Procrastination is the act of unnecessarily postponing decisions or actions. The main psychological mechanism behind our procrastination is as follows: When we need to get something done, we rely primarily on our self-control in order to bring ourselves to do it. Our self-control often receives support from our motivation, which helps us get things done in a timely manner. In some cases, we experience certain demotivating factors, such as anxiety or fear of failure, which have an opposite effect than our motivation. In addition, we sometimes experience certain hindering factors, such as exhaustion or rewards that are far in the future, which interfere with our self-control and motivation. When demotivating and hindering factors outweigh our self-control and motivation, we end up procrastinating, either indefinitely, or until we reach a point in time when the balance between them shifts in our favor.
Related literature in the field of psychology gives following specific reasons for procrastination - Abstract goals, Rewards that are far in the future, Feeling overwhelmed, Anxiety, Task aversion, Perfectionism, Fear of evaluation or negative feedback, Fear of failure, A perceived lack of control, ADHD, Depression, Lack of motivation, Lack of energy, Sensation seeking etc.,.
In my experience and from what I saw working with many people, I saw these specific reasons and the ways to overcome it :
1. Uninteresting task - When the task is uninteresting but needs to get done, the motivation to do it is low, so people tend to procrastinate. A classic example is the documentation task. People are excited to get the job done, but not that excited to document the work. One of the ways to overcome this problem is to first accept that documentation is critical and is part of the job. I had a colleague who had the habit of documenting the work as he made progress with it and not wait till it is complete. It is almost like keeping a journal of the work done. This way documentation doesn't become a separate task that needs to be dreaded.
2. "Not clear on the final form of the task" - When the task is not clearly defined or it is abstract, there is hesitancy to start and bring clarity. Examples like "writing a paper for a conference" or making a thought presentation. One way to get over this problem, is to first come up with the skeleton/ table of contents - This is one way to remove abstractness and bring clarity. Then one can plan to work on each table of content so that the final paper/presentation can be stitched together.
3. "Student Syndrome" - The tendency to work on a task close to its deadline, like the students who usually prepare for the exam the night before. One needs to understand that Murphy's law (uncertain/urgent event close to deadline) can play spoilsport. By setting an internal deadline which is earlier than the actual deadline, one can address this syndrome.
4. Overwhelming issue - If the issue seems overwhelming then there is a fear that you may not be able to complete it, so you don't want to deal with the situation, hoping that the issue will get resolved without you taking any decision. Addressing the escalation/issue that was brought to your notice about your subordinate, is one such example. If you think addressing this issue is in the best interest of your subordinate, then as a responsible manager, you cannot procrastinate or avoid it. Doing a bit of preparation on how you want to structure the conversation, hearing his side of the story, reposing trust in him are few things you can do to address this issue.
5. Q2 tasks - Important and Not Urgent tasks - The fact that these tasks are not urgent, by design gets procrastinated. There are many examples like fitness goals, networking etc., The only way to get over this issue is to give these tasks its due importance and amplify the future rewards of these tasks, so that it can motivate the person to work on these tasks.
6. Laziness. Among all the reasons for procrastination, laziness is the main culprit.The only mantra to overcome this is to "Just Do It". Don't let your mind play devil, asking your intellect to delay it. As a child I used to fear and respect my father. So whenever he gave me a task, however dull it was, there was no choice but to just do it. Else, I would get reprimanded. I am sure many of us would have feared some person in our life. You can imagine that this person is asking you to do the task that you are postponing, and just do it.
A common way to motivate yourself not to procrastinate is to reward yourself for the progress you make to complete the task. Another approach is to make your commitment to complete the task public, this will put external pressure (to save you face) to complete it.
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