What is Procrastination and how to overcome it?

All procrastination is delay, but not all delay is procrastination. If put in simple words, it is the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished by a certain deadline. Etymologically the origin of the word “procrastination” comes from the Latin verb procrastinare, which means to put off until tomorrow. It is also derived from the ancient Greek word akrasia — doing something against our better judgment. Psychology explains procrastination as an emotion regulation problem, not a time management problem. Behavioral psychology research explains this as a phenomenon called “time inconsistency.” It is the tendency where human brain value immediate rewards more highly than future rewards. This tendency of delaying helps us understand why procrastination seems to pull us in despite our good intentions.

Let’s accept the fact that we all have faced procrastination at one point or another. It is relatable and universal because the human brain is actually wired for it. We struggle with delaying and avoiding the issues that matter to us. Study identified that there are two areas of brain that determine whether we are more likely to get on with a task or continually put it off. The amygdala - an almond-shaped structure in the temporal (side) lobe and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (DACC) plays a major role to process and control actions. DACC receives information from the amygdala and decides the action for body. For procrastinators,  the connection between the amygdala and DACC are not as good as in proactive individuals. During emotional situation such as overwhelm/fear to fail, norepinephrine chemical takes over, increasing the levels of fear and anxiety and adrenaline gets pumped in. Different people experience procrastination for different reasons. Most common reasons are anxiety about the outcome of work, struggle with delayed gratification, easily distracted by the surrounding, unable to make decisions in a timely manner.

Understanding why we procrastinate is beneficial, since it can help figure out the answers. The capacity to self-monitor, convert tasks into small and measurable steps is an important executive function to avoid procrastination. Learn to acknowledge the errors, but forgive your procrastination habits and move forward. It will help reduce it in the future.

Hope you find it a good read!!