Chronic Procrastination

This is a complex question, but a great one to ask. The short answer is that procrastination is learned, so it can be unlearned. Our research has found that parenting styles produce kids who grow up to be procrastinators. I recommend reading my popular book, “Still Procrastinating?” and if you want greater detail, let’s see if I can speak to your local community to educate.

More information is available at the following link:

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Procrastinating-Regrets-Guide-Getting/dp/0470611588

The entry point of intervention depends on the context—does the person use procrastination as a chronic tendency at home, school, work, or in relationships? See if they engage in this inappropriate delay that causes them emotional upset across settings. Then, I suggest that they go through CBT. Remember, procrastination is not poor time management, laziness, or just delay.

Wonderful question! The first thing is to stop making excuses for them. People need to learn the consequences of their actions, and if one is consistently a procrastinator, they need to see the impact of this on others. “Procs,” as I call them, think that life is all about me, but it's about we and our impact on others.

If you have a chronic procrastinator, they need good CBT. Meta-analyses show that time management is the least effective technique for procrastinators because of their great excuse-making tendencies. Instead, they need to address their thoughts (cognitive) and actions (behavior). My book, “Still procrastinating?” might help too.

More information is available at the following link:

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Procrastinating-Regrets-Guide-Getting/dp/0470611588

Love your question—yes and no:

• Yes, procrastination is an avoidance strategy that people globally use and seem to “get away with.” We don’t want to hold people to deadlines today, but we are hurting them because they do not learn responsibility.

• No, anxiety is one emotion and so are fears (for example, of success or failure). There are a variety of emotions linked to procrastination and we have a paper coming out that looks at 40 years of procrastination and emotion research.

Remember that rebellion, and even revenge, may not be procrastination; adolescents might be procrastinating as a way to rebel against demands. In psychology, we call this the “reactance effect," which may sound something like, “Oh yeah, well I was going to do this but because you tell me I have to or must do it, I’m not going to do it.” The person is reacting against believing their freedom is compromised (we see this today in the United States by adults). So, procrastination may not be a cause, but a consequence of something else. Consider that possibility.

Although many people say that ADHD is linked to procrastination, the only study to look at this found, at best, a weak link with normal and clinical samples. However, that was only one study, so before we change anything, we need more research on ADHD and procrastination. In the meantime, if someone is diagnosed with ADHD (not boredom-proneness), then yes, professional help may be effective.

Well, my Italian Grandma Nonna would say, “Some people will not get off the beach until the water hits their behind.” So, you can warn and help people, but some will not take action until they see the consequences. Notice, she did not say drown; she said get wet! So, yes – let the person fail, don’t give them an out and when they are ready for change, they will change.

This is a great question—I do not know of any scholar who is focusing on treating procrastination with young kids.

Remember that procrastination is not poor time management, delay, or waiting; it’s an active avoidance strategy that is not productive. I do recommend reading my book, “Still Procrastinating?” to get a good feel for the concept and its causes and consequences. I again ask: is the procrastination on a specific behavior (situational) or something you would label for the kids' lifestyle (dispositional)? These are related but very different and I recommend another conversation after the book is read.

More information is available at the following link:

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Procrastinating-Regrets-Guide-Getting/dp/0470611588 

For the last half of your question, my research team has conducted the only study that compares morning and evening proneness with procrastinators. What do you think we found? Procrastinators are evening-prone; they claim to work best at night…but do they?

For the first part, that is more than I can answer here. Instead, I recommend checking my book for the causes and consequences of procrastination. It’s an easy read, and while it might not make you ‘happy’ from what it says, it will give you information based on science and not my opinion.

More information is available at the following link:

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Procrastinating-Regrets-Guide-Getting/dp/0470611588