 Maybe you’ve heard people say “I’ll get to it tomorrow,” or “It can wait,” or I’m not in the mood right now.” If you’ve heard these statements or perhaps said them yourself, you are affected by procrastination. Procrastination affects a lot of people. It can drive you crazy or upset the people around you. Procrastination is a complex psychological behavior that affects many people. Some people only deal with it to some degree, while others have a hard time with it. Psychologists refer to procrastination as going hand in hand with perfectionism. It is a means of avoiding some type of action or task. People who suffer from procrastination can suffer from stress, a sense of guilt, loss of productivity, and a lot of yelling from others. If you suffer from procrastination, you know your responsibilities, but you don’t want to act on them. You just don’t want to commit. Procrastination can be normal if is kept at a balance, but when you allow it to interfere in your life, it becomes a problem. People who suffer from constant procrastination, after undergoing psychological tests, have been found to have a psychological or physiological disorder. In order to be able to escape from the grip of this unwelcome condition, people need to understand the whole concept of procrastination, including where it came from and why people get it. Procrastination comes from the Latin word procrastinatus: pro- (forward) and crastinus (of tomorrow). The term literally means to forward action till tomorrow. This is why people, who suffer from it, always want to postpone taking action. They want to avoid the task or action or delay it anyway they can. Procrastination has both psychological and physiological causes. The psychological causes can depend on the situation or element the person faces. Such conditions can include anxiety, low sense of self-worth, and a mentality where the person gives up easily. Procrastinators have also been known to have a higher level of conscientiousness. However, this high level is based more on what they wish they can do, but can’t because perfectionism holds them back. Procrastination is based more on anxiety and fear than anything else. In many situations the person simply feels out of control, and so may resort to delaying a task, or avoiding it all together. On the physiological side, doctors have focused their attention on the prefrontal cortex. This is the area of the brain that is responsible for brain functions including planning, impulse control, and attention. This part of the brain also acts as a filter by decreasing distracting stimuli from other parts of the brain. When this area of the brain is damaged, the person cannot stop distractions, and this leads to poor organization, loss of attention, and increased procrastination. People who suffer from procrastination are aware of what is happening. It can actually lead some people to depression or even suicide, and it can be involved with other kinds of dysfunction, such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Although procrastination can be considered a behavioral problem, any other symptoms that are developed around this condition can be treated with medication. Hopefully, once the indirect conditions are treated, the resulting effect can also lessen the occurrence of procrastination. Certain medications have been known to help a person increase his attention span or even improve his overall mood. Therapy can also be considered helpful, especially if the therapy can remove any underlying causes that created the behavior, like fear or anxiety. The basic premise is that it increases the person’s ability to lead a normal life. This is why procrastinators should see a therapist or psychiatrist to see if there is anything beneath the surface that is causing their problems. Those who are diagnosed as being procrastinators could find themselves getting addicted to such things as using their computer a lot, or using the Internet quite often. It starts with a compulsion to do something so as to avoid reality. So they take part in some kind of activity like surfing the web or playing a video game. Procrastination is like diabetes – there are different types. One is referred to as the relaxed type the other one is the tense-afraid type. The relaxed type views responsibilities in a negative way and avoids them by doing other kinds of tasks. An example of this is for a child to avoid doing his homework so he can play his video game. In practical terms, this is known as denial. Basically, the procrastinator does everything to avoid any situation that is not pleasurable. People who see these types think they are avoiding work but in reality they are simply trying to evade the issue. The tense-afraid type is usually overwhelmed with a lot of pressure, and doesn’t have a solid concept of time. They are uncertain about their goals and may even have a lot of negative feelings. They often feel they can’t focus so as to complete their job. So what they do is keep telling themselves they need to unwind and relax. They want to take it easy for the time being and start anew the next day. The only problem is the next day brings the same results. This relaxing they do eventually places more stress on them because they end up getting too close to a deadline and have to rush to get the assigned work done. Then the person feels guilty for having delayed getting it done when they had plenty of time. Unfortunately, they repeat the same thing over and over again. They go from trying to accomplish a task to failure and delay. They constantly put off plans and goals knowing they can’t complete them. The problem with this arrangement is that they can’t be depended on for anything nor can they be trusted. They become uncertain about their goals and this makes them feel awkward, especially when they are around people who have it together and are goal-oriented. Procrastinators do have a rough time of it emotionally, mentally, and even physically. But as you will learn in this book, this problem can be controlled or even eliminated once you know more about the condition and how to get rid of it. The biggest concern is to acknowledge you have it and take steps to change your behavior. By following certain procedures and guidelines, you may just find that procrastination can be a thing of the past. Understanding it and getting clear as to its functions and causes will go a long way toward helping you to deal with it. It is just a matter of knowing where it originates. This is one way you can treat it. By knowing the source of the problem, you can take the correct steps to ensure that this problem will not raise its ugly head again. If you are one of those less fortunate to have procrastination, you are not alone. Did you know that even children can become procrastinators? It is a behavior problem, usually a learned behavior. If you find that procrastination has taken over your life, you just have to open this book and read the contents therein. Hopefully the information in the book will help you to overcome your procrastination so that you can live with yourself and know you can actually accomplish each task you start. |
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