Why People Procrastinate

Why People Procrastinate

There’s several reasons why people, including myself, procrastinate. First, let me give a formal definition of what I’ll be discussing. The dictionary defines procrastination as putting off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness; to put off something needlessly. I’ll be elaborating on this definition since they’re good reasons but it goes deeper than this. There’s laziness, personal issues, and carelessness and all of these things cause that dysfunctional thing called procrastination.

The first cause is laziness. A lot of people just seem to lazily put off things of importance simply because they do not feel like doing it. I am no exception to this and I’m sure you have once procrastinated because of this cause. I personally tend to think about something such an assignment that needs to be done, and put it off because I “play before play.” I think about what needs to be done, and do something else I find more enjoyable . Most people find themselves being lazy and putting off their priorities because they simply do not feel like doing it and it eventually has to get done at the last minute.

Another cause happens to be personal issues such as stress, unexpected obstacles, or time factors. I’ve found myself in situations where I was simply too stressed to deal with doing an assignment so therefore I had to do it at the last minute. Some people can plan a specific time to do a task, and then something unexpected will prevent them from doing it. An unrealistic time factor can also be a problem and cause procrastination. There have been times where I’ve had simply too much on my plate and I’ve had to procrastinate with a task or two. This can happen if you have three papers and a project due all within the same week. That’s where that time factor issue also falls into place.

Carelessness is yet another cause. Some people would say this is just another name for being lazy, but I beg to differ. There’s a difference between being too lazy to complete a task at the moment and simply not caring about it. There have been times where I didn’t care about a task and did not do it until it absolutely had to be done. This happens to be the cause with a lot people who procrastinate. They just simply do not care about it or the consequence of not doing what they need to do until has to be done immediately.

Whether you realize it or not, if you’re too lazy to do what you have to do, you’re dealing with personal issues, or you just don’t care, you are procrastinating if you put off tasks until the last minute. As I mentioned earlier, sometimes procrastination cannot be avoided because of personal dilemmas, but it can be overcome eventually. Setting a schedule and making time to do all your priorities can be helpful tools when battling procrastination. If you find yourself falling victim to one of these cause, don’t worry too much because like with every other turmoil, procrastination can be overcome.