Procrastination: why putting off is such a turn off

A widespread phenomenon

Psychologists have become interested in this widespread phenomenon in recent years because of its deep effects on our lives. The technical definition of procrastination is “to voluntarily delay an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off for the delay.”

Some common examples

Because of procrastination you might put off work or career assignments until the last minute and then perform poorly in accounting for your time to your seniors. It could be you are putting off studying for some better qualifications that could improve your job prospects or you are postponing compiling your CV so you could apply for a position with better career opportunities.

Maybe you are procrastinating telling your partner some unwelcome news about an area of work that he or she will not want to hear about. But because you keep putting various things off, your life is becoming a misery as these things you are putting off hang ever present over you.

A deep problem

Psychologists have found that procrastination is a deep problem that goes to the core of your personality. As a result of all the stress it produces, procrastination accounts for profound decrements to physical health, among other problems. For example, procrastinators may have higher levels of drinking, smoking, and insomnia and poorer physical health compared with non-procrastinators. Because procrastinators put off going to the doctor, they may even live shorter lives because diagnoses of serious complaints are made too late.

Some procrastinators put work assignments off until the last minute because they have convinced …