The View From Here

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Procrastination

I heard about a report that was recently released that claimed procrastination makes people less healthy, less wealthy and less wise. Since I'm a habitual procrastinator, I found the results of this study alarming. Part of the report states:

Steel, considered one of the world’s leading experts on procrastination, made his conclusions known in a recent thirty-page article ("The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure") in Psychological Bulletin, which is published by the American Psychological Association. He states that 54% of all procrastinators are men while 46% are women. In addition, young people are more likely to procrastinate than older people.

Steel also found within his study that temptation is the major cause of procrastination. Because more temptations and distractions exist in U.S. society to divert people from the task at hand, more procrastination occurs. Other causes of procrastination include the perceived value of performing a job, the aversion of performing a task, impulsiveness, the sense of immediacy, lack of motivation, and the person’s belief in being able to do a job.

On the other hand, Steel claims that procrastinators are not perfectionists as is sometimes claimed in self-help books and other literature. In fact, it is just the opposite. Perfectionists procrastinate less and, thus, perform tasks better because they avoid delays. However, they worry more than procrastinators but have more confidence that they can finish the task.

After reading this, I gave my procrastination habit some deep thought. What I've decided is I'm deadline driven more than a procrastinator. If everything I have to do in a day is listed and due by the end of the day; I'll work my list. The due date can be either something I gave my word to do, something I want to get done, or something that must be done for external reasons. I don't differentiate among those.

So, am I truly a procrastinator then? Yes, it's true I find miscellaneous activities to pass the time on occasion; however, most of those activities are simply the more fun things I get to do in my job...like writing this blog or designing a brochure for the firm.

I'm interested in how others view procrastination. Does it cause you worry or problems with your job? What are your thoughts?

1 Comments:

  • Procrastination is increasing because of the sheer joy it produces.
    When a task is finally attempted, the massive pressure that has accumulated results in true focus.
    If you want the job done right, always contact a procrastinator.
    They never do frivilous jobs. And, the jobs they eventually get around to doing are done right because it is the only thing on the procrastinator's mind.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:56 PM  

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