Procrastination is a large part of everyday life. I experience procrastination a lot, but always wonder why I act like this or why I push things off. Most of the time this happens with schoolwork. I try to get things done right away, but as soon as I start doing it, I realize there are other things that I would rather be doing. It feels as if I’m wasting my time doing schoolwork rather than doing something that I feel is more rewarding or more worth my time. I procrastinated these assignments as well. I know that I would have more time to do my fun activities and be less stressed writing these assignments out now if I would have done it earlier, but there always felt like there were other things that would be a better use of my time rather than sitting at a desk and typing. I experience this and am sure many other college students experience this, and I was interested to see that there is an actual theory of why procrastination may happen. This was called the Temporal Motivation Theory. We are more likely to want to do activities that are fun and pleasurable to us (About the theory, 2020). This could be watching tv or reading a book. These activities may feel rewarding and more pleasurable than completing a task like doing a homework assignment. We seek instant gratification, most of the time homework assignments and school work do not offer that. We may feel satisfied when we complete the task, but it is a lot of effort to complete rather than sitting and reading a book which gives immediate gratification. It was interesting to know that there is an actual theory as to why we procrastinate and being aware of that may be able to help reduce the amount of procrastination.
About About the theory. (2020, March 3). Procrastination and Science. https://procrastinus.com/piers-steel/theories-of-procrastination/
This post reminds me of the the slide on impulsivity from this class. Choosing the lesser smaller reward, instead of the long term greater one. The lesser smaller reward being I can watch a show or do whatever I want versus the long term greater reward, completing the class early and being able to do whatever you want with no obligations. However, I chose the same path as you and must accept my fate. I like to think I work better under pressure (I do not). In any case, I enjoyed reading your post and agree that it is a very interesting thing.
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