91Èȱ¬

Procrastination is almost as old as time. Previous figures in history who have pronounced on the condition include Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a philosopher from a Stoic school that emphasised positive thinking. He said: “You could be good today, but instead you choose tomorrow.”

2. Chronic procrastination is common among adults

Today’s lifestyles seem to offer a perfect storm for procrastination, with so many distractions available, from Insta to Wordle.

A study carried out in the US revealed that the level of chronic procrastination – a condition so severe it interferes with everyday living – is at 20% among the population. Other studies show the impact of this, suggesting that procrastination raises stress levels and impacts on financial and career success.

3. Impulsiveness and distraction are the key drivers of procrastination

Research from the University of Colorado suggests that when our ancestors’ struggle for survival was more short-term (e.g. in the Palaeolithic era) immediate rewards were more attractive. Now this impulsivity is tempered by distractions, and procrastination results from that.

Studies undertaken by psychologist Caroline Schlüter help shed some light on the mysterious allure of distraction. Volunteers who indicated a tendency for procrastination were given an MRI scan, the results of which showed that those more prone to the condition had a large amygdala – the part of the brain responsible for processing and learning from negative emotions.

According to Schlüter, “poor time management might be one part of it, but procrastination is more a matter of core emotion management… so avoiding the negative task or consequence by avoiding the task in the first place”.

5. Procrastination can be beneficial

As Ella points out, if procrastination had harmful connotations, it should have been selected against during our evolution. “It suggests to me that there’s something beneficial about it,” she concludes. Caroline Schlüter backs her up. “It’s a way of dealing with negative emotions… going away from an unpleasant task to do something that you can manage,” she says.

6. Self-forgiveness is a “cure” for procrastination

Understanding the emotional driver behind putting things off has helped people towards manging that impulse and even changing it.

As well as the common-sense advice of breaking tasks down into smaller pieces, Caroline suggests that forgiveness is key. “Forgiving yourself for procrastinating in the past seems to be helpful in order to avoid procrastination in the future,” she says, “and so you have a better start because you have fewer negative emotions to deal with in the first place.”

The proof? Well, a study from Carleton University in Canada suggested that students who were able to forgive themselves for bad procrastinating habits ended up procrastinating less when studying for the next exam.