Definition | Procrastination | Futura Health

Procrastination is the tendency to postpone what can be done right away. It is a natural attitude of running away from an immediate negative emotion related to a strenuous task. This behavior affects both the professional field (report to write, respond to emails …) that the family or personal field (administrative formalities, cleaning to do, suitcases to pack …). There are drawbacks, however, since you are often forced to manage things at the last minute and in an emergency, which leads to shoddy work and stress.

Causes of procrastination

Several situations can lead to avoidance behavior:

• theanxiety and fear of uncertainty (what will be the consequences of my action? If I tell him about this problem, how will he react?);
• a phobia (social anxiety that prevents us from making an appointment, phobia dirt that inhibits us from cleaning, etc.);
• lack of self-confidence;
• paralysis when faced with an issue that goes beyond us;
• lack of experience;
• perfectionism (wanting to “do too well”);
• poor time estimation;
• hyperactivity and dispersion (inability to build a complete action).

Tax declaration to fill out, emails piled up in the mailbox … Why do we tend to put it off until later? © aleutie, Adobe Stock

How to stop procrastinating?

• Set priorities. If you have more than three priorities per day, it is because you cannot identify the real emergencies. Do not necessarily start with the most difficult tasks, but establish an order according to their rendering date.
• Identify the times of the day you are in the most productive. Rather in the morning? Perform strenuous tasks at this time. Conversely, some people work better in the late afternoon or evening.
• Associate the achievement of a task with a reward. For example, listening to sound program favorite after completing the tax return. Install yourself in a pleasant environment to perform it.
• Avoid distractions. Turn off notifications and indicate that you do not want to be disturbed for X hours while you finish your task.
• Find a "trigger" to start an action. The hard part is getting started! The coffee after lunch can be a good excuse to start reading a long report, just like putting on your sneakers when you get back from work to be sure to go jogging.
• Fix your own emergencies. Do not wait for the “official” deadline and establish your own calendar. This will give you the feeling of having better control of things while having a certain “ pressure »Incentive.