02/06/2024

Why People Procrastinate

Humans have a natural tendency to distract themselves from difficult tasks

Between the constant email, Slack notifications and the onslaught of news and social media, it can feel like there are a lot of forces conspiring against us getting things done. But at the heart of many of our feelings of overwhelm is our own tendency to distract ourselves from important or difficult tasks. How can you recognize your triggers and overcome procrastination?

Procrastination is an emotion-management problem

Some research from psychologists has challenged conventional thinking about procrastination, suggesting that it’s not a matter of willpower or focus. Mood and emotion regulation are the main culprits in procrastination. In other words, procrastination is not a time-management problem, it's an emotion-management problem.

Here is what psychologists say is the emotional process behind procrastination: We project into the future about what the task will feel like and predict that it will be hard or stressful. Then, our emotional coping strategy kicks in to keep us away from this bad feeling, so we avoid the task.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Company.