Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Procrastination

Procrastination is inevitable, it is something everyone does. But it is something everyone does to their own extent, some let it get out of hand and some do not. Everyone puts things off until the last minute sometimes, but procrastinators chronically avoid difficult tasks and deliberately look for distractions. Procrastination in large part reflects our perennial struggle with self control as well as our inability to accurately predict how we'll feel tomorrow, or the next day. "I don't feel like it" takes precedence over goals; however, it then begets a downward spiral of negative emotions that deter future effort. Procrastinators may say they perform better under pressure, but more often than not that's their way of justifying putting things off. On the bright side, it's possible to overcome procrastination, with effort. 

 When you set goals for yourself you are actually making plans for your Future Self. The Future Self values long-term rewards. However, while the Future Self can set goals, only the Present Self can actually take action. When the time comes to make a decision, you are no longer making a choice for your Future Self. Now you are in the present moment, and your brain is thinking about the Present Self. So, the Present Self and the Future Self are often at odds with one another.  

3 comments:

  1. I really enjoy your last paragraph about the Future Self and Present Self.
    The image you included took me by a small surprise. I never thought of pain being a factor in the procrastination process, but it makes sense. If one is delaying in taking action of something, then it must be because that action will cause them some form of discomfort.
    Great post!

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  2. As a self declared professional procrastinator I feel that your post was very well done. There is a constant battle between the present self and future self to complete goals and tasks. I am not a person that feels a great amount of stress to get things done, and I know I can get a lot of work done in a short period of time. I found that out at a very young age, which is something I wish I never learned. Procrastination has caused me to miss a large amount of opportunities. Which really means that I have caused myself to miss out on a lot of things I should have been able to do. But like I said, I've been procrastinating for a long time and now it's just become the way that I do things, which is a habit I am always trying to break, sometimes it works and other times it doesn't.

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