Why Procrastination Is an Issue Today
Procrastinating is something that everyone does at one point or another in his or her lives. In fact, 20% of people identify themselves as chronic procrastinators. When in school it is quite common for some students to procrastinate until the last minute on major assignments. Sometimes the habit of procrastination reaches past the college years and becomes a habit in life in general.
In society today, no matter where you look you are going to find people that appear to get a thrill from procrastinating. As thrilling as procrastinating might be to some people, procrastination can lead to an assortment of problems. We are going to explore why people procrastinate and how it can affect their life in the end.
Reasons for Procrastination
The reasons people procrastinate varies. The following are some of the main reasons people procrastinate.
- Fear of Failure – Some people avoid working on school or work projects because they have a fear of failure. They may feel that even if they do their best they will fail so they put off doing the work. By putting things off and not putting their all into a project the procrastinator is setting themselves up for failure.
- Fear of Success – This is the flipside of fear of failure, people who do well on a project and accomplishment great things fear being on able to repeat that success. They have the mindset of being unable to perform as well as, or better than, their previous performance so they end up procrastinating.
- Rebellion – Some people procrastinate because of the expectations placed on them by family, friends, or professors. If an individual comes from a family where there are specific educational and career expectations placed on them, that individual may delay doing class assignments, earn less than passing scores, and potentially flunk the course, all as an act of rebellion.
- Boredom and/or Lack of Motivation – Procrastinating is common for students when a given subject matter bores them. When a subject matter bores a student finding the motivation or inspiration may be extremely difficult. This can result in incomplete or poorly put together assignments. Sometimes it is best to work on something that bores you a little at a time to help push through the boredom and lack of motivation.
How Procrastinating can affect Someone’s Life
Some people do not believe procrastinating is a bad thing because of the common belief that they, “work better under pressure.” The truth of the matter is, procrastinating can do a great deal to harm one’s life.
- Affects Relationships – When a procrastinator works with others, their inability to do the work required of them can delay a projects completion. This in turn can damage the relationship the procrastinator has with the other project members. Friendships may end or people may avoid working with the procrastinator on future projects.
- Stress – Despite the belief that people work better under pressure this is a fallacy. People who procrastinate put unnecessary pressure and stress on themselves.
- Issues with Self-Regulation – Procrastinators tend to have issues with alcohol consumption
- Increased Health Issues – Procrastinators tend to have a compromised immune system, which results in more colds and flus. Furthermore, procrastinators have issues with insomnia.
People of all ages can suffer from procrastination. As mentioned above, causes include boredom, rebellion, fear of success, and fear of failure. People who suffer from this habit cannot only hurt their academic standing, or careers, but also can create unnecessary problems in relationships and their health. If you or someone you know is a procrastinator, there are things that can help change the behavior.
References:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200308/procrastination-ten-things-know>
http://www4.desales.edu/~minstrel/issue-44-2/procrastination.html>
http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html>