According to Teddy Roosevelt, unless what you are doing involves effort, pain and difficulty, it isn’t worth doing. Do you think that way? You may respond that all of that is just “hogwash” if you have ever experienced the following.
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The agony experienced by trying to compress a whole semester of studying into one night
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The suffering you face when you scramble at the last minute to meet any work deadlines
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The agony of having a large pile of dirty clothes because you continually put off doing your laundry.
We can assign these activities to procrastinators who may say this. Procrastination isn’t worthwhile yet it does involve the aspects of pain, difficulty and effort.
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If procrastination is so painful, why is it done by so many people? You may have wondered this if you know a procrastinator or admit that you are a procrastinator.
Why do people procrastinate? Psychology can help look into the minds of procrastinators.
Procrastination Psychological Factors
There are various factors that can cause procrastination. While procrastinators know their behaviour, they just can’t change.
Little structure. It is a skill to be able to organize your tasks while taking your habits and your behaviours into consideration. This is a skill that procrastinators usually lack. If you can keep order of your past, present and future, you can usually manage your time well.
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A person who cannot do this cannot plan what actions they need to dedicate time to. They can’t put in the time necessary to complete an activity.
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They cannot focus and delay the tasks they must complete. You become a procrastinator when you build a habit of delaying tasks.
Fear and anxiety. When you can’t see the top of the clothes mountain, the task can seem challenging. When you confess this to yourself you feel uneasy.
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You can be paralyzed by the fear of the results of your work or what is necessary to achieve your task. This results in your inability to complete a task and the result is procrastination.
No motivation. Motivation has been called by some people, the driving force behind getting what needs to be done and finished. Motivation can be either internal or external. A crucial psychological factor is internal motivation.
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Motivation helps you decide whether you can complete a task. We all want fulfillment and pleasure in our life. If your task benefits you this way, you will want to do it.
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You will not want to do a task if the work does not provide you with any rewards. You will lack motivation if you dislike a task. You will defer working on a task when you feel this way.
Perfectionism. Trying to hold up a heavy object isn’t easy. It is even difficult to move the object because of the pressure exerted. This strain is also what perfectionism puts on you if you suffer from it.
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You have a high expectation of yourself if you are a perfectionist. You may not be able to complete a task to your high standards though.
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A perfectionist won’t settle for their best. You may not want to fail in meeting your own high expectations. To make sure that you don’t fail at the task, you may postpone any work on that task
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You may spend time thinking on how to finish the task to be able to meet your high standard. For people who procrastinate, perfectionism is a very relevant and proven psychological factor.
These are some of the whys of procrastination. You can start to overcome this self-defeating habit when you gain knowledge of the factors. You will be a lot happier when you can live a life of less effort, pain a difficulty.
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To your success
Michael
P.S. you know that living a life that is in balance is important. When you can balance your work, family, health, relationships, fitness and money, you feel better and can achieve your goals. You have the support of your family and friends which makes life worth living.
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