Why do we procrastinate?!

“Just one more minute then I’ll get started.”

"I’ll do it later.” Sound familiar?!  People procrastinate for many reasons and understanding those reasons is important to overcoming procrastination. I will address three of them in this blog!

You focus on easy tasks-It is easy to do the things we want to do or what comes easily, as we feel the immediate sense of satisfaction. In How to Stop Procrastinating: A Simple Guide to Mastering Difficult Tasks, Steve Scott states  ”without the instant Dopamine rush from successfully finishing an activity, it’s easy to push it off because the reward seems too far away. Many people want to feel successful and accomplished sooner rather than later.”

If possible, start with the most difficult or boring tasks first, as way to assist with this. 

Lack of motivation- Sometimes if the value is not seen in the task at hand, it may be difficult to complete it. Listing the benefits of completing the tasks can help you in creating the value.

You don’t know how to get started-Sometimes it might be that you feel a task is too confusing, you feel overwhelmed, or  unclear, which may result  in procrastination. In How to Stop Procrastinating: A Simple Guide to Mastering Difficult Tasks, Steve Scott suggests the following ways to get started and break down multiple tasks:

Write down the specific tasks that have your attention

Decide which actions can be taken care of right away and do them

Organize the rest of the tasks

Constantly review your break down of tasks

Do each task, one by one, until they are all finished