Are you a procrastinator? (1 Viewer)

Optimus Prime

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Lord knows I am.

I am a doer.......but I'm not a starter

It takes me forever to start something but once I start and get going I'm good to go.

Until there's a break in the action. A conference call, an issue that needs immediate attention, a lunch break, even a bathroom break

Then I have to start the whole process over again.

I've always been like that, not for all things and not all the time but often enough that I'd definitely call myself a procrastinator

It's been a downside to working from home. I was better when I was in the office
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If you’re reading this article instead of tackling one of the many projects you meant to do during the pandemic, or before starting the report due tomorrow at work, or as an alternative to changing your car’s year-old oil, feel no shame: This is a safe space, procrastinators, and you’re among friends.

Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago and author of “Still Procrastinating?: The No Regrets Guide to Getting It Done,” has found that about 20 percent of adults are chronic procrastinators. “That’s higher than depression, higher than phobia, higher than panic attacks and alcoholism. And yet all of those are considered legitimate,” he said. “We try to trivialize this tendency, but it’s not a funny topic.”

Ferrari was speaking while on a road trip with his wife, who chimed in to say that she’s a procrastinator. Her tendencies helped spur her husband’s research interests. He doesn’t procrastinate — he has a 107-page résumé, he said, because he gets things done — but he’s built a career around understanding those who do.

Among his findings: Chronic procrastination doesn’t discriminate based on gender, race or age; we’re all susceptible. As he put it: “Everybody procrastinates, but not everyone is a procrastinator.” And contrary to popular belief, procrastinating has little to do with laziness. It’s far more complicated, he said, than simply being a matter of time management.

To understand what causes procrastination (outside of conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, where executive functioning issues might interfere with task completion), it’s important to be clear about what it is — and isn’t. Procrastination is different from delaying a task because you need to talk to someone who isn’t available, or not getting around to reading a literary classic such as “Moby Dick.” Fuschia Sirois, a professor of psychology at the University of Sheffield in England, defines procrastination this way: “The voluntary, unnecessary delay of an important task, despite knowing you’ll be worse off for doing so.”

On its surface, procrastination is an irrational behavior, Sirois said: “Why would somebody put something off to the last minute, and then they’re stressed out of their mind, and they end up doing a poor job or less than optimal job on it? And then they feel bad about it afterward, and it may even have implications for other people.”

The reason, she said, has to do with emotional self-regulation — and, in particular, an inability to manage negative moods around a certain task. We usually don’t procrastinate on fun things, she said. We procrastinate on tasks we find “difficult, unpleasant, aversive or just plain boring or stressful.” If a task feels especially overwhelming or provokes significant anxiety, it’s often easiest to avoid it.

Another reason people procrastinate, Sirois said, is because of low self-esteem. One might think: “I’m never going to do this right,” or, “What will my boss think if I screw up?”

Ferrari theorizes that there are three types of procrastinators: thrill-seekers, who crave the rush of putting off tasks until the last minute and believe they work best under pressure; avoiders, who procrastinate to avoid being judged for how they perform; and indecisives, who have difficulty making important or stressful decisions, often because they’re ruminating over several choices..............

 
It honestly depends on the situation.

I’m a driven person overall, unless there’s something that I just don’t care to do, but ultimately have to do. If the consequences of procrastinating are minimal, I might push it off for a few days: for example, painting. If you ever want to punish me, give me a wall to paint. :mad:

For the most part, I’m a mover and I don’t need much to get me going and I like to get things done. Except painting - it can go to hades.
 
Not at all! Once I make up my mind to do something, that's it! I'm full steam ahead. I like to get things done and out of the way. When I was in grad school, I would have assignments done months in advance. 🤦‍♀️
 
I procrastinate about procrastinating so I started setting aside time to begin worrying about getting something done.

I want to be sure I have enough time to think about doing it - and then NOT do it.

I mean, as soon as you finish it, there'll just be something else. Another deadline. Something else that needs checking, fixing, renewing or replacing.

If I didn't procrastinate, my entire life would be filled with one of those 4 things at all times.

Alarm permit needs renewing. Mulch needs to be replaced. Recertification docs need to be assembled.

Blah, blah, blah 🙈🙉🙊

Instead, I find sipping vodka and sitting quietly with my feet perched atop a pouffe to be a much better use of my time.
 
Calling me a procrastinator really doesn’t do justice to the true depth and scope of my procrastination. I’m not a procrastinator, I’m THE procrastinator.
I always say that I would be the president of the worldwide procrastinators club, but I haven't gotten around to putting in the application yet.

I've learned from long experience that every project has "that damn one bolt" syndrome. That every task has one sticky problem that must be figured out to get it done. My mind will spin on that problem until I figure it out. While I'm figuring that out, nothing else gets done.

It's definitely a curse. I envy people with the "damn the torpedos, let's get this done" attitude.

SFIAH
 
Stuff like chores, that can wait until next week, next month, or when it has to be done.

Taking a nap, it will happen right on time.

Having fun, I will wake up early, but will hit the snooze bar a few times.

It just depends on what it is. I like paying my bills early, because there are problems, if you forget to pay. If I don't do the dishes for a week, not a huge penalty; Plus, you get to look at the scary mold that is forming.


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Not my kitchen, but I respect that mess, they're just at different level of hating chores.
 

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