There was a recent article on LinkedIn that was posting the question whether procrastination is about time management or feelings?
According to Tim Pychyl, a psychology professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, it is feelings.
Etymologically, “procrastination” is derived from the Latin verb procrastinare — to put off until tomorrow. But it’s more than just voluntarily delaying. Procrastination is also derived from the ancient Greek word akrasia — doing something against our better judgment.https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/smarter-living/why-you-procrastinate-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-self-control.htm
“It’s self-harm,” said Dr. Piers Steel, a professor of motivational psychology at the University of Calgary and the author of “The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done.”
That self-awareness is a key part of why procrastinating makes us feel so rotten. When we procrastinate, we’re not only aware that we’re avoiding the task in question, but also that doing so is probably a bad idea. And yet, we do it anyway.
“This is why we say that procrastination is essentially irrational,” said Dr. Fuschia Sirois, professor of psychology at the University of Sheffield. “It doesn’t make sense to do something you know is going to have negative consequences.”
Which is pretty true. Unless you’re one of those oddballs who live in a self-destructive repeating cycle.
I suppose that intuitively we know this but breaking out of the procrastinating habit is a hard one.
Are you guilty of procrastinating? What do you try to do about it when
akrasia creeps up on you? I would invite you to comment you’re reply but I’m sure you’ll find lots of other things to do instead!
