Why You Procrastinate (It Has Nothing to Do With Self-Control)

Why You Procrastinate(prō-,prəˈkrastəˌnāt) (It Has Nothing to Do With Self-Control(kənˈtrōl))

If procrastination isn’t about laziness(ˈlāzēnəs), then what is it about?

By Charlotte(ˈSHärlət) Lieberman

If you’ve ever put off an important task by, say, alphabetizing(ˈalfəbəˌtīz) your spice(spīs) drawer(ˈdrô(ə)r), you know it wouldn’t be fair(fe(ə)r) to describe yourself as lazy(ˈlāzē).

After all, alphabetizing requires focus and effort — and hey(hā), maybe you even went the extra(ˈekstrə) mile(mīl) to wipe(wīp) down each bottle(ˈbädl) before putting it back. And it’s not like you’re hanging out with friends or watching Netflix. You’re cleaning — something your parents would be proud of! This isn’t laziness or bad time management. This is procrastination.

If procrastination isn’t about laziness, then what is it about?

Etymologically(ˌedəməˈläjəkəl), “procrastination” is derived(dəˈrīv) from the Latin(ˈlatn) verb(vərb) procrastinare — to put off until tomorrow. But it’s more than just voluntarily(ˈvälənˌterəlē,ˌvälənˈte(ə)rəlē) delaying(dəˈlā). Procrastination is also derived from the ancient(ˈānCHənt) Greek(grēk) word akrasia(əˈkrāZH(ē)ə) — doing something against our better judgment.

“It’s self-harm,” said Dr. Piers(pi(ə)r) Steel(stēl), a professor(prəˈfesər) of motivational(ˌmōdəˈvāSH(ə)n(ə)l) psychology(sīˈkäləjē) at the University of Calgary(ˈkalgərē) and the author of “The Procrastination Equation(əˈkwāZHən): How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done.”

That self-awareness(əˈwernəs) is a key part of why procrastinating makes us feel so rotten(ˈrätn). When we procrastinate, we’re not only aware that we’re avoiding the task in question, but also that doing so is probably a bad idea. And yet, we do it anyway.

“This is why we say that procrastination is essentially(əˈsen(t)SHəlē) irrational(iˈraSHənl),” said Dr. Fuschia Sirois, professor of psychology at the University of Sheffield(ˈSHefēld). “It doesn’t make sense to do something you know is going to have negative(ˈneɡədiv) consequences(ˈkänsikwəns).”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/smarter-living/why-you-procrastinate-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-self-control.html

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