Procrastination research paper

Running head: PROCRASTINATION 1

PROCRASTINATION 5

Procrastination

Name

Institution

Definition of Procrastination

Procrastination is referred to as an act of putting off essential activities or tasks that you ought to be performing at a particular time. This is usually done in favor of other things which are clearly not important at a particular time. Usually people put off some activities in order to focus on others which they consider enjoyable thought unnecessary at any given time. Some psychologists refer to procrastination as a gap between the intended behavior and enacted behavior.

In most cases people start to do things and later get bored or for some reason decide to start something else altogether. This is a common problem to almost everyone. It becomes a serious problem when you realize that after postponing something severally, finally a time comes when the deadline hits on the door. At this time most people become almost sick as they are psychologically disturbed.

How Procrastination Occurs

Finding jobs unpleasant is a reason to procrastinate. Unpleasant jobs make people bored and tired (James, 2008). They quickly get pissed off and result in avoiding doing such a task or postponing it. Another reason for procrastination is disorganization by people. Such people waste time on one particular thing which might be unimportant at a particular time. People should prioritize these to avoid this problem.

Getting overwhelmed by a certain task is another reason for procrastination. Some people get afraid of doing some tasks as their doubt their abilities and skills. As such they switch to tasks which they feel they can best. This is not a solution and people need to realize that as much as we fear failure, we need to understand that we learn by failing.

Finally, some people are perfectionists and would deal with a certain thing till perfection. As such these people tend to pu other things aside and concentrate on one thing. Even if they fail, they keep on re-visiting such a task such that they have no time for other important tasks. These people should realize that they can never be 100% perfect and therefore should manage their time well.

Symptoms of Procrastination

Procrastinators lack vision. Most people like vision on what they want to achieve in future. They therefore fail to see any benefit associated with finishing a cert task on time or at a particular time. This means that they are therefore not disturbed whether they finish their tasks or not. Another symptom is always giving an excuse of lack of time. The people who have a habit of procrastinating tend to give excuses of lack of time whenever they fail to do something. These people lack good organizational skills and as such they don’t deliver on their mandate. They may get engaged on one task for a long time such that they lack time to attend to some other duties assigned to them. This is a very common symptom to all procrastinators.

Lack of organizational skills is another symptom of procrastination. An old saying goes that if you fail to plan, then you are definitely planning to fail. This is very true because once you fall to organize yourself chance are that you will forget some of you assignments and eventually fail to do them. The procrastinators give an excuse of tiredness. Most of them get home and express how they are very tired. In most cases they want to escape doing something like cooking, washing clothes or bathing.

Solutions to Procrastination

The first step of dealing with procrastination is accepting that you are procrastinating. Psychologists argue that the first step in dealing with any behavioral problem as an individual is accepting that you are a victim. Be honest to yourself and accept that you are a victim of procrastination. As cited above there are various symptoms of procrastination. Be at a lookout to these symptoms and see whether you are a victim.

The next step is to device strategies to dealing with procrastination problem. Since procrastination is a behavioral problem, then it requires a behavioral approach in dealing with it. You cannot overcome it overnight as many may think (Maria, 2010). You will be able to deal with it when you persistently stop doing it and this may take some time. One of the solutions to dealing with this menace is rewarding yourself for any task successfully completed. For example, buy yourself a hamburger or a piece of chicken as a reward for successfully completing a task. Enjoy such a reward to the fullest and be proud of yourself.

Another solution is peer pressure approach. Ask someone to be following up on you. Such a person will act as your master but you will enjoy her company because he is your peer. They will motivate you to finish things on time. Furthermore, identify the consequences of not finishing something on time. For example, if you fail to finish assignment on time then you will fail terribly. When you realize this you will work very hard not to fall a victim of these consequences.

Finally make a personal time timetable that will help you attend to all you activities. Start with the most important things in this time table. Allocate time to each activity.

References

James, W. (2008). The science behind procrastination. London. Oxford Press.

Maria, M. (2010). The psychology behind procrastination. New York. Prentice Hall.