Procrastination Emerges As A Problem For Many People

The difficulty of certain tasks often provokes a desire to delay or otherwise waste time before getting down to business. These impulse to procrastinate can impact people’s lives as an occasional temptation or as a nearly overwhelming habit, depending on the temperament of the individual.

In three particular areas of activity, namely college, business enterprise and home life, procrastination can give an especially detrimental effect. A closer look at the inherent factors for procrastination in each of these settings can help illuminate a few of the influences in the decision to procrastinate.

For many students, procrastination emerges as a significant problem during the first years of college. The college procrastinator is frequently an individual who, for one of several possible reasons, did not learn effective time management strategies during high school. Often accustomed to senior high school assignments that are strictly short or that have been broken down into a series of smaller assignments by the high school instructors, the college procrastinator is at a loss to adjust to college’s long term assignments. In some cases, the college procrastinator underestimates the difficulty of a term paper or end-of-semester project because the professor does not constantly remind the class about the upcoming deadline.

For this reason, the difficulties faced by the college procrastinator could be seen as a failure to adjust from a structured, orderly learning environment into an environment where independent time management skills are indispensable. When the need for discipline and organization has been recognized, a few simple tools, such as a day planner, may aid the college procrastinator organize a self-structured series of goals and deadlines for long-term assignments.

Whereas the college procrastinator might put off a hard assignment by playing computer games or socializing, the business procrastinator is frequently more subtle in his or her strategy. Rather than engaging in insignificant amusements, which might be reprimanded if discovered, the business procrastinator often wastes time on activities that is in fact part or his or her job description but that are not the most meaningful tasks at the moment.

In some cases, a deficiency of confidence in the ability to successfully complete challenging assignments compels the business procrastinator to pursue leisurely, straightforward minor tasks. In other situations, an inability to separate between high- and low-priority assignments causes the business procrastinator to perceive that the uncomplicated tasks are just as essential as the complicated ones, leaving the business postponer no reason to pursue the more troublesome tasks.

To redress this circumstance, the business procrastinator first must determine to recognize which projects have the most potential to impact the success of the business itself and to bear upon the course of business in the long term. Once this has been executed, the business procrastinator can break up long-term, complex chores into a series of manageable deadlines so that they are not quite so intense.

Instead of being unable to face a deadline, the home-life procrastinator is ofttimes uncomfortable with the perpetual nature of daily home-related tasks. Yard work, home repairs, cleaning and meal preparation can completely assume the uninspiring role of regular inconveniences in a person’s life. As unfinished chores accumulate over time, the home-life procrastinator begins to feel the pressure of house work intruding on the joys of everyday life.

To counter this situation, a specified time should be set aside each week to schedule a reasonable number of weekly chores. By naming which tasks should be accomplished on which day, the home-life procrastinator can gain control over the amount of work. And by confining certain tasks to certain hours, the procrastinator can stop feeling at fault about any unfinished chores provided that he or she has achieved the jobs set aside for the present day.

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