Procrastination - Why Does a Person Procrastinate?
Of all the things that can prevent a person from succeeding in either work or generally in their own lives is procrastination. If a person is a procrastinator they will find that it actually prevents them from achieving certain goals or aims because obstacles are placed in their way of their own making. A person who procrastinates will find that they will choose a particular path which will end up with them not actually achieving what it is they want out of their lives.
But just how can some one tell if they are a procrastinator or even the aren’t? Well below we provide you with some pointers which will help you to understand better what procrastination is and whether you are doing it without really knowing about it.
1. For the 20% of people who have identified themselves as being chronic procrastinators will know that it is a particular lifestyle and is going to intrude into all aspects of their life. For these particular people leading what would be considered a normal kind of life is very difficult.
2. Many people who tend to procrastinate do not actually have problems in managing the time they have available to them. What they actually find difficult to do is calculate just how much they will need in order for them to complete a particular task.
3. A person who procrastinates is not born with this affliction, but rather they make it of their own volition. Although they may not know it they will learn it through the life they lead as they grow up from the people surrounding them. Often a child who comes from a family with controlling parents will often be a procrastinator more than those that don’t. These type of children will find it difficult to regulate themselves and find it difficult to act on any ideas or thoughts they may have to help themselves.
4. In studies carried out people who tend to procrastinate it has been found that they tend to drink more alcohol than others. This may simply be because they use it as a way of helping them to avoid dealing with the problems that they face throughout their lives and help them to cope with those times when things are much worse they may really seem to others.
5. For quite a large number of people who procrastinate they will often use ways to distract themselves so that they can avoid doing those things that they don’t like to do or they don’t feel that they can do. Often they will do a task that they find easy to complete rather than going for the one they know they must do but which they see as far too difficult. This is because they feel that they do not have the right set of skills or abilities in order to achieve the required state of completion.
For many people they have actually found ways in which they can help themselves to stop procrastinating as much as they do now. A lot of people will now use cognitive behavioral therapy as a way of dealing with their procrastination. Which although will take time accomplish once they do they will find it much easier to lead what others would consider to be a normal way of life.
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1 Response so far ↓
Bill Dueease on Jul 14, 2008 at 10:11 am
I disagree with your perspective where you characterize procrastination in such a bad light. You use the term chronic procrastinators for example. But according to the literal definition of procrastination, everyone is a procrastinator. In fact, I am procrastinating as I write my response to you. Why, because I am NOT performing other actions. People chose what they want to do and what they do first. Labeling a person a procrastinator, means you feel they are not performing the duties you think they should do in the order of priority you think they should be done.
Thus, I feel your most of your five tips are off base and create more negative harm than good. Except, I partially agree with #3. But only the first part. Everyone learns to choose the actions they want to perform in their own priority order. That is procrastination. However, I disagree with you claims about controlling parents.
And of course I agree with # 5. That is what the choices are all about.
The term discipline is the key. A person with discipline will be able to choose to perform the duties he or she does not want to do, but has decided are needed to be accomplished for their own benefit. Like taking a test in school. Few people want to study and take class exams. But those with discipline CHOOSE to do so, even though they do not like it, because they have decided doing so will provide the benefits they want.
I am now choosing to procrastinate the activity of writing any further comments on your blog by doing something else. I will now continue my abnormal chronic procrastination lifestyle, recalculate my estimated time to perform other duties, tell my controlling parents it is their fault, open another bottle of beer, and find something to distract me that will be more fun (my favorite).
Your blog has prompted me to write my own procrastination blog, that I had been procrastinating in writing. Thank you.
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