Procrastination
Here I am again with another post on procrastination. This post my seem ironic seeing that I'm writing this the day before its due, but I would like to enlighten you all on what procrastination is,what procrastination causes, what causes procrastination, and how to beat procrastination. Some define procrastination as doing more urgent work while leaving less urgent work for later. Others define procrastination as doing things that you like first and putting off doing things that you do not enjoy. I define procrastination as simply putting off work that we do not want to do until we are given no choice but to do it or suffer a penalty. Procrastination may result in stress, health problems, anxiety, feeling guilty, and meeting expectations. There are four reasons that cause people to procrastinate. The first one is that if a task seems difficult, people tend to naturally avoid doing it. The second reason is that if a task is time-consuming, people will push it off thinking they don't have enough time to do it immediately. The third reason is a lack of knowledge or skills. The final reason is being fearful of screwing something up. There is no set in stone way of beating procrastination. One solution could be to write up a plan and force yourself to follow the plan. I hope this post brings light to some things that were unclear about procrastination.
As a procrastinator myself, I find that I simply do my best work when there is a fast approaching deadline. Knowing that I work better under pressure, I often save tasks until the last minute. It's not exactly the best strategy, but this article is very relevant to me and helps to explain why I procrastinate when I know it would be better to work on things ahead of time. It is titled the 5 hidden benefits of procrastination, and it brings up some interesting points http://www.fastcompany.com/3046120/work-smart/the-five-hidden-benefits-of-procrastination
ReplyDeleteJust a thought: Has procrastination always been a defining feature of schools in the past, or has the advent of technology caused the rise of chronic procrastination? Were children in the 19th century putting off those darned worksheets until the last day of quarter? From my experiences, I put off work until I have no other better options. If my other options were working in a factory in terrible conditions, I might be more motivated to not procrastinate.
ReplyDeleteI think procrastination comes from there being the option to do other things that are more interesting/less arduous than what is being put off. If something is boring, and there is an option to do something fun, most people will want to do the fun thing over the boring thing. And this also occurs if there is something challenging to do, but it is more likely to be done if one of the alternatives is even more difficult.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's not that I do better work while under pressure, it's that I'm more willing to do it. If I have a week before I have to write 8 comments on Mr. Stewart's blogger assignment, I'm not going to be able to buckle down and do it until Thursday or Friday. I feel what Nathan is saying, though. I don't have the willpower to avoid watching tv over doing homework. But it's okay, I'll just stop procrastinating next year!
ReplyDeleteMaybe some people procrastinate because they believe that putting the pressure on themselves allow them to produce extraordinary work that would otherwise not have occurred. Although I don't particularly enjoy it, when I do procrastinate, I find that my focus improves drastically. Food for thought.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that when I know that it is last minute and I have to get it done or suffer the consequences, my focus drastically improves. But the part about producing extraordinary work I'm a little skeptical about.
DeleteI agree, I think focus and efficiency improves, but not the quality of work.
DeleteI think a lot of the time (and I know that I do this), people don't realize that they are procrastinating until they already are. People always say "Oh, I'll procrastinate and do it the day before it's due," or "I work better under pressure," but I think much of the time people just say, "I've got plenty of time" until they don't.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, the best way to solve procrastination is just to encourage yourself to do a little bit of something. That way, you are not tied down to doing it, but you will often see that something is not as bad as it had seemed before you had set yourself down to do it.
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ReplyDeleteIn my case, procrastination is always caused by a lack of motivation. This is why the work of a procrastinator is always completed at the last minute or not completed at all. At the night before its due, the motivation you experience is fear of failure. We become motivated to turn in the assignment in fear of the consequences of if we don't. All this may ultimately cause the sacrifice of our mental health and sleep, but in the long run, we usually spend out time before hand doing the things we like. The procrastination life style only truly works for those who see that as an equal trade-off.
ReplyDeleteFor me personally, I do not have the willpower nor do I have the power to push myself to work on school work that is due at a later time. Distractions such as Youtube, Facebook, and pretty much anything besides my work distracts me. Focusing on one thing at a time is something I really need to work on.
ReplyDeleteFor me personally, I do not have the willpower nor do I have the power to push myself to work on school work that is due at a later time. Distractions such as Youtube, Facebook, and pretty much anything besides my work distracts me. Focusing on one thing at a time is something I really need to work on.
ReplyDeleteI think reasons 1 and 2 hold true for the majority of people. I know I have a long list of things on my to-do list, but simply picturing that list in my mind just depresses me and leads to my procrastinating for two or three hours, at worst. Also, I think that many tend to play a game of "how long can I push this off until I really need to do it" - is chronic procrastination a thing? It certainly is prominent among many high schoolers. We admire those who say they finish homework every night by 10 and go to bed by 11, but we never try to change our own lifestyles. (and here I am, trying to finish my 10 comments... irony.)
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with all 4 of your points Charles. However, for me I feel like there is a fifth reason on why I constantly procrastinate. Whenever I put something off for a while and finish it late, for some reason I feel a sense of achievement early in the morning as I'm relieved that I can finally go to bed. If I finish the same task earlier in the afternoon, for some reason I just don't feel the same sense of accomplishment.
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