2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43
Procrastination is usually fun to read and talk about. I have not met a person who is completely unfamiliar with this problem. Therefore, I decided to write an article at the intersection of practical and academic psychology. As a scientific basis, I have an article by M. V. Zvereva. "Procrastination and Mental Health", from which I took a description of procrastination and some data on procrastinated people. And in the practical part - my comments on what can be done to reduce the amount of procrastination.
What is procrastination?
According to the scientific definition, procrastination is a deliberate postponement of doing things, making decisions, accompanied by a feeling of inner discomfort. The term procrastination itself (procrastinatus in Latin), includes part of this definition, it is associated with 2 Latin roots (pro - forward, crastinus - tomorrow).
On the one hand, the problem has recently appeared in scientific texts. In the 70s in foreign studies and in the late 90s in Russian. Scientists have found that in achievement-oriented societies, procrastination is a personality problem. The constant pursuit of achievement pushes people into tight deadlines.
On the other hand, the problem of postponing matters and worries about this has been familiar to mankind for much longer. The Egyptians had two verbs for procrastination:
- the first denoted a good habit of avoiding unnecessary work and impulsive actions;
- the second is laziness when performing tasks necessary for survival.
In the works of ancient philosophers, procrastination is often condemned. Cicero believed that slowness was unacceptable in any business.
My comment:
The ancient Egyptians knowingly used two verbs, there is something very wise in their division. People rarely worry about being lazy when performing tasks that are essential for life. Just going to work and the work itself is not as often a problem as performing some tasks that go beyond the usual actions. According to my observations, a feeling of inner discomfort often appears when we begin to set new tasks for ourselves: to master something new, start earning more, start learning languages … That is, to bring something new into our life, possibly bringing life to a new quality level … But maybe this is something you don't need?
- If you have an idea, for example, that you need to start doing this and that, so that this and that will happen, but this activity does not start, then it is worth analyzing: who needs it?
- To what extent do you personally need it? Or is it an idea imposed by someone?
- What will be your benefit from the event?
It is important to check with yourself in a timely manner - are you going to do something that you personally do not really need right now.
Types of procrastination
The first researchers of procrastination identified 5 types of procrastination:
1) household - postponing household chores that should be done regularly;
2) procrastination in decision making (moreover, insignificant);
3) neurotic - postponing vital decisions, such as choosing a profession or starting a family;
4) compulsive, when two types of procrastination are combined - domestic and procrastination in decision-making;
5) academic - postponing the completion of study assignments, preparation for exams, etc.
Academic procrastination affects 70% of students. This type of procrastination is also the most studied, because it is easier to study - it is easier to recruit a sample of students for research. Students themselves recognize procrastination as a moderate or serious problem.
Procrastination means voluntarily choosing one task over others. This thesis is statistically confirmed, 50% of the people surveyed answered that they were doing this.
My comment:
As a practicing psychologist, the most interesting for me would be extensive studies of the so-called neurotic procrastination, when people postpone important life decisions … But, alas, it will not be easy to recruit an experimental group for the most interesting topic. It is undoubtedly important to make decisions and do important things, develop, take risks.
Procrastination and the "reward and punishment" system
More often than not, people procrastinate when doing work that is far from due date. The further the event is, the less it affects the decision of people. This can be understood with the help of the phenomenon of "rewards and punishments" - the further the deadline, the further the reward and punishment.
If a person has two goals that have different degrees of attractiveness, then the person will first choose the one that is more pleasant, without thinking that the postponed one can be more difficult.
My comment: “As the saying goes,“the elephant is eaten in parts.”If you have determined for yourself what you want to do and why you need it, then you can come up with a plan for how to do it. For example, you need to learn English to the level of fluency in order to switch to more highly paid work … Or you need to write a diploma … Or you just need to slowly improve your qualifications … These tasks are not quick, the so-called "reward and punishment" is far away. So you can bring the moment of reward closer. Praise and thank yourself for the steps taken to complete the task. maybe something very small, but very pleasant. With this approach, it will be psychologically easier to get down to work when you know that after that you can …:) ".
Procrastination and motivation
In 2006, an integrative theory of temporal motivation emerged to understand the problem of procrastination. The key concept in it is motivation. Namely, the motivation for achieving success, which is formed thanks to the reward system, and the motivation for avoiding failure, which is formed due to frequent punishments for failure.
My comment:
As far as I remember from the course of general psychology at the institute, people with high achievement motivation achieve more success in life (including financial), and less people with high failure avoidance motivation. This happens because in the first case, people strive to achieve something new, and in the second case, they strive, first of all, not to make a mistake.
Thus, if you are very afraid of failure, then try to consolidate the new behavior in yourself - praise yourself for good luck and do not reproach yourself for mistakes. As with small rewards for work done, try to get into the habit of praising yourself for doing well. And ask loved ones to praise you. And you shouldn't scold yourself for your mistakes. That is why - a mistake has already occurred, something has failed, it is worth considering this experience. A slip can be enough lesson; you shouldn't add a bad mood to yourself by reprimanding yourself. Reproaches from other people should also be stopped.
Thus, procrastination is a problem that affects different areas of life. It is based on a number of beliefs, which I will discuss in the next article. With procrastination, you can help yourself if you assess how important this activity is for you, and divide the necessary matter into small, fractional tasks. It is also important not to forget to praise and encourage yourself!
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