The Relationship Between Procrastination and the Brain

Procrastination is a pattern or style of thinking

We all procrastinate for different reasons, and each task we procrastinate on will come with its own negative emotions. However, popular reasons why we procrastinate include;

• Low self-esteem – Not feeling good enough to complete the task.

• Boredom – This isn’t what I truly want to be doing or how I want my life to be.

• Self-doubt/Imposter Syndrome – Am I the right person for the job? I will never reach my goals.

• Unpleasant task – This activity doesn’t sit comfortably with me. It makes me unhappy.

• Insecurity – ‘They’ want me to fail.

• Anxiety – The thought of the task and its aftermath is too scary to contemplate; it makes my heart race and makes me sick with nerves.

• Stress – If I do this task, then I’ve got a million more things to tick off the list afterwards.

Procrastination and the brain

You may not have even thought about the negative emotions that you associate with a task. However, deep down, your mind is struggling to cope with the feelings you experience when you think about your objective.

Because of the negativity, you experience, the brain prioritises managing the negative moods over completing the activity. The mind wants to get rid of bad thoughts and negative emotions. It sees this as a more urgent task, so it tells you to put off the task which gives you instant relief.

However, sadly, procrastination is a never-ending cycle. Every time you think about the task again, it causes more stress and anxiety alongside all of the other negative emotions you are feeling. This will usually make you procrastinate again and again until you have no other option of giving in and getting the job done (often without your usual high standards) or avoiding the task altogether.

The brain's rewards centre will love that you are taking a break from the negative emotions of the task. However, this break is a chance to remove yourself from the immediate situation and work out what negative emotions are hindering your progress.

Find somewhere quiet to sit, go for a walk or do something mindless so you have the mental space to think about what negative emotions you are feeling and why this could be leading you to procrastinate.

Positive intentions

In a positive and kind state, realise that your procrastination is setting you up for more stress or a bigger issue in the long run. Think about your procrastination and what the consequences may be. Weigh up the current negative feelings and the feelings you will have if you procrastinate for much longer. It may help to rate your negative emotions on a scale of one to ten to see the difference.

What Causes Procrastination?

Remember that time that you thought you had a week left to finish a project that was due the next day? How about the time you decided not to clean up your apartment because you "didn't feel like doing it right now?"

We often assume that projects won't take as long to finish as they really will, which can lead to a false sense of security when we believe that we still have plenty of time to complete these tasks.

One of the biggest factors contributing to procrastination is the notion that we have to feel inspired or motivated to work on a task at a particular moment.

Waiting for motivation isn't the only problem that contributes to procrastination, however. The following are a few other factors that can play a role.

Academics

Researchers suggest that procrastination can be particularly pronounced among students. An estimated 75% of students procrastinate regularly, and around half of these students feel that this behavior is a persistent problem.

According to researchers, some major cognitive distortions lead to academic procrastination. Students tend to:

• Overestimate how much time they have left to perform tasks

• Overestimate how motivated they will be in the future

• Underestimate how long certain activities will take to complete

• Mistakenly assume that they need to be in the right frame of mind to work on a project

Bias

The bias is a phenomenon observed in human behavior that may result in procrastination. The present bias means that we tend to be motivated more immediate gratification or rewards than we are long-term rewards. This is why it feels good the moment to procrastinate.

Depression

Procrastination can also be a result of depression. Feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and a lack of energy can make it difficult to start (and finish) the simplest task. Depression can also lead to self-doubt. When you can't figure out how to tackle a project or feel insecure about your abilities, you might find it easier to put it off.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Procrastination is also pretty common in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. One reason is that OCD is often linked with maladaptive perfectionism, which causes fears about making new mistakes, doubts about whether you are doing something correctly, and worry over others' expectations of you.

People with OCD also often have a propensity toward indecision, causing them to procrastinate rather than make a decision.

ADHD

Many adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) struggle with procrastination. When you're so distracted by outside stimuli, as well as internal thoughts, it can be hard to get started on a task, especially if that task is difficult or not interesting to you.

Is Procrastination a Mental Illness?

Procrastination itself is not a mental illness. But in some cases, it may be characteristic of an underlying mental health condition such as depression, OCD, or ADHD.

Procrastinators vs. Non-Procrastinators

If you tend to put things off, you might wonder exactly what makes non-procrastinators different. According to the American Psychological Association, people who don't procrastinate tend to focus more on the task itself. Rather than worrying about how other people see them, they are more concerned with how they see themselves.

People who don't procrastinate also tend to be high in the personality trait known as conscientiousness, one of the broad dispositions identified by the Big Five personality theory. People with high conscientiousness also tend to be high in other areas, including self-discipline, persistence, and personal responsibility.

The Negative Impact of Procrastination

It becomes a more serious issue when procrastination is chronic and begins to impact a person's daily life seriously. In such instances, it's not just a matter of poor time management skills; it's a major part of their lifestyle.

Perhaps they pay their bills late, don't start work on big projects until the night before the deadline, delay gift shopping until the day before a birthday, and even file their income tax returns late.

Unfortunately, this procrastination can have a serious impact on many life areas, including a person's mental health and social, professional, and financial well-being:

• Higher levels of stress and illness

• Increased burden placed on social relationships

• Resentment from friends, family, co-workers, and fellow students

• Consequences of delinquent bills and income tax returns
  

Be realistic

Create a plan of action that not only minimises the negative emotions you are experiencing but also meets the needs of the reward centre in the brain. This plan should be realistic. Start small by breaking down to activity into more achievable chunks. Make sure you make it as easy as possible to start and provide lots of rewarding milestones along the way to keep you motivating to achieve positive results.

Always set a deadline – When you feel no sense of urgency, it is easy to keep putting something off. Always set deadlines for goals to avoid giving yourself a pass to keep putting it off. It doesn't have to be super rigid; however, you should set a realistic deadline that you can meet so you won't feel the need to change your deadline 100 times.

Try to do things in pieces, rather than large chunks – When we have huge goals or large tasks to pull off, it can be so overwhelming that we procrastinate getting started. Divide big tasks into smaller goals that you can meet and will help you achieve the larger one.

Get rid of time-wasters – Procrastination often births time-wasting traps. One example of this is if you are trying to get work done on your computer, but you have Facebook open in a tab or your phone's notifications keep going off. If you find the reason you are procrastinating is that you have too many distractions available, try to eliminate as many as possible. Consider changing your environment if that helps. In the example I just gave, this may mean closing your social media while working or silencing your phone.

Remember that sometimes now is a perfect time– A lot of the time, the reason we procrastinate is that we don't think now is a good time. We think we need more of something (money, time, etc) to start something. This is so far from the truth and sometimes we just need to get started. If you find yourself putting something off, ask yourself: Is this really not a good time or are you simply afraid to start or try?

Reward yourself – It is important to reward ourselves when we are trying to learn how to stop procrastinating. The rewards don't have to be big or even cost anything, either! Help yourself reach a goal by giving yourself a reward when you reach it.