Why do you procrastinate?

[Lateralus]

I read an interesting article about procrastination today. Some of it was bullshit, but I did agree with the claim that procrastination is irrational, that procrastinators are feeding their emotions.

Procrastinating Again? How to Kick the Habit: Scientific American

As for me, I most often procrastinate because I'm a perfectionist. If I'm not confident that I can complete a task to a level that satisfies me, I put it off. I've also procrastinated because of anxiety, to a lesser extent. For example, there have been times when I've known the balance in my bank account is pretty low, but I don't know the exact amount. Rather than checking my account balance, I put it off because I don't want to know. It's the feeling that seeing that number will actually cause pain.

I haven't found a solution to the anxiety, but for the perfectionism I can usually find some way to get myself to just start (there's too much variance for me to give a more detailed synopsis). At that point, it becomes an obsession until it's complete. As I write this, I find myself unable to start working on a presentation for a coil gun project that's due next week. I don't know where to start.

 

[Jack Flak]

STFU, J.

 

[Grayscale]

procrastination is not irrational because it is a conditioned behavior.

when one's cost-benefit analysis concludes that the consequences of waiting are not bad enough to outweigh the benefits of the more immediate pleasures, then someone will often procrastinate. this happens over and over and yet people still procrastinate. what does that tell you about it, in terms of conditioned behavior?

those who dont procrastinate place a higher value on the task, and thus a larger cost of failure... more often than not, it is these people who have their values askew, because they antagonize and overestimate the importance of something.

it is easy to outline the benefits of doing something earlier than later, it is not so easy to quantify the benefits of the psychological motivation behind why people procrastinate.

humans are only stupid on a conscious level, the subconscious patterns of behavior generally have something to them. as far as procrastination goes, we procrastinate because we can.

 

[Salomé]

I want to read your article, but my emotional needs are more important right now.

 

[Night]

Often, I procrastinate because I dislike dealing with the variables necessary to fully complete the task. Anxiety and stress are likely motivators.

When it isn't a case of my "often", it usually arises from a simple preferential standpoint: would I rather do activity A or activity B? Taking the task outside of its contextual importance (is A more/less/similar to the urgency of B) often leads to a disproportionate amount of ease finding ways to justify doing other tasks in front of B. This sucks.

For me, procrastination can often lead to something of a domino effect.

 

[Lateralus]

procrastination is not irrational because it is a conditioned behavior.

So you're saying conditioned behavior is rational, by definition. I don't agree with that, at all.

 

[VanillaCat]

I opened it, read 5 sentences, then favorited it because I want to read it later. Ironic.

 

[Salomé]

Some procrastination is about rebellion/self-sabotage.

For example, I may complete a certain task with pleasure if there is no expectation for me to do so within a certain period of time. If a critical outcome is dependent on that same task - e.g. submitting a paper on time - I am less likely to do it.
IOW, Bloody-mindedness.

Expectations are obstacles for Ps (they create resistance) but seem to be motivational for Js.

 

[Night]

Expectations are obstacles for Ps (they create resistance) but seem to be motivational for Js.

Yes -- at least for me.

 

[nightning]

So you're saying conditioned behavior is rational, by definition. I don't agree with that, at all.

I think conditioned responses just are... neither rational nor irrational. No different than a cat that hiss at you and fluffs itself up when you spooked it.

Why do I procrastinate... because work can be "un-fun". Short term rewards always seem so much more tangible than the long term ones that requires hard work.

Now I better get cracking...

 

[Grayscale]

So you're saying conditioned behavior is rational, by definition. I don't agree with that, at all.

yes, in other words there is a rationale behind it

if you didn't know that stoves can be hot, then it would seem irrational to avoid touching them so vehemently, compared to any given object. the conditioned behavior is not to touch something that is hot... generally i consider CBs to be rational in-and-of-themselves unless there is an exception, such as the stove not being turned on.

to apply here, the cost-benefit analysis for those who procrastinate favors doing something else before the task in question, as a rule of thumb. there can be exceptions here too, but until someone has a reason to do something sooner rather than later, the rational behind procrastination wins, and that is that immediate benefits are worth more than only potentially suffering consequences.

for example, task A is undesirable, activity B is desirable... let's say someone does activity B, reaps the positive emotional experience, then accomplishes task A within their deadline (albeit with less breathing room)... meaning they were able to benefit both in activity B and in avoiding the consequences of not doing task A. or they could partake in activity B, find that whoever assigned them task A no longer needs it done. or that they again do activity B, accomplish task A late, and are mildly berated but ultimately that consequence does not compete with the benefit of activity B. if we replay any of these scenarios with the person doing task A, they miss out on activity B for potentially no reason.

when this sort of thing happens over and over again, im sure you can understand why people begin to prefer procrastination. really, the concept of procrastination is illogical, it is saying that certain choices have innate value and that priorities can be determined on an objective basis.


edit: if procrastination is merely opportunism in practice, then the only argument for not procrastinating is when the value (subjective) of accomplishing the task in question is greater than the sum of the benefits of the opportunities one took advantage of that prevented its completion.

 

[Wild horses]

... because I am EXTREMELY lazy and because I get a high from that period just before things are about to happen.... (Thats why Friday is amazing but Saturday is crap)

 

[Lateralus]

yes, in other words there is a rational behind it

if you didn't know that stoves were hot, then it would seem irrational to avoid touching them so vehemently, compared to any given object.

When you rationalize a decision, you are constructing a logical justification. Conditioned responses have no logical justification from the subject's perspective. They are reflexes, reactions. This makes them irrational because they are not arrived at through a conscious decision making process.

That is not to say they cannot be rationalized after the fact, which is what you and the article have done. Anything can be rationalized after the fact.

 

[Salomé]

There's risk/reward element involved. I love to do things at the eleventh hour, to make it somewhere 'by the skin of my teeth'.
Somehow it's so much more satisfying. I guess it's the adrenaline buzz.

I also find that Parkinson's Law holds true in my case - a task will expand to fill the time available (I too am a perfectionist). So putting it off effectively rations the available time to spend on it.

I'm just rationalizing now.

 

[Lady_X]

i think i work better under pressure when i don't have time to be wishy washy...the more time i have the more i'll get caught up in the details and drive myself nuts.

 

[Grayscale]

There's risk/reward element involved. I love to do things at the eleventh hour, to make it somewhere 'by the skin of my teeth'.
Somehow it's so much more satisfying. I guess it's the adrenaline buzz.

for me, it's that i can take advantage of all the opportunities in spite of the task id like to avoid, and then still accomplish it when it becomes an absolute necessity. when i have no more time to spare, as you say, is when i like to do it because at that point i have exhausted all my options.

ironically, i think it is that i am too efficiency-minded not to procrastinate.

 

[Jack Flak]

i think i work better under pressure when i don't have time to be wishy washy...the more time i have the more i'll get caught up in the details and drive myself nuts.

Yeah. Give me an hour, I'll start in 55 minutes.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

I've thought a lot about procrastination, since it's a pretty big theme in my life. I'll post my ideas a little later.

 

[FDG]

I don't procrastinate that often - I like to do things, and if I fail, no big deal - at least I tried and I'll do better next time. I don't know if "not having time to do things" or "being too tired to do something" counts as procrastination.

When I do, it's because I really dislike the task I have to do.

I really dislike working under pressure. I actually work very fast usually, however when I am under pressure I go slower.

 

[Jack Flak]

I don't procrastinate that often - I like to do things, and if I fail, no big deal - at least I tried and I'll do better next time.

I'm sure you realize that this logic is type specific. Mine is more like "I don't like to do 75% of all the things there are to do, so if I do anything, I'm bound to have to do something I don't want to do. I'm going to think for a while."

I really dislike working under pressure. I actually work very fast usually, however when I am under pressure I go slower.

Heh. Put me on the clock, I'll tear your ass apart! Figuratively speaking.