It seems that my favourite sport is procrastination. I do it every day and it’s not taking me anywhere. Burt the problem is, I can’t stop. I keep telling myself that I should stop but somehow I still do.

Take running for example. The night before a run I make plans, I set a goal, I choose a route and hype myself up. Go to bed thinking I’ll smash it tomorrow. And then comes morning: I open my eyes and look out the window. It’s too hot or cold. It’s raining. I don’t have enough time to do the distance I wanted. I will have to be back home on time to start work. There are oh so many other reasons. Just as when I am running – why am I doing this? Am I going too fast? Am I too slow? I should go back. I can take a turn here and shorten my distance …. there are a million reasons I find. But you know something? It feels so good when I finish a run and prove myself wrong!

I won’t start cleaning because I don’t have time to finish the entire house today. I am tired, I have other things to do … and again, if I do one room, one corner … boy, it feels good.

But you see, it’s that waste of time before actually doing things. I could do so much more, run further, read more and so on … if only I would stop this terrible habit of procrastinating.

Why do we actually do it?

Google says that there are a few factors that determine us to procrastinate:

Emotional Factors:

• Task Aversiveness: Some tasks are inherently unpleasant, boring, or frustrating, leading to avoidance. 
• Fear of Failure: Perfectionism and fear of not meeting high standards can paralyze individuals. This can cause them to delay or avoid starting a task altogether. 
• Anxiety and Stress: The anticipation of negative consequences or the pressure of deadlines can trigger anxiety. This anxiety leads to procrastination as a way to cope with these feelings.
• Low Self-Esteem: Individuals with low self-esteem doubt their abilities and avoid tasks where they fear failure or judgment. 
• Difficulty with Emotional Regulation: Procrastination can be a way to regulate negative emotions linked to a task. This may be detrimental in the long run. 

Cognitive Factors:

• Lack of Motivation:When motivation is low, tasks can seem daunting and unappealing, leading to delays. 
• Poor Time Management:Difficulty prioritizing tasks, estimating time required, or managing distractions can contribute to procrastination. 
• Feeling Overwhelmed: When faced with a large or complex task, individuals feel overwhelmed. They can be unsure where to start. This often leads to avoidance.
• Distractions:Access to distractions, like social media or entertainment, is easy. This ease can make it harder to focus on a task.
• Lack of Clarity:Unclear instructions, goals, or expectations can make it difficult to get started or make progress. 
• Future Orientation: Some individuals may not fully understand how their actions affect the future. This lack of understanding leads to a disconnect between current actions and future outcomes.

Neuropsychological Factors:

• Brain’s Pleasure Center: The limbic system includes the pleasure center. It can sometimes override the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for planning and decision-making. This can lead to procrastination. 

I know what trigger it for me and it is the fear of failure and lack of confidence. I can run a 10k but if I run it in the time that I wish to run it. Anything else will be of a flop. I would be way slower than my friends and I’ll consider it equal to nothing. I prefer not to do it rather than do it in an average time. I know that some people dream of having my time. I can be an inspiration for some, but I have not met those people. I only met my friends and they are all faster than I am – yes. They ran all their lives while I started about five years ago. But this should not be an excuse.

Another way to waste my day (not every day) is doom scrolling. There is nothing interesting on my feed but I keep scrolling away for no particular reason. Before I know it, I wasted an hour doing absolutely nothing productive. My brain had a break and my eyes become blurry. That’s about all I managed. I know there is nothing for me in there but I keep going. I don’t even pay attention to any of it.

How do you waste the most time?