Most of us believe that completing tasks on time helps us worry less about the future, especially when there is a deadline. However, sometimes, we are not able to justify the time and start finishing it when there is little time left. When we do it deliberately, we are just procrastinating. Procrastination is considered a bad habit, but it can sometimes be a good habit in some situations.
Procrastination Meaning
When we deliberately delay our tasks until the very last minute, it is called “procrastination.” Some people call it “laziness”; however, they are different. To procrastinate or skip doing things, we do not need to be lazy. Some of us can believe that we will finish that task later on or just don’t feel like doing it. The simple answer to procrastination vs lazy confusion is ability or readiness. If one is not able to exert any effort on a task and puts it off, then it is laziness. However, procrastination is the person’s inability to put in the required energy and time to complete something.
Procrastinator Meaning
Procrastination is made up of two words – pro (forward or ahead) and “crastinus” (of tomorrow). These words combined mean “to delay or put off until tomorrow”. It means that despite being able to understand or try to understand the task, we think about doing it later.
What is Procrastination Definition
The language and subject experts give multiple definitions of procrastination. However, according to Oxford Languages, “the act of putting off doing something that you should do till another day or time because you do not want to do it”,
Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator
Tim Urban, one of the popular writers, was invited to TED Talks to speak on “procrastination” and shared how he faced it during college. He explained this concept with three parameters – Instant Gratification Monkey, Panic Monster and rational decision maker. He simply explained that the Instant Gratification Monkey is the part of the brain that thinks that work will be done tomorrow or later, delaying it until the deadline is near. When the deadline is near, the Panic Monster comes into play and forces the doer to complete his task as quickly as possible.
The rational decision-maker is a part of the brain that completes every task on time without thinking about tomorrow. Tim Urban highlights the first two parts as the most important in executing the task. He says that both of them are enemies of each other. The Instant Gratification Monkey is oblivious to the past and future and only thinks about the present, which does not let individuals complete their tasks on time. It is a creative video showing how the brain rejects any task, and later, we realize it is near the deadline.
How bad Is procrastination?
A Procrastinator does not realize at first how bad it is to delay any task until the very end. However, as time passes, such people keep delaying things and think that they will be done soon, but they have little or no time left to finish it by the deadline.
Procrastination is a vast and deep concept that negatively impacts our lives as it prevents us from achieving and changes us with time. Some decisions in life require us to act swiftly without any delay; however, in those moments, we skip taking any action, which later affects us negatively.
We all procrastinate in our lives at different stages and do not even realize why we are failing in our careers, studies, work, family, self or even in happiness. Here are some of the things we say at different stages of our lives,
- Hey, my exams start next week. I have enough time to prepare. I think I will start reading on the fifth day.
- This inquiry can wait a little while; I got to watch this episode of Game of Thrones.
- I’m sorry, honey! I’m sorry for not taking you to the movies for the last five Sundays. I promise I will take you to the movies next Sunday. This Sunday, I have some things that need attention.
- I will pay these bills on the 9th, a day earlier. By then, I will be unable to think about anything.
- Unlike the past two years, I got everything in line. I swear I will launch and grow my YouTube channel.
- Hey Samantha! Do you still need to learn how to bake a cake? You said you would start classes…like last year.
- I will save 10K in 2026 to buy a new car. I am almost short of 7K.
There are countless examples that suggest that we procrastinate things every day in our lives. Forgetting is not procrastination, but deliberately delaying them is.
How to Avoid Procrastination?
Procrastination is within your behaviour, and you avoid it until you practice changing yourself. Even if you make up your mind to do things right this time, the part of the brain will kick in and persuade you to procrastinate this one time. Making a table or setting alarms work, but they cannot help you from procrastinating. It takes so much planning and effort to learn not to delay things and complete them at the right time.
Some people have been procrastinating all their lives, and they still cannot learn how not to do so. Others occasionally avoid doing things and end up in a chaotic situation where they cannot explain or justify their reasons for procrastinating. So, does that mean it will never go away? No, not at all. Everything can be solved with proper thoughts and the desired outcome.
