The secret to beating procrastination, according to science

When we think of procrastination, we think of the times we had to finish up that final assignment for a class but left it until the night before, or waiting until the last minute to book a flight before seeing the price shoot up.

But did you know that procrastination isn’t that simple?

Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D., a professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, believes that procrastination is not a mannerism that stems from laziness, nor is it a way for people to avoid their responsibilities.

In fact, Dr Pychyl States that procrastinators try to avoid negative emotions that may occur with a particular task at hand.

“The key relation here is that negative emotions are causal to our procrastination,” said Dr.Pychyl.

Procrastination is often an aggressive cycle. If there is a chore to do and someone decides to avoid it because of the negative feeling they get from the task. It temporarily makes them feel good to have avoided a negative situation.

However, happiness can fade away, leading to feelings of stress, anxiety, and low self-esteem, which causes more procrastination.

In a meta-analytical review conducted by Piers Steel, an estimated that 80 to 90 per cent of college students prolong the time they do something. Around 50 per cent “consistently and problematic” engaging in the dillydallying.

Avoiding negative situations can also stem from our childhood experiences and the fear of failure.

“Children who grew up having their emotional needs met and who were loved, supported, and encouraged to take risks, don’t fear failure,” says Peg Streep, the author of the book Daughter Detox: Recovering from an Unloving Mother and Reclaiming Your Life.

“These securely attached people see the landscape of life as being dotted by potential failures and setbacks because it’s unrealistic to believe that anyone will succeed at everything,” Streep continued.

On the other hand, Streep notes that if you grew up in a situation where love and support happened to be non-existent, or it had to be earned, you might feel “flawed” as a person.

“In contrast, if you grew up in a family where love was earned and support in short supply, you’re more likely to assume that any failure reflects your flawed status as a human being, instead of a mistake or miscalculation,” she said.

Fuschia Sirois, Ph.D. of the University of Sheffield, spoke to Science Focus about procrastination, stating that a way to feel better is through compassion.

”My advice is to not go full in overidentifying and becoming that frustration. Step back from it for a minute and just acknowledge that you’re not happy with yourself. And then move forward,” Dr Sirois told Science Focus.

She also notes that another tactic that can help beat the feelings of procrastination is cognitive re-framing.

Essentially, if there is something that you have to do but refuse to do, try and re-frame your mindset of the task by attaching meaning and connection within a task.

“Finding meaning in the task, whether it’s in relation to yourself or other people, is really, really powerful,” Dr Sirois continued.

When you do this, it will be easier to complete the task.

The next time you feel the dread of cleaning your room, first take a second to be kind to yourself, reminding yourself that it’s OK to dislike doing these things. After you do that, make the task of cleaning your room meaningful such as considering how happy you will feel to be in a tidy and organized room free from clutter.