Procrastination and why we procrastinate

I need to make a confession at the outset here. I am a last minute worker. I always do my work last minute that somehow I have almost given up to the notion of ‘it’s never too late to change’. What makes one so reluctant to change for the better if you know the dire consequence of choosing to stay obstinate in your old habit? Will it give more harm if you change? What will you lose if you choose to give up what is known as your ‘procrastination’ side?

I am so impressed with myself. You can tell that I am someone who loves herself more than she loves anything else. It's the kind of habit that you cannot help but develop when you constantly spend more time with yourself rather than socialising with others. Anyway, I can confirm that I will often end up telling myself that for the next coming essay I will surely start early and finish composing it on time. Like I said, this habit has occurred bazillion times. More frequently than I can remember about getting my laundry done on time. I am just exaggerating for the latter, of course.

Ever wonder why it keeps on reoccurring? It is as if you have something sticky in your brain that keeps holding you up. “That can wait”, you tell yourself. You are telling yourself indirectly to be dishonest to yourself. Fascinating isn’t it? You know if you were to delay your work any longer that it will cause you to suffer in the future. Yet, those threats do not work. You have this current self that constantly reassuring yourself that you still have ample time to do the work later.

Take for example, I am now facing a common situation where most students in the universities around the world are facing. Yes, assignments and I am not talking about a paper but two papers that require me to work as how myself always put it – to work my arse out. The fact that those two things are my priority, yet I can still give myself leeway to leisurely read novels and even sing in my room when my roommate is not around only suggests that I can be easily found adrift though the purpose is clear -- get your assignments done before they are due. Old habit dies hard.

However, no matter how truth the thing about habit is, I think it is also true about us being a long-term or a short-term kind of individuals. Let’s say the short-term goal is to entertain myself. I can sing to my favourite songs while at the same thing admiring my secret talent that no one except me knows. On the other hand, the long-term goal that is finishing up my assignments demands for my concentration and commitment. The long wait for the marking and feedbacks are too ambiguous  Those processes cannot be seen. They require future events to happen. So why bothers to invest on something that is uncertain?

Now, let’s move to a bigger context. How this very sticky attitude can affect our other daily activities. Procrastination as I have suggested previously is all about seeing things in the spectrum of things with long-term or short-term effects. These two conditions are mostly applicable when we are given with a situation that requires instant decision making, one clear example is when we are doing our grocery shopping.

Ever wonder why when you are about to check out your items, you will often find candies or chocolates being put on display nearby the tills. Undoubtedly, they are done intentionally. One is to attract kids and our little selves. Second, it is a marketing strategy that tries to trick our consciousness into falling into our short-term selves. To put it more simply, if we’re wearing that short-term hat, we’ll fall for it. You will go for the “what the hell”. For this once. You will not do it again, next time. How sure are you? The same thing might unsurprisingly happen again the next time. This time you will fall for the “Buy 1 Get 2 Free deal”. It oftens happen to me though. If you are wearing the long-term hat, you will probably think twice before taking the candies. You might ask yourself whether it is a need or it is just your craving for sweet stuff that tries to control you. You tell yourself  that you are on diet. Despite that, most people can easily succumb to their desire. The kids are the most vulnerable preys.

Another example is about smokers. You see when one smokes; they are actually falling for the short-term indulgence. The temporary satisfaction rules them. Of course they know the bigger consequence, the risk of being diagnosed with lung cancer or worse, helping the proliferation of passive smokers. If only they pay extra time to ponder about the long-term consequence. Hence, this is the reason why most smokers can be deemed as more of the daredevil kind of people. They are often seen as risk takers than non-smokers are. They are more extroverts and more outspoken. The bad boys. Yet again, these observations are not exclusive. There are many exceptional cases whereby non-smokers are often found to be involved in a much danger situation than smokers do.

So the next time you’re pestering yourself with all kind of reasons to kick start and write the introduction to your essay, perhaps you should give yourself the two situations whereby the long-term consequence will look more desirable. I might tell myself that it is more rewarding to get ample sleeping hour rather than burning the midnight oil and ends up with abnormal sleeping time.