The Procrastinator's Problem

Dr. Joseph Ferrari, professor of psychology, has found that 20 percent of U.S. men and women are chronic procrastinators. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines procrastination (Pro-cras-ti-na-tion \prə-ˈkras-tə-ˌnāt, prō-\)  As: “to be slow or late about doing something that should be done: to delay doing something until a later time because you do not want to do it, because you are lazy”.

The dictionary’s definition, “because you are lazy”, could have some merit if we accept   this generally perceived impression of procrastinators by the general public. This claim that procrastination is because of laziness is a misleading judgmental statement opined by persons who view procrastination as a common tendency to be lazy. However, those opinionated insensitive persons do not understand the intense challenges chronic procrastinators suffer. Although it is not considered a disorder, it is actually symptomatic of more deeply rooted problems. For a better understanding of procrastinators take a look at this video posted to YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q0SnFUZrJU by Dr. Ferrari 

Dr. Joseph Ferrari said research have found some links between chronic procrastination and personality challenges like ADHD, passive-aggressive tendencies, revenge and obsessive-compulsive disorder. According to Dr. Ferrari procrastination is a maladaptive lifestyle characterized by a person’s inability to adjust to particular situations. The procrastinator’s problem is not superficial as perceived. The underlying problems is not one specific problem but rather a combination of a myriad of problems. Advising a procrastinator to avoid procrastinating is as good as telling an alcoholic to stop drinking, an obese person to stop overeating, or you to stop breathing.  Procrastinators are capable of producing quality work within a given time frame once able to overcome the challenges of the fear of failure, low self-esteem, and unrealistic expectations.

I have struggled with procrastination all my life. Persons who are not procrastinators do not understand the reality of a procrastinator’s daily struggles. Procrastination for me is not a choice! It is manifested as something I do not know how to do. By college procrastination symptoms had increased much more than in the high school bell system that I was accustomed to. In high school cramming helped me to get through the semesters with a 3.00 G.P.A. and above. In college this mentality transferred over and became progressively worst. This sudden autonomy and  opportunity to plan my own schedule, with idle time and long breaks between classes; led to more challenges in staying on task. At first, I began doing assignments and papers the night before it was due. I soon realized I could stay awake all night and complete them. Then, I resorted to starting it early in the morning on the due date. This continued until my 12 page paper was due, the day I started it and I submitted it incomplete.  I was devastated to see a C- on my transcript and desperately tried to figure out how to fix this.

As a typical example, this blog took me longer than it should have, because I spent   countless hours doing other things that were past due. To understand procrastinators a little better a video is posted to YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nBwfZZvjKo) that explains this psychological problem in more detail.

The scientific analysis of the underlying psychological issues reveals that temporal discounting significantly impacts students procrastinating. Temporal discounting in procrastinators is seen as the sizeable preference towards immediate rewards. If rewards are long term then this results in distractions that will provide rewards now.  Instant gratification is used to by procrastinators to acquire immediate results but it is a distraction from the task at hand to be focused on. Instant gratification drive procrastinators to seek pleasure in unimportant tasks. Focus is shifted to only matter about the present, ignoring lessons from the past and disregarding the future altogether. The procrastinator is solely concerned with maximizing the ease and pleasure of the moment. While  people may realize that this person is not focusing on the assignment at hand and query if the assignment is completed, things are quickly spiraling out of control for the procrastinator as more work piles up and feelings of hopelessness and failure floods the mind making them feel worse about themselves. More leisure activities fighting against assignments for the time of the procrastinator. Ultimately only one can win the battle. This goes on until the deadline is approaching and panic sets in resulting in the compulsory finally winning but is it too late? With limited time the essay or project is rushed to completion. This cycle of self-defeating behavior goes on time and time again resulting in lowers quality of performance. In a study conducted by Baumesiter the results suggest that procrastination should be considered as one category of self-defeating behavior, because it apparently leads to stress, illness and inferior performance. It corresponds to the pattern of short-term gains and long-term costs, which is a common feature of self-defeating behaviors. This cycle can continue over and over again, not learning from the previous times. Non-procrastinators focus on the task that needs to be done, whereas we constantly struggle  to consistently  manage the start and completion of assignments. According to Ferrari although everyone procrastinates not everyone is a procrastinator. While procrastinators argue that they work better under pressure, studies show that this is far from the truth. Understanding how the brain is impacted by temporal discounting and instant gratification reveals the underlying psychological inner struggle of the procrastinator.

Students procrastinate because they fear  they might fail. I am convinced  that no matter how hard they try they will fail. The simple truth is, if they put less effort in, they would not be as disappointed when they do not get a high grade because they know they have not done their absolute best. It is ok to be afraid to fail but do not let it hinder academic performance.

Kaur revealed that procrastination resulting from fear of failure is related to self-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfectionism. Self-oriented perfectionism is perfectionism to produce a flawless result whereas socially prescribed perfectionism is an attempt to impress others. Perfectionism leads to procrastination when students self-impose unrealistic high expectations for performance.  Onwuegbuzie. Kaur said:”Perfectionism leads to procrastination. Moreover, the parental expectations of perfectionist performance, had a significant connection to procrastinating behaviours. Perfectionist usually do well in school however, unhealthy levels of perfectionism leads to procrastination.  

Studies show students who lack self-esteem can also be chronic procrastinators. The procrastinator may struggle with feelings of low self-confidence and low self-esteem. He may insist upon a high level of performance even though he may feel inadequate or incapable of actually achieving that level. Saleem & Rafique concluded that students with high self-esteem procrastinate less where as those who procrastinate more have comparatively lower self-esteem.

Do not let low self-esteem beat you, you must beat low self-esteem by first believing in yourself.  The negative relationship between self-efficacy and academic procrastination found in this study was consistent with Klassen et al.’s (2010) findings. What sometimes happen on a daily basis to a procrastinator is illustrated in this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIz4O943Dyo

There is help for the procrastinator! If you are tired of the stress, guilt, severe loss of productivity and social disapproval for not meeting commitments all the time, take action today.  Do not allow procrastination to obstruct normal function. This debilitating behavior can be overcome by following these tips: Firstly, procrastinators already know how to plan, therefore start by prioritizing these plans. Next, complete a heavy or large assignment little pieces at a time and reward yourself each time. Ask a friend to work along with you to hold you accountable to completing the task and eliminate any distractions such as television, iPad, Facebook, and smart phone. Once a task is started stay on task. Feelings of accomplishment will build self-esteem and satisfaction. After, completing three quarters of the assignment satisfaction is elevated and now you should be better able to stay on task. At this critical point keep going for the finish line while the drive is there. Once the assignment is completed the realization of the capacity to overcome procrastinating is established and internalizing this success is key.

Other tactics to use to help stay on task include using an alarm to ring off at intervals to be informed that the allotted time to complete a task has passed. Create an environment that facilitates work by eliminating distractions. Leave sticky notes in strategic places as a reminder to stay on task. Reward yourself to breaks and treats once tasks are completed. Use a calendar or to-do list and tick or highlight task that are completed to show progress. The key thing to remember is college is not the race for the swiftest but those who endured to the end. Therefore, no matter how challenging the task seems pursue it continually an eventually success will follow.