Reasons for procrastination

To help overcome procrastination, you need to know what causes it. Identify why you keep putting things off.

Wanting pleasure, avoiding pain

  • Dislike doing things that seem tedious or boring
  • Get distracted by things that seem more interesting or fun
  • Do not want to make a sacrifice now to get a benefit later
  • Want to spend time relaxing, not working

Poor time management

  • Cannot find the time to get the work done
  • Find setting goals and priorities hard
  • Seem to waste time
  • Things take longer than you thought they would
  • Always running late

Disorganised environment

  • Study or work area is a mess
  • Have trouble finding peace and quiet
  • Do not have all the things you need to get the work done
  • Cannot keep track of past, present or future work

Feeling overwhelmed by the task

  • Do not know where to start
  • Caught up in the details and cannot see the goal
  • Find it hard to break the task down into steps

Giving up too easily

  • Get started, but keep getting stuck
  • Come to a point where it all seems too much
  • Unable to decide what to do next
  • Cannot see how to get the task finished

Fear and anxiety

  • Not sure you can do this task
  • Worried that you will do a poor job
  • Anxious about things that may not be that important

Giving in to self doubt

  • Believe you are a born procrastinator
  • Disappointed, hopeless or angry about putting things off again
  • Feel you cannot achieve what others do

Resources