What is procrastination and what is a procrastinator?

Hello dear blog readers! I think that in the life of every person there were situations when I wanted to postpone some important business for later, as if “forgetting” about it, and to do completely meaningless and useless tasks, while experiencing anxiety and anxiety. This «shirking» has its own name, and is quite common in modern society. Especially with the advent of the Internet, mobile devices and other distracting gadgets. Therefore, procrastination is relevant for almost every inhabitant of the planet, and we will try to figure out why it occurs and what types exist.

What is it?

A procrastinator is a person who finds quite logical and convincing reasons for his inactivity. For example, he may argue that workaholism is a dangerous disease, excessive work is bad for health, and life goes by so quickly, so it is important to be able to rest and relax.

Or he believes that when the deadlines for the delivery of the project come up and so on, he is under pressure. She gives 100% in order to be in time, which is why she sees no point in “straining” herself every day with the implementation of any tasks, if it is possible to solve everything at once. And even if he doesn’t make it on time, or doesn’t do anything at all, he “covers up” and reassures himself with a saying like: “So it’s destined to be so,” completely abandoning previously set plans, denying their necessity.

It is believed that in the world about 20% of the population suffers from the «syndrome of tomorrow», which is not inherited, but is acquired, which gives hope for getting rid of it.

The history of this word

Postponing for later was already familiar to the ancient Egyptians, as evidenced by the hieroglyphs found in the caves. Their meaning was that the delay can be with two kinds of consequences.

• Negative, that is, in vain put off the implementation, now a lot of problems have arisen.
• Positive — it’s good that I didn’t have time to start, otherwise I would have wasted my time and energy.

A little later, the term itself appeared, consisting of two parts, the preposition pro, which translates as “forward”, and the word crastinus, that is, “tomorrow”. According to historians, this happened in ancient Rome, and described the state of politicians, or military men. Many were in no hurry to make a decision and take any action, preferring to wait until everything was resolved by itself.

Later, the phenomenon of procrastination gained notoriety in 1682 during a sermon by Anthony Walker. He brought a little laziness into this concept, and declared it a sin. In 1956, as a joke, Les Vaas organized the Procrastinator Club, only he postponed the meeting several times, and, in the end, it never took place. The first psychological studies were carried out in 1977, and a scientific term appeared, which was devoted to books by authors such as Ringerbach, Ellis and Knaus, as well as Bourke and Ewan.

Why does it occur?

1. The most basic reason is quite — still banal — a person is simply not interested in some kind of occupation or work in general. After all, it is impossible, by constantly holding tension, to force yourself to do something without getting any satisfaction, joy and saturation from the process and result. Our subconscious is trying to postpone the most unpleasant, as if protecting the psyche from negativity. But this action, unfortunately, leads to the opposite effect.

2. The inability of the individual to prioritize, set goals and anticipate consequences, whether positive or negative, also makes itself felt.

3. Unconsciousness, that is, when a person has no idea why he lives, what he strives for and what he wants in general. From this, he seems to go with the flow, not having a clear goal and course, nailing either to one shore of momentary desire, or to another. If this is about you, then I recommend an article about methods for getting out of life’s impasse.

4. Irresponsibility also gives rise to the emergence of this phenomenon. Continuing the previous metaphor, the individual needs to get hold of an oar and row hard towards their most important needs. Sometimes swimming against the current and nailing to a completely unnecessary shore, or to the starting point. And for the consequences that have arisen, you will have to bear responsibility, admit your mistakes, wrong decisions, and so on. Why is there a temptation to do nothing at all, so as not to pay later in case of failure.

5. The most significant causes of procrastination are fear and phobias. And they are completely different, whether it is the fear of failure, or criticism, change, and even pain. Indeed, in fact, it is sometimes easier for a person to get used to conditions that absolutely do not suit him and cause inconvenience than to take and change them. Do you know why? Because the thought “what if it gets even worse?” arises.

6. Lack of resources, strength, knowledge or energy. Why the individual does not dare to embark on an important matter, realizing in advance that he will not be able to cope with it.

7. Sometimes perfectionism gets in the way, making demands to do everything perfectly and without the slightest slip. As you know, ideality is often a myth, completely unattainable. As a result, a person decides to do nothing, understanding in advance the futility of any attempt to begin the task. You can learn more about this personality type from the article here.

8. Lack of motivation. For example, if the salary is too low, do you think the employee will be willing to give all the best? The less work responsibility he has, the less important he will feel, and as a result, doing nothing. And it makes no sense to try to do something if he does not understand why he needs it, so he will be distracted in every possible way.

9. And, of course, the inability to effectively manage your time, the science of time management is not known to everyone, which is why there are problems.

Aftermath

• Difficulties with health, and all because anxiety and tension are constant background companions of an individual suffering from «tomorrow syndrome». As you know, any emotions, if they are excessive, harm the body, exhausting it and causing chronic diseases. In order to be more active, when there are no more forces, you have to support yourself with various kinds of energy drinks. Which in large quantities cause irreparable harm to health.
• Insomnia. It is worth not sleeping normally for a couple of nights, as biological rhythms go astray, which are then not so easy to restore, which later causes insomnia and even depression.
• Due to the fact that the individual does not solve some problems, or pays them very superficial attention, this leads to failure and unfulfilled needs. Which in turn cause dissatisfaction with life and its poor quality.
• Unemployment, or lack of a profession, since for the late delivery of essays, tests and exams, they may well be expelled from a higher educational institution.
• A constant feeling of guilt and anxiety destroys relationships with other people, as it does not allow them to be “built” qualitatively, giving all the best and not violating the “give-take” balance. It is especially negatively affected if a person does not keep the promised word. He simply will not be trusted, and, accordingly, recognized and respected.
• By virtue of the above points, the “tomorrow” syndrome can only intensify, which will lead to even worse consequences.

Types

In 1993, the social psychologist Stanley Milgram, with the participation of colleagues, conducted research during which the following types of this phenomenon were identified:

1. Household, it is also called daily — this is a shirk from tasks that need to be performed on an ongoing basis, for example, washing dishes or cleaning. As a result, dirty dishes accumulate in the sink, clothes are hung on chairs and armchairs, dust settles, almost a centimeter thick, but as soon as someone calls and warns that he will come to visit, cleanliness is instantly brought up and the apartment shines.
2. In decision-making, this is about the unwillingness to take responsibility, since there is a hope that everything will be resolved somehow by itself, which is why the individual is in a “suspended” state, waiting for the completion of the issue that has arisen, or the expiration of its relevance.
3. Neurotic — a bit similar to the previous type, only in this case significant decisions are postponed that will affect the rest of your life. For example, such as starting a family, having a child, or choosing a profession, city of residence.
4. Compulsive (chronic) is a constant late response to the difficulties and tasks that have arisen, is one of the features of human behavior.
5. Academic — associated with training, that is, postponing the completion of coursework, diploma work, studying the necessary material immediately on the eve of the exam or test, and so on.

Interesting Facts

• Procrastination is an art, because understanding how unpleasant the consequences of inaction can be does not prevent such people from believing in miracles. They are the optimistic part of the world’s population.
• This type of behavior and reaction develops in rigid families, where the child is not given the right to a personal opinion, and where any attempt to show initiative and independence is suppressed. Excessive criticism for any reason also affects, growing up, the baby, in order not to “run into” extra punishment, prefers to remain in the shadows, leaving attempts to prove himself.
• The inability to organize one’s activities in a quality manner also affects other areas of a person’s life, he is simply not able to maintain boundaries, control himself and observe discipline, which makes it quite easy to get addicted. For example, alcohol, which is most welcome, helps him «drown out» guilt, anxiety and anxiety.
• The most favorite form of self-deception is the formulation: «I will do it tomorrow.» There are even jokes about Mondays that never come.
• The most common disease is stomach ulcer. In addition, people with the phenomenon of procrastination are several times more likely to suffer from viral infections than others, since immunity is significantly reduced.

Conclusion

In fact, in psychology, the “syndrome of tomorrow” is a serious psychological problem that, in principle, can be dealt with. You can get some good advice from the following article. Take care of yourself, and solve problems as they arise, so you will be much healthier and calmer!