MOSCOW, September 11 – RIA Novosti. The desire to put things off until later - sure sign that they don’t have to be done at all. Psychologists and psychoanalysts told RIA Novosti what else lies behind the habit of putting off fulfilling duties until the last moment and why daily to-do lists can significantly reduce performance.
Procrastination (from the Latin pro - instead, ahead and crastinus - tomorrow) is a concept in psychology that denotes a tendency to constantly postpone tasks and responsibilities until later. Psychologists note that its cause is not laziness, which only accompanies it, but other phenomena that sometimes require consultation with a specialist.
The first reason is lack of personal interest
“We have a very serious problem of including motivation. Moreover, I would not say that activity is an absolute value for our national mentality. Why do something? For what? Motivational deficit is a big problem. You have to want something, be inspired by something, something has to happen in your soul in order for an inspiring and captivating goal to appear,” explained Andrei Kopyev, associate professor of the Faculty of Consultative and Clinical Psychology at the Moscow City Psychological and Pedagogical University.
If you don’t want to do something, psychologists advise answering the question to yourself: “Do I need this?” If not, and the work can be transferred to someone else or abandoned altogether, then it is better to do so, so as not to feel remorse later for poor-quality or untimely work.
Reason two - fear of failure
Psychologists note that behind the desire to delay doing something until the last moment there may be fear of one’s own failure. Children do not want to study and do their homework when they do not understand the material; adults are afraid of their responsibilities when they lack qualifications.
The solution to this problem is quite simple: in the case of a child, parents should work with him themselves or hire a tutor for this; working people should find a way to improve their skills to the required level.
The third reason is internal conflict
Psychologists about what the desire to become beautiful can lead toThe modern ideal of beauty - painful thinness plus enlarged parts of the face and body - has left the catwalks and glossy magazines. Experts told RIA Novosti on International Beauty Day how this ideal influences the minds of young girls and mature women, and what threatens the pathological desire to follow the artificially created image of a beauty.The most serious reason for procrastination is related to a person’s internal conflicts, various kinds anomalies and disorders that he himself may not be aware of and therefore needs the help of a specialist.
"It is probable that there is some active process in the unconscious psychological protection, and for some reason what needs to be done causes anxiety and rejection. The person doesn’t really understand why, but he can’t bring himself to do it. The third topic is almost endless, because there can be any number of these forms of resistance. This is rather a symptom of an internal conflict,” explained psychoanalyst Dmitry Sklizkov.
Success Trait
"Over the past 20 years I have had to work with big amount Very successful people, and, if we talk about the psychological trait that distinguishes successful people from not so successful people, it is the ability to think and immediately start doing. Don’t doubt, don’t think about whether I need it or not, whether I’ll succeed or not,” said Sklizkov.
No special effort is required to develop this quality in yourself. All you need to do is set a desirable and motivating goal. If it exists, and there are no psychological disorders, getting rid of procrastination will be easy: you will need to rationally distribute your time and actions.
“For example, books and courses on time management are a very sensible and correct thing. But we must remember that it only helps a certain circle of people who do not have existential and motivational problems, a tendency to melancholicity and depression,” recommended Kopyev.
The trap of daily to-do lists
Psychologists remind us that making to-do lists makes sense if a person keeps a clearly defined goal in mind and remembers that all things are working towards its fulfillment. For a list for one day, it is advisable to highlight the required minimum, for example, two tasks, and then praise yourself if a third was completed in addition to this.
"A person must clearly understand what he wants and what his values are. Then he will be able to identify stages for himself, and each step taken will simply be learning. In all other cases, drawing up a to-do list and any time management can become a way of self-rape and bringing yourself to psychosis,” Sklizkov concluded.
People of the second type constantly put off important things until tomorrow, and as a result, many tasks remain unfinished. This is sometimes explained by laziness, but in psychology there is a special term for this condition - “procrastination.”
He talks about how to overcome procrastination clinical psychologist Elena Kharitontseva.
The word “procrastination” (from the Latin pro - “instead”, “ahead” and crastinus - “tomorrow”) means a tendency to constantly put off important or unpleasant things for later. Because of it, students begin studying the subject the night before the exam, and begin writing their thesis a week before the defense. Procrastination prevents employees from completing work and submitting projects and reports on time. This condition negatively affects the ability to accept important decisions. Because of procrastination, relationships with clients deteriorate and companies go bankrupt.
Or maybe it's just laziness?
The problem of procrastination is much more serious than it seems at first glance. The habit of putting off important things until later is quite dangerous. It starts with one-time delays, but over time it turns into a pattern of behavior. The burden of unfulfilled tasks causes a persistent feeling of guilt in the procrastinator. This state is often called laziness, but there are a number of differences between a lazy person and a procrastinator.
First difference. Lazy people don’t want to do anything at all and are joyless about new tasks. Procrastinators enthusiastically take on new projects, take on a mountain of tasks, but they cannot cope with them effectively or on time. Most often due to the fact that they are distracted by some other things.
Second difference. If a task is not completed on time, lazy people take it calmly: if you don’t do it, that’s fine. Procrastinators begin to self-flagellate and self-depreciate.
Third difference. A task completed on time causes great stress among procrastinators. elation, they are very proud of the result and satisfied with themselves. In this case, lazy people react more calmly, even indifferently.
Fourth difference. An important feature of procrastinators is imaginary optimism, especially when assessing the risk of not completing a certain task.
Who is a procrastinator
Procrastinators are usually people with low self-esteem. Most often they were raised by overbearing parents. If adults force children to do everything strictly according to schedule and control their every step, then to the beginning adult life The child does not develop the skill of independently planning his affairs and fulfilling his plans without a clear external incentive (for example, strictly set deadlines or promises). In this case, a person constantly postpones his affairs to tomorrow, to the day after tomorrow. He tells himself that he will do this job when he has more sleep, when he has more time, etc. Soon, the lack of results begins to interfere with work, and the person begins to feel unsure of his abilities and his professionalism.
Procrastinators don't just procrastinate for time - they replace the task at hand with other things. For example, they watch news on the Internet or videos on YouTube. Another one important feature procrastinators - low resistance to disease. In psychology, there is a term “going into illness,” when, due to the reluctance to do an important task, a person develops real symptoms of the disease: blood pressure rises, headache, stomach ache.
Taxonomy of cases
To solve the problem of procrastination, a Canadian system development specialist came up with a very interesting model Brian Tracy. He suggests dividing all postponed tasks into three large groups.
First group: “elephant” cases
These are big things or large-scale projects that require a lot of time and effort to complete. Such things cause subconscious fear in people: it is not clear where to start and how to proceed with this big deal. Indeed, you cannot “eat” an elephant in one sitting. You need to divide it into separate pieces and start with the most “tasty” (interesting). Then the person gradually gets involved in the work, and soon the remaining parts of the “elephant” also find themselves “eaten.”
Russian psychologists suggest using personal motivation to accomplish big things. For a procrastinator, a strong incentive can be a good financial reward for work or a promise made to someone that you don’t want to break.
Second group: “frog” cases
In Tracy’s system, these are not very large, but unpleasant matters that weigh heavily on the soul and cause remorse. Such a “frog” is a strong irritant: it constantly croaks (reminds of itself). In reality, these may be non-urgent unpleasant phone calls, letters or a meeting that you don’t want to go to. It is better to do such things without delay (“swallow” this nasty “frog” and then forget about it forever).
However, if a person begins to successfully perform unpleasant “frog” tasks, a problem may arise. When the need to perform such tasks arises at work (for example, an unpleasant conversation with a person or an uninteresting task that no one wants to do), they can be constantly assigned to the person who knows how to do them: “You are good at this.” But psychologically and morally, doing unpleasant things for a person is a very costly task, so it is necessary to build your line of behavior so that such tasks do not become the main part of the job.
Third group: “orange” cases
This is what Tracy calls small, relatively simple matters of equal importance and volume. To prevent them from accumulating and becoming a reproach to the procrastinator, “orange” tasks need to be done regularly. It’s better to make it a rule to do, for example, two of these things every day so that they don’t accumulate.
Solving the problem
The following rules will help you learn to complete all your planned tasks on time and without haste.
Rule 1: immediately make a list of your accumulated tasks (current and future).
2nd rule: determine priorities and break big things into parts. Make a list of to-dos in this order - first the most important, then the less urgent, and at the very end those things that have already lost their relevance or were not important or mandatory from the very beginning. Large-scale projects and “elephant” cases need to be divided into separate stages and a specific deadline for their completion must be determined.
3rd rule: launch the rationalization mechanism, i.e., create basic conditions for completing the assigned tasks. If you are at work, prohibit yourself from entering email or social media(it’s better to turn off the Internet altogether for a while). If you work from home, you need to turn off the TV and warn your loved ones so that you will not be interrupted for a certain time (for example, three hours).
4th rule: organize a replacement mechanism. To take a break from work, you need to switch to another type of activity. If you work on a computer, switching to surfing the Internet, reading books, or watching TV is not considered a change in activity. For relaxation, you can do exercises and go to the store.
The change in activity must be radical, and any semi-useful work will be better than pseudo-useful work.
Rule 5: Be positive. Things not completed on time cause a feeling of guilt, and overcoming it requires great mental and emotional costs. Therefore, you cannot call yourself a failure: you need to build your actions step by step that will help change the situation, and start acting immediately - at least by drawing up a to-do list.
Rule 6: optimize the order in which the planned tasks are completed. It’s better to do the most unpleasant thing on the list right away (swallow these “frogs” so that they don’t croak anymore). Then you can proceed to the most enjoyable and interesting things, and only then switch to less interesting ones.
7th rule: set time limits. For example, if you have two things planned for the day, you need to set aside 2-3 hours to complete them, and then treat yourself to something pleasant. But these things need to be done every day. With this approach, you can break down the huge “elephant” into small “oranges” - and the work will progress successfully.
Hidden Barriers
Sometimes a person has some personal reasons for procrastination that prevent him from starting work. For example, he lacks some knowledge or needs someone’s advice. Reasons for procrastination may include fear of failure or fear of getting into trouble. Even the fear of luck can become a brake - the fear that they will begin to assign more complex and responsible tasks.
All of the above applies to normal and psychological healthy people who have serious motivation, but lack organization, self-discipline or the ability to plan and distribute their affairs. But the inability to get ready and procrastination can be a sign of an anxiety disorder or serious depression. In this case, the person needs the help of a psychotherapist or psychiatrist.
Are you used to constantly putting off important things, but at work you drink tea and surf Facebook all day? Don't worry, it's not your fault. You're just sick. Procrastination. Go to sick leave.
Alexey Dubkov · Alexey Karaulov
So, you checked your email for the hundredth time, folded your coffee, made some solitaire, and smoked the news. This is where it would seem to work. But you suddenly came across an article about how to stop slacking and start working - this is our article. So be it, read it, and then you’ll finish everything quickly!
Let's say right away: despite the title, we will not talk about all laziness, but only about one of its varieties, which is Lately has become very widespread and, according to a number of scientists, has taken the form of neurosis. We are talking about procrastination - the habit of putting off important things again and again in favor of pleasant, harmless, but absolutely unnecessary activities. If this is your first time hearing such a term, but you are ready to exclaim: “So that’s why I spend hours at work, kicking and hanging around! I have terrible disease- procrastination! - do not rush. Wait at least until the end of the article. After reading, you may be enriched with some more terms, excuses and reasons to feel sorry for yourself.
Pro-kra-sti... what?
The history of the phenomenon goes back thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians wrote about the endless procrastination of things for later (well, as they wrote - they dug them out on the walls). Moreover, they had two hieroglyphs to indicate such a delay: with negative consequences- “You fool for delaying!” and with positive ones - “Thank God I didn’t do it, I would have just wasted my time!” He also wrote about a special type of laziness in 800 BC. e. Greek poet Hedroid. Since there are no academic translations of his poems, be content with our version: “The husband who put off work for for a long time, with poverty in hand, he moves on through life.” (Glorious is the editor who did such a translation!)
The term “procrastination” itself appeared in Ancient Rome as a result of the addition of two words: the preposition pro (“in the direction, towards, forward”) and crastinus (“tomorrow”). The word appears in the works of historians, and in a positive context. Procrastination is the talent of wise politicians and military leaders who do not make hasty decisions, do not enter into conflict and are not in a hurry to pay a prostitute in the hope that the lupanarium will catch fire and they can escape quietly.
IN new history the term only arose in 1682, in a sermon by the Rev. Anthony Walker. As is the custom of all saints, wondering what else to be up in arms about, the Englishman Walker brought procrastination into the light of day and declared it a sin. The word caught on, in the 18th century it was published and stuck to slogans industrial revolution in the spirit of “The factories are standing still, there are only procrastinators around.” Since then, laziness and the compromised Latin term have been inseparable.
What is the difference?
To be more precise, why at all? separate word? Why can’t you say “laziness”, “simple”, “negligence”? To understand the difference, just read modern definition procrastination. It was formulated by Professor J.R. Ferrari, head of the Procrastination Research Group (PRG) at Carleton University in Ottawa:
Procrastination is
1) the habit of putting things off,
2) unconditionally recognized as important,
3) gradually becoming a neurotic pattern of behavior and
4) causing persistent frustration or guilt in the procrastinator.
Don’t rush to envy the professor and think that he created this definition while sitting in his office and throwing darts into the coffee maker. His group has done significant work in neuroscience, psychology and statistics. Again, if procrastination is their main occupation, they probably try in every possible way to delay it and work hard.
Ferrari emphasizes that mindfulness is the most important sign of procrastination. It’s not enough to miss deadlines and do a bad job - any cretin who overestimated his strength or did not understand the problem can do this. You also need to realize until the last moment that you are deliberately doing nonsense, although you could have worked.
7 facts about procrastination
Lovingly collected by Professor Ferrari's subordinates over the years of their activity.
Fact No. 1
Let's start with almost a compliment - however, it will be the only one for the entire article, so don't read it all at once, leave a little for the morning. So, according to PRG, procrastinators are generally much more optimistic ordinary people . Moreover, as tests have shown, optimism does not prevent them from calculating their strength and time. Fearlessness and faith in miracles concern only the assessment of the risks associated with failure to complete a task.
Fact No. 2
Procrastinators are not born. It's all due to upbringing. Although there is still a lot of unknowns. Ferrari knows one thing for sure: an incredible number of his charges grew up in families with an authoritarian type of upbringing (see our article “”). The rigid, control-freak parent encourages the child to avoid everything. independent activity, prevents him from hearing his desires. The child does only what he is told. Worse yet, latent hatred of prohibitions (“And don’t you dare climb on the closet anymore, while I’m hiding my naked aunt in it from my mother!”) forces the already adult procrastinator to surround himself with people who forgive him for any mistakes. And this, of course, only worsens his conniving attitude towards himself.
Fact No. 3
Procrastinators, on average, drink more than their colleagues and peers. They do this, firstly, for the sake of the feeling, as Venichka Erofeev wrote, of “not being immersed in anything.” Secondly, procrastination is often a consequence of poor self-control. Excessive drinking is another special case of this problem.
Fact No. 4
The most common type of self-deception procrastinators resort to: “I can only work under pressure.” The second most popular is “I’ll do it tomorrow with fresh strength.” At the same time, Ferrari's tricky tests prove that no noticeable increase in productivity occurs - neither after a long rest, nor in emergency conditions.
Fact No. 5
PRG patients aren't just biding their time. They actively look for distractions that would help them avoid doing what they need to do. They are looking for two criteria: a) the opportunity to constantly return to business; b) the inability to lose and mess up. The most popular distractor is checking email.
Fact No. 6
Among procrastinators, there is an abnormally high percentage of people in poor health. Resistance colds twice as low as in the group of ordinary people, vulnerability to gastroinfections is three times higher.
Fact No. 7
Sometimes due to more or less random reasons (unprecedented external stimulus, personal choice, promise to a loved one threatening you with an iron) a procrastinator can change completely. True, effective, consciously productive behavior takes more from him physical strength than that of an ordinary person. The result is anxiety, frustration, drowsiness; ultimately - a return to the usual pattern.
How it works
According to another scientist, P. Steele, who not only wrote the “Formula of Procrastination” series of books, but also gives mini-lectures on YouTube ( Procrastinus channel), the phenomenon is explained quite simply.
The fact is that your desires are not controlled by a little squirrel that lives in your nose (although we understand that this contradicts everything you life experience), but two areas of the brain.
The first, limbic, of which the pleasure center is also a part, is capable of generating strong stimuli: hunger, thirst for sex, fear, an irresistible desire to watch YouTube again. The signals of this system are quite difficult to resist; it never sleeps, is capable of suppressing the voice of reason and, most importantly, does not understand what time is. Limbic desires cannot be long-term. This is a machine for making quick demands and obtaining short-term pleasures. “Hey, come on! - as if a voice in your head is telling you. - Just think, one game of table football! It’s five minutes, but you’ll have the whole evening to write the article. But how fun!” The problem is that this system immediately forgets that it was fun (for it, after all, there is no concept of time) - and demands a new quick buzz.
On the other hand, desires can also arise in the prefrontal areas of the cerebral cortex. Here a time horizon already arises, planning issues arise...
But the trouble is, even in people with the most convoluted and hardened bark, these zones sooner or later get tired. Moreover, fatigue can be either instantaneous, from overexertion, or accumulated. The more exhausted the cortex is, the worse it resists temptations. And procrastination, thus, is a surrender of the cortex to the limbic system. A series of games of table football against the backdrop of an unfinished paragraph
Two by three
Famous procrastinators
Vladimir Nabokov Instead of working on another book, he often spent time on chess problems. This is how he himself writes about it: “For twenty years... I devoted a monstrous amount of time to compiling... problems. This is a complex, delightful and worthless art... Mental tension reaches a delusional extreme; the concept of time falls out of consciousness... and when the fist unclenches, it turns out that an hour of time has passed, which has decayed in the brain, which is heated to the point of radiance..." Albert Einstein According to his eldest son, “music always served as reinforcement for my father.” The creator of the theory of relativity could sit relaxed in front of the record player for hours, especially when he “felt that he had reached a dead end along the road of conscious work.” Winston Churchill According to C. P. Snow, a physiologist who held a number of posts in the English government during the Second World War, the legendary Prime Minister "was not a quick worker... he was rather a tireless worker, although his work often consisted of staring at the ceiling." This is not a metaphor. According to Snow, Churchill looked at the ceiling quite consciously and could spend hours on it.In 1956, the American Les Vaas announced the recruitment of members to the Procrastinators Club. When the first candidates sent in their applications, Les set a date for the meeting, and then postponed it for several years until the joke finally got through to everyone. “This was, perhaps, the first and last time when procrastinators tried to unite,” says the same Ferrari, from whose words we recorded this story. “In general, they do not like to be in the company of their own kind, because the sight of an idle person aggravates their feelings of guilt.” In addition, according to the professor, it is difficult for procrastinators to sympathize and help each other because they are not the same.
Ferrari identifies three types of these poor fellows.
1. Thrill Hunters
(It must be said that in the original the names of these types sound much more elegant, but why litter the language with the words “thrillseekers” and “avoiders.”) They put things off until the last minute, so that later they can rush in and, trembling with horror and euphoria, do everything in one sitting .
2. Avoiders
They put off any task without looking, so as not to make a mistake or, even worse, not to succeed. Because success can lead to new, more difficult tasks. They are very afraid of the assessments of others, the burden of responsibility, criticism, praise, and in general everything. They try to give out an even average result, balancing on fine line between “Well, it’s almost normal” and “It could be better, but okay, it’ll do.”
3. Undeciders
They just don’t know how to prioritize and work according to plan. They put off all things, including pleasant ones, until they feel pressure from the outside.
Surprisingly, this classification almost completely coincides with the conclusions of another fighter against procrastination - B. Tracy. He is, however, not a scientist, but a marketer and the head of a recruitment agency. But this may be for the best: with a tact unusual for scientists, Tracy shifts the focus to the work itself, instead of calling people neurotic and weaklings who are not fit for work.
According to him, it is not people who are divided into three types, but difficult matters.
1. Elephant cases
So large and impregnable that they frighten people. Eating an elephant (for a skinny old man, Tracy is suspiciously obsessed with culinary metaphors) in one sitting is impossible. It’s not clear where to start, whether you have enough strength and appetite. However, in addition to fear, the elephant also evokes superstitious delight: so much meat!
2. Frog affairs
All of them are unpleasant. You don’t want to not only chew them, but even pick them up. In addition to fear of such things, Tracy also writes about anxiety: what will others think when they see me eating a frog. This is one hundred percent consistent with Ferrari's description of avoiders.
3. Cases-oranges
They look so identical that it’s unclear which one to tackle first, but it seems like you have to sit through everything.
Eat oranges and chew elephants
Tracy has written extensively about carving, shredding, and stuffing unsavory things. For example, an entire book is dedicated to frogs, which was even translated into Russian two years ago. However, his advice is banal and has been criticized more than once by serious scientists.
Judge for yourself.
■ He recommends eating elephants right away, otherwise they “grow in the head” due to postponing. And we must start from the very delicious pieces and keep reminding yourself how much is left. Like, after the half, things will go faster, because it will already be a game of reduction.
■ Frogs are absolutely hilarious. Tracy's book is full of platitudes like "plan your day, get energized, develop the workaholic in you." PRG experts Johnson and McCone openly scoff at this. Like, telling a true procrastinator to plan his day is like telling a clinically depressed person to smile and not think negative thoughts.
■ The author is doing well with oranges the best way. The advice to rely on a simple lot works. As well as the advice to delegate the decision: “Darling, remind me what is our priority now: should I fire you or take care of the visitors?”
Yet Tracy's problem is that he considers procrastination a vice. Bad habit which needs to be overcome. However, it is much easier (and more pleasant) to believe scientists who consider procrastination a variant of the norm. A birth defect that you just have to get used to, like... poor eyesight or his wife's mustache.
And yet: how is it treated?
Having read to this point, you should have already fallen into jubilation several times (“I don’t bad person, I’m a variant of the norm!”) and fall back into depression. To put an end to the endless debate among scientists, we decided to last time refer to the findings of Ferrari and his group.
Procrastination in numbers
Data were collected in Australia, the UK, Turkey, Peru, Venezuela, Spain, Poland and Saudi Arabia. And since they were no different there, we can assume that something similar is happening here. 70% of university students consider themselves chronic procrastinators, but in reality only 25% are such, the rest are ordinary alcoholics and idiots.Among the so-called “non-clinical” adults, 20% are true procrastinators, regardless of the field of work.
54% of procrastinators are men.
10% are not going to fight their problem because they love procrastination for the jolt it gives (to the brain and in general).
Even the average person who does not procrastinate spends an average of 47% of their time at the computer “acting out procrastination.”
According to them, procrastination can still be overcome. Moreover, the solution often does not lie in the area of time management, planning, control and visits to a psychiatrist.
Your own psychological defense mechanisms (any person who is not deprived of a brain has them) can help in the fight against procrastination or in reconciling with it.
Rationalization mechanism
If things don't get done because of the Internet, turn off the Internet. Break the refrigerator. Lock your phone. Intentionally cutting yourself off from the tools of procrastination almost always helps you get into the right frame of mind. Why? Think about the limbic system. It requires instant response, quick pleasure. If, in order to watch the next episode of “Simon’s Cat,” you need to go into a separate program and rummage through the settings or get up from the couch to plug in the cable, the limbic system calms down and the prefrontal cortex manages to regain control.
To help
Browser extensions SiteBlock, Anti-porn, Norton Online Family and TimeBoss. All of them allow you to disable individual sites, block entire segments of the Internet, or set a time limit (TimeBoss is especially good in this sense, although it is more difficult to configure than others). Cut yourself off physically (spatially) from analogue pleasures or ask for help from loved ones. Let your wife not let you eat or deliberately walk around the house dressed until you finish work.
Substitution mechanism
Instead of frankly meaningless activities during bouts of procrastination, you can simply switch between tasks. Instead of crushing zombies with zucchini on your iPad, read books or watch lectures by various interesting luminaries of science, for example, the “rock star of philosophy” Zizek. Better yet, don’t sit at the computer at all. Hammer a nail, wash the dishes, do push-ups, soap the rope, shave. Any semi-useful activity other than your main task is always better than a pseudo-useful one.
To help
Book readers. Podcasts. Any site with an online player, search and a good selection of useful videos - for example, TED or “Elements”. Although doing push-ups is still healthier.
Displacement mechanism
At worst, instead of fighting procrastination, try to overcome a negative attitude towards it. Stop thinking that your downtime is a mistake, accept it as part of the system and method. According to the almost unanimous opinion of scientists, feelings of guilt and regret cause no less stress than the very awareness of the delay. As soon as you stop reproaching yourself for procrastination, your psyche will be able to free up a certain amount of energy that was spent on the pangs of conscience. And you can check your email more often!
What does the doctor say?
Domestic experts, also familiar with the phenomenon of procrastination, volunteered to say something in conclusion.
Mikhail Sinkin, neurologist, consultant at the Research Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, head of the department of ultrasound and neurophysiological diagnostics of City Clinical Hospital No. 11:
As a rule, procrastination is exclusively psychological problem. The neurologist should, however, remember about some brain diseases that can manifest similar symptoms. In particular, disturbances in the metabolism of serotonin, norepinephrine and other neurotransmitters, leading to such a clinical picture, can occur with tumors of the frontal lobe, in the initial stages of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.
Alexey Stepanov, psychologist, consultant of the Discussion Club of the Russian Medical Server (forums.rusmedserv.com):
Many readers will find in the article a reason to say to themselves with relief: “Oh, that’s it! It turns out that I have no problems with goal setting and it’s not my weaknesses. I just suffer from procrastination!” I consider it important to warn the reader against such a position. There are many words in the language that are simply headings. “Procrastination” is just a term denoting a range of human manifestations, symptoms, if you like. Procrastination itself is not a diagnosis. It is necessary in each case to look at what it is a symptom of. I see three sources. First - depressive states, because laziness grows in the soil of despondency. Depression almost always requires professional treatment. The second source is anxiety disorders. Anxiety about achievements can be painful, whether a person is expecting failure or victory. Clarifying the basis of your anxiety is work that you need to do both yourself and with the help of a therapist. Finally, the third possible reason concerns personality manifestations, which in advanced cases can reach the level of a personality disorder. Keyword here is alienation. For example, alienation from tools and the results of labor, known since the time of the first manufactories. Alienation from one’s own “I want” and “I care,” leading to a meaningless life. “When you understand why, you overcome any “how.” This is one of the best answers to the question of how to deal with procrastination.
Two more new laziness
This article wouldn't be complete without mentioning zucchini (just funny word, which we try to insert into all texts) and a retelling of the works of two more scientists. They weren't writing about procrastination in pure form, but rather about amazing types of laziness similar to it.
Incubation
Neurolinguist St. D. Krashen, a specialist in reading theory (what people don’t get paid for!), believes that creative people cannot be blamed for downtime. Referring to the autobiographies of writers, composers and physicists, as well as to surveys of creative people conducted in 1995 by Csikszentmihalyi and Sawyer, the scientist draws a clear conclusion: procrastination, downtime, useless activities are part of creative process. At the same time, Krashen rejects the idea of inspiration. When a creative person walks from corner to corner, picking the umbilical felt with his finger, he is not waiting for an external stimulus. Stupor is associated with the work of the “extraconscious part of the psyche.”
Krashen, analyzing the revelations of geniuses, derives the following formula creative work:
■ collection of information, analysis of available data - 20–60% of the total time;
■ incubation - 40–60%;
■ illumination - 0% of the time (Krashen, being a meticulous linguist, insists on the term illumination instead of the usual English enlightenment (“illumination”). According to him, “illumination” more clearly describes the explosive birth of an idea);
■ conscious “processing with a file”, fixing a solution or work - from 10%. Scolding a person for promising to send an article a week ago, while he himself is sitting playing Civilization V, is stupid, because during the game the article is written in to a greater extent than at the time of actual recording. (If only a week ago, or even two! - Ed.)
Irrational shift
The term comes from Dan Ariely, a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University. While traveling around the world giving lectures and trainings, Dan noticed and described the phenomenon of “moral laziness.” You probably know people who say: “I’ll work ten years at this job, and then I’ll immediately go to the islands and start training cockroaches for cockfighting” (or something like that). Perhaps one of your acquaintances is yourself. Dan believes that by engaging in such self-deception, a person suffers from “reverse procrastination.” Instead of sacrificing serious matters in favor of momentary joys, the poor fellow is engaged in dull and tedious work, pushing aside pleasures. What's the point? “This comes from a fear of leaving your comfort zone,” Dan writes. Moving to the islands, vacation, buying an apartment, having chickens and piglets - contain the need to study new information and make some decisions. It’s much easier to put all this aside and print papers for a shredder for a few more years for N pennies a day. “Often the subject of the shift for which a person is supposedly working can be accomplished with less blood and more pleasure. The problem is that we don’t really want to move anything in our lives,” Dan writes sadly, judging by the lack of exclamation marks.
