What motivates us to be unmotivated? Where does the desire to procrastinate come from? We all ask ourselves these questions from time to time. Procrastination is a multifaceted puzzle. The problem with this particular puzzle is that there are both positive and negative consequences to the habit of putting things off until later. The word procrastination comes from the Latin procrastinatus, which combines the prefix pro (meaning forward). ", "promotion") and "crastinus" (meaning "tomorrow"). Literally, to procrastinate means to delay or postpone a task until tomorrow. The problem is that “tomorrow” is always the day after. Tomorrow never becomes “today”, and, as you know, changes can only happen in the present, and not in thousands of possible “tomorrows”. What advantages can procrastination have? By postponing something for later, we reduce our time limits for solving a problem. This reduction in time can increase our focus on results, especially if we approach the task unfocused and unfocused. This spontaneous pressure of procrastination can well inflate our previously low levels of motivation. How does it work? Some people function better under pressure and may see procrastination as a subversive strategy to captivate their arousal and subsequently their motivation. Everyone knows the phrase, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” Why is it so difficult to put it into practice? Maybe it’s just laziness? In short, no. The word “laziness” in this case is just a label that we “attach”, characterizing some feature of behavior. If we say that the conditional Masha does not do her work on time because she is lazy, we are only saying that we have noticed a pattern inherent in Masha miss deadlines, and then use a label to indicate these missed deadlines. Why doesn't she meet the deadline? Because she's lazy. How did we know she was lazy? Because she doesn't do it in lines. This is a cycle of conclusions that doesn’t really explain anything. We need to understand why Masha does not finish her work on time. Procrastination does not come down to any one reason. There are many factors that can cause procrastination. Often, a procrastinator is driven by fear of failure. Completing any task always carries the risk of failure. From an early age we notice that all our actions are scrutinized and judged. Even if no one present objectively evaluates us at this particular moment, the internal critic in our heads is already prepared to convince us how unworthy, inept, etc. we are. The famous humanistic psychologist A. Maslow distinguished between 2 types of choices that a person makes: choosing fear and choosing growth. The choice of fear is born from a feeling of insecurity about the upcoming action and is driven by the need to avoid failure or disappointment. But at what cost? We may miss an opportunity to get a job we want, thinking we are not well suited for it, when in fact our refusal to act is based on avoiding the potential for failure. On the other hand, when we make the choice to grow, we overcome the fear of risk by choosing action. As Maslow wrote, “Everyone can choose to move backward toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again, just as overcoming fear must be chosen again and again. We risk failure or rejection almost every time we take action that is meaningful to us. But if we choose to procrastinate, avoiding potential failure, we risk look back on missed opportunities with a feeling of remorse and regret, repeating to yourself the nasty “if only.” It may seem that procrastination is not a choice or lack thereof, but simply a process of temporarily postponing some actions “for later.” In reality, it is a choice, one of choosing inaction over action in an attemptcope with life's challenges by putting off tasks until another day, which eventually turns into another week, and perhaps another year. Procrastination is reinforced by a powerful reward - relief from anxiety. By not taking any actions required of us, we avoid the need to interact with the consequences of rejection, disapproval, criticism, at least for a short period of time. Just as someone who is afraid of elevators prefers to take the stairs, the procrastinator breathes a sigh of relief without facing the threat of rejection or disappointment. But procrastination is ultimately self-defeating because it prevents us from achieving our goals. Rumination When we obsess over something, we ruminate on our past or think about the future and stress ourselves out. We block ourselves in the present. Rumination usually occurs in parallel with over-analysis and/or worry. In some cases, rumination can become obsessive and completely paralyze the ability to act. “We are here and now. Everything else is empty." G.L. Mencken. Because rumination is not in the present, it is not effective. By placing himself in the present, the ruminator gains control over himself and his thoughts. Read more about rumination https://www.b17.ru/article/ruminating/Unpleasant emotions Procrastination is more than just putting off actions until later. The habit of procrastination may actually be a strategy for avoiding unpleasant emotions. Overcoming uncomfortable feelings (guilt, shame, etc.) can free up the ability to be in the “present.” Most suppressed feelings are focused on the past or future, not the present. Exercise can be beneficial activity to change mood and the course of rumination. Physical activity can relieve worry, anxiety, and emotional turmoil. “I’m just not organized.” Completing things requires self-organization. We may think, “I'm just not organized,” and leave things as they are, using this label as an excuse for inaction (a defense mechanism known as rationalization). But this same phrase can be modified into a call to action by telling ourselves : “Yes, I know that organization is difficult for me. What am I missing for effective self-organization?” A cluttered desk can serve as a signal to action, to sort things out, arrange documents on shelves and files, create your own systematization that will allow you to find the necessary papers and organize your work efforts. For any task, you can create a list of what is needed to complete it successfully. “Well, what can you do? I'm just a perfectionist." Many people who struggle with procrastination are perfectionists. Nothing is ever at a level sufficient to pass their personal test. So they procrastinate, let work pile up, and refuse to complete tasks unless their work meets some unimaginable ideal. Perfectionists follow an irrational standard in their behavior, which translates into ideal rather than actual goals they set for themselves. A helpful thought to keep in mind if perfectionism is your personal hell is that the best is the enemy of the good. By adopting a "good enough" attitude, you can see that while the work done can always be improved, it can be left as is. , because she is “good enough.” Perfect? No. Good enough? Yes, and I'm okay with that. The Omission Effect The omission effect means that decisions we don't end up following result in more regret than decisions we actually put into action. Mistakes associated with leaving something out - or turned out to contain more regret than mistakes made. Actions, on the other hand, have a more positive emotional outcome than procrastination. Becoming someone who takes action without delay can be a really difficult task in today's world. Being proactive is a challenge. Social networks and smartphones have led many down the path of distraction.