7 Key Reasons Why Some People Procrastinate

Trying to motivate someone who is reluctant to act is not such an easy task for anyone, as the procrastinator will usually find a handy excuse for their delays. However, one would need to start with the reasons behind the need to procrastinate. Remedying a particular situation is not possible until we understand why we do certain things, and how we can alter our mindset and perspective to change those habits.

Procrastination is a sign of unease and temporary discomfort; of the inability to focus on priorities and react to the moment. It suggests something is not quite right with what is happening at that time, which encourages the person to take refuge in delays and hesitation.

For example, when we procrastinate, we do it primarily for the following reasons:

1. We don’t really want to do a task which gives us little satisfaction, thrill or excitement. Perhaps it’s very boring, especially if it is repetitive. There is nothing to look forward to, and we dread having to do it again. It induces fear or dread, instead of joy or positivity in doing it. We then put it off for as long as possible so that we don't have to do it at all in the end.
2. We are not ready, not qualified, or equipped for it, or we are not sure what we should do with it. We feel overwhelmed by the thought of getting on with that job and so delay the start as long as possible.
3. We are pre-occupied with anxiety around emotional/social/relationship issues that are unresolved and find it difficult to focus on immediate tasks. Unless we resolve those issues, we will be distracted by them, which prevents us making progress in our actions.
4. There is too much emotional or physical pressure. This usually comes from parents and/or peers to meet their demands and expectations, the ones they didn't achieve themselves, that they now wish to live through we, regardless of what we want. This deprives us of the opportunity to develop our own goals, identity, independence and autonomy. Additionally, we are perhaps pre-occupied with other tasks we believe should be done as well, while avoiding the need to get on with the main one at hand.
5. Fear of failure. We internalise and interpret any negative result to mean that that we are 'useless' instead of seeing ourselves as perfectly capable individuals who had an off-day and can always attempt that task again, like attending another interview or learning a new skill.
6. Setting unrealistic goals. Often, this is an attempt to seek approval and attain the unreachable. However, as we may not be quite ready for those goals, such actions mainly encourage us to procrastinate and lower our achievement rate. They also increase our disappointment and confirm our worst fears.
7. Negative evaluations. We assess the outcome of situations as much worse than they really are in order to confirm ourr deepest fears about ourselves and to justify why we are not taking action.

The most important fact is that when we procrastinate, we are not making any decision to get anything done. Yet without that decision, we won’t have any action, which then gives us NO RESULTS. Without routine results to reinforce our talents and competence, and reward our efforts, we won’t feel good about ourselves, or be motivated to do even more with our life. Soon it will gradually start having a knock-on effect on anything else we might wish to do.

If you tend to hesitate in doing what needs to be done, or regularly procrastinate, look at the reasons above, or to any other pertinent reason, and identify the ones you might not be aware of. Try to resolve those first in order to motivate yourself into getting on with what is necessary. It could simply mean that you are overwhelmed by what you have to do, and feel better procrastinating with the task rather than admitting what the real problem is. Hence why some soul-searching about your attitude is extremely important to get to the bottom of your inactivity.

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