Why Do We Procrastinate?

[kyser_soze]

It's a throwback to a much easier age when our lives weren't dictated by things we have to do. Nowadays everything is time-dictated. Not doing things we feel we should do is an unconscious method of returning to simpler, older times.

Right, so when most people were peasants and there was no artificial lighting, their lives weren't dicatated by having to work in daylight and via the seasons?

I think what you're getting at is that in the past life was dicatated by more natural rhythms, rather than the anthro-centric ones we are more familiar with today...

 

[Spion]

I've put off reading this thread for the last 24 hours, and now I can't be arsed to read it all, but I did think about the question and my answer is:

doing anything or making a decision is usually - or rather, it seems - more stressful than doing neither of those things. So, where we can we often opt for the easy solution - do nothing

 

[Descartes]

I'd answer that, but can't stop.. maybe later if I get time.

 

[inflatable jesus]

I think the prevailing opinion amongst psychologists is that it's a stress/ anxiety thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procrastination#Causes_of_procrastination

That makes sense to me as generally when I procrastinate I'm putting off something that I'm a little bit worried about. Like right now, I should be doing my Organic Chemistry homework but I'm finding any excuse to stop because I'm worried about not doing well in the class.

I don't think it's a thought out thing. Just your brain getting a little overloaded and not being able to put priorities in the right order. I think the treatment tends to be working on reducing stress levels and being more mindful about where our thoughts are taking us.

I guess that means I should be getting back to my molecules.

Stupid brain...

 

[ouchmonkey]

It's obviously an evolutionary advantage to procrastinate as all the non-procrastinators have died out. Silly sods.

this HAS to be the right answer doesn't it?

I hope so, I'm such a procrastinator. Urban is quite the facilitator in that regard as well, damn you!

I think it might be just the opposite, we have too much time. We have all these gadgets and gizmos and processes and techniques that shorten the amount of time that it takes to accomplish something. So, now there's no incentive(beyond money or pride) to finish something early. Shelter isn't at stake, well being isn't at stake, and most of all survival isn't at stake.

Why should I do it now? I've got time.

but on the contrary - time saving devices and more effective forms of communication have only raised the bar of what is perceived as possible within a working day - it's not made it easier to hit targets but possible to set bigger targets - same degree of stress and effort

 

[army_of_one]

but on the contrary - time saving devices and more effective forms of communication have only raised the bar of what is perceived as possible within a working day - it's not made it easier to hit targets but possible to set bigger targets - same degree of stress and effort

Wouldn't that be something artificial, so to speak, imposed by the individual? Something like an effort to get ahead of or stay ahead of the curve.

If you take something mundane like doing the wash, say a couple shirts and a couple pairs of pants. If you did absolutely nothing beyond throwing them in a machine you've only used ten, fifteen minutes tops. If you walk it down to a river, wash there, and walk it back that's an hour or two depending on distance.

Does that make sense or am I on the completely wrong track?

 

[kained&able]

i reckon my answer was the best


dave

 

[beeboo]

I think the prevailing opinion amongst psychologists is that it's a stress/ anxiety thing.

For me I think this is often the case - it's things I'm a bit worried about, or don't know how to tackle - I'll continue to procrastinate over them until:

a) the concern about NOT having done it it exceeds the concern about doing it, or
b) it becomes unavoidably urgent.

One confounding factor is that quite often by delaying you become more worried about starting ('will I have enough time to do this? have I left it too late?'), so procrastinate further because you are now more worried than you were before. This means a very long period of time can elapse before condition (a) is met, because the concern about doing it is constantly increasing.

Another factor is that in procrastinating you spend so much time weighing up different approaches to doing the thing you are avoiding, that you become completely immobilised by your inability to find the "correct" approach (when in actual fact it's usually an issue which either isn't that important, where any choice would be acceptable, or simply doing something would be infinitely preferable to doing nothing).

Throw in a bit of laziness and a low threshold for being distracted and voila, the perfect procrastinator.

 

[Barking_Mad]

this thread is me.

 

[Descartes]

Yer, some very interesting stuff... really have to consider my position about all this, maybe form a comittee and gets some friends to .. yer.. I'll leave this until tomorrow but I must get some more.....

 

[Agent Sparrow]

I think procrastination is a case of negative reinforcement. Starting work can be quite difficult and challenging, even painful at times. Therefore procrastination is a way of putting off that negative consequence of starting work. Stupid thing is though that a) after a period of bad procrastination, people can get guilt which is much worse emotional reaction than they'd get from starting the task, and b) once the task gets started it's often not too bad.

 

[goldenecitrone]

I think procrastination is a case of negative reinforcement. Starting work can be quite difficult and challenging, even painful at times. Therefore procrastination is a way of putting off that negative consequence of starting work. Stupid thing is though that a) after a period of bad procrastination, people can get guilt which is much worse emotional reaction than they'd get from starting the task, and b) once the task gets started it's often not too bad.

That's what I find weird. I can even procrastinate on things that I actually enjoy doing. I don't get that at all.

 

[innit]

That's what I find weird. I can even procrastinate on things that I actually enjoy doing. I don't get that at all.

I'm afraid you are bare lazy

 

[goldenecitrone]

I'm afraid you are bare lazy

True dat.

 

[goldenecitrone]

Although one day, I'm gonna be a STAR....

 

[goldenecitrone]

Probably after I'm dead though.

 

[Descartes]

Possible reasons for Procrastination:

Not interested

Inability

Laziness

do not want to work with or alongside someone.

Prefer to be doing other things

Other things planned and just wasting time.

fear of the responsibility in becoming involved.

no motivation

not a challenge.

repetition

OK, I'm going away to think of some more... BRB

 

[Jonti]

I've been meaning to make a sensible contribution to this thread for quite some time now.

Tomorrow, maybe.

 

[innit]

Probably after I'm dead though.

It seems more than likely

 

[goldenecitrone]

It seems more than likely

Almost a certainty. Buggery bollocks.

 

[innit]

Almost a certainty. Buggery bollocks.

So, no need to worry about it too much this afternoon then

 

[goldenecitrone]

So, no need to worry about it too much this afternoon then

I'll probably leave worrying about it till next week. Or the month after. Just haven't got the energy.

 

[newme]

I procrastinate because I dont want to be doing the things im avoiding, otherwise I wouldnt be avoiding them. Pleasure seeking works in both ways, avoidance of those things you dont find pleasurable.

 

[ed marimba]

For me I think this is often the case - it's things I'm a bit worried about, or don't know how to tackle - I'll continue to procrastinate over them until:

a) the concern about NOT having done it it exceeds the concern about doing it, or
b) it becomes unavoidably urgent.

This is an excellent description, I think it's very much to do with anxiety. Fear of failure plays a big part - a kind of dread that the task will turn out to be very difficult or go terribly wrong and the only way to escape this feeling is procrastination and avoidance.

 

[CJohn]

...people often hold a lot of positive beliefs about the benefits of procrastinating, such that whilst at one level they say say "oh well this isn't healthy for me, its about avoidance" etc., at another they might hold an idea "if I think about this long enough I will figure it out / won't make a bad decision" etc. Its preconscious meta-cognitive beliefs - ideas about our mental actions - such as this that perpetuate cycles of procrastination. Adrain Wells has written a lot on this.

 

[soonplus]

i always put it down to intellectual despair... or perhaps the goal isn't immediate, or immediately apparent or perhaps you are questioning the worth of the goal or ends of whatever it is you are avoiding doing?

 

[purplex]

To be sure

 

[danny la rouge]

I've been avoiding posting on this thread.


Oh, look: that's where my Pannekoek pamphlet went...

 

[purplex]

You should impose intermediate deadlines rather than one final one, thats what the ft weekend magazine says anyway

 

[Descartes]

If there was a procrastination club.. would it ever meet?