinate personal issues (raising a stressful issue with a partner), health issues (seeing a doctor or dentist), home care issues (patching a leak in a roof), or academic/work obligations (completing a report). (Wikipedia)
Let me give an example from my own life. Last Monday, 31 August, was the 2nd deadline for filing Dutch income tax returns. The default deadline is 1 May but nearly always I claim the 3 month extension. Last week I “suddenly” realised that the 2nd deadline was approaching. My first instinct was to apply for another “default” extension until 1 December. I was quite surprised to find out that the default option for a 2nd extension was gone. The alternative was writing a letter and explaining my circumstances. I decided that procrastination was not a good enough reason. On Saturday I did my mother’s tax return in exactly 1 hour. I felt relieved and treated myself with some more procrastination. On Sunday 30 August, I did my tax return. It took me a few hours but I was happy with the first and final draft. I did not send it yet. On Monday – the deadline – I did my final review of my draft and sent it. Once again I was fully relieved. This example is procrastination in a nutshell.
Actually there is a quite a lot of scientific research into this subject: why do we procrastinate?
I just watched an interesting TED video about the reasons and the solutions. The speaker mentions a conflict between 2 parts of the brain: the limbic system (wants to play) and the prefrontal cortex (wants to work). The limbic system usually wins. The ultimate decision maker is yet another part of the brain, the amygdala which controls fear and anxiety and the fight (work) or flight (delay, play) response to a threatening stimulus. When we procrastinate we experience a mild anxiety response to a threatening stimulus (e.g., tax return). The result is that the prefrontal cortex system shuts down. The reasons for this anxiety are: not knowing where to start, dreading the displeasure of doing the task (e.g., household chores), and fear of failure in case of complex tasks.
Although I quite like the explanation in this TED video, I do think and feel that it is incomplete – at least for me. I miss the risk / reward balance in this equation. I procrastinate when I perceive that the risk (of delaying) is low and the reward (of completing) is low. It even feels like a waste of time to complete the task when other tasks would provide (much) more added value, pleasure or satisfaction.
In this context, it also makes sense to start completing the task when the risk (of delaying) is getting high(er) and the reward (of completing) is getting high(er) – i.e., meeting the deadline.
I never put off till tomorrow what I can possibly do . . . the day after. Oscar Wilde (quote check)
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