����ý

Procrastination; it’s a concept most o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f us are probably /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/familiar with as college students. Procrastination is the bliss/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/ful art o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f stalling. Personally, I consider mysel/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f to be a pro/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/fessional procrastinator (totally not procrastinating while writing this). But why do so many o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f us tend to procrastinate? Is it out o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f laziness? Is it out o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f responsibility? Sometimes it is. However, there seems to be a more psychologically relevant explanation as to why we as humans, especially college students, tend to procrastinate.

Procrastination and Anxiety

Anxiety and procrastination are heavily correlated. In a NY Times article about procrastination, Dr. Fuschia Sirois, pro/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/fessor o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f psychology at the University o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f She/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/field, states that “People engage in this irrational cycle o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f chronic procrastination because o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f an inability to manage negative moods around a task.” In short, a lot o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f people (including mysel/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f) put things o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f due to the overwhelming /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/feeling o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f being overwhelmed. Cognitively, we can think o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f this in terms o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f our working memories being overloaded, and in an attempt to alleviate that /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/feeling o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f cognitive load, we put o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f our tasks as a problem /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/for our /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/future selves.

Procrastination and ADHD

There is a lot o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f scienti/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/fic research that suggests that procrastination typically serves as a ‘compensation technique’ /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/for those with ADHD (Neirmann et al. 2014). It is widely believed that this has to do with the lack o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f executive /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/functioning typically seen in individuals with ADHD. Executive /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/functioning relates to the mental processes that allow us to /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/focus, remember, and manage time, to name a /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/few. So, with a decrease in executive /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/functioning skills, it typically becomes harder to manage tasks, make decisions on when to per/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/form a task, etc.

Procrastination and Depression

As previously stated, procrastination has to do with avoidance, typically o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f the negative /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/feelings associated with doing a certain task. Dr. Tim Pychyl, Pro/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/fessor o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f Psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa, says that “Procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not a time management problem.” So, an individual with depression is much more likely to put o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f a task to avoid the in/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/flux o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f negative emotions that come /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/from doing this task.

How to Stop Procrastinating

In a weird way, procrastination is a /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/form o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f ‘sel/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f-care’ that ultimately leads to sel/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f-destruction. So you may be wondering, “How do I stop this destructive cycle?” Well, the answer is to realize the act o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f procrastination is an issue o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f emotion, not productivity. In order to stop procrastinating, you have to ask yoursel/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f, “Why am I procrastinating in the /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/first place?” As I mentioned earlier, occasionally we procrastinate because we would rather watch anime or sleep. But sometimes, procrastination is our brain's way o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f coping. It’s a /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/form o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f protection against our own minds. In an instance like that, my best advice would be to address the root o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f the issue, then thank your brain /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/for trying to protect itsel/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f. Procrastination is a complicated cycle, but it’s not something you can’t get over, nor should you beat yoursel/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f up /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/for doing it. ‘Cause at the end o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f the day, you're doing your best, and that's all that really matters.

Works Cited:

Lieberman, C. (2019, March 25). Why you procrastinate (it has nothing to do with sel/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f-control).

The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2022, /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/from

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/smarter-living/why-you-procrastinate-it-has-nothin

g-to-do-with-sel/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f-control.html

Low, K. (2022, May 18). The relationship between ADHD and chronic procrastination. Verywell

Mind. Retrieved November 6, 2022, /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/from https://www.verywellmind.com/adhd-and-chronic-procrastination-20379

Niermann, H. C. M., & Scheres, A. (2014). The relation between procrastination and symptoms o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f attention-de/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/ficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in undergraduate students.

International Journal o/thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/f Methods in Psychiatric Research, 23(4), 411–421. https://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.1440

Sussex Publishers. (n.d.). 6 tips /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/for overcoming anxiety-related procrastination. Psychology

Today. Retrieved November 6, 2022, /thrive/students/thrive-thursdays/procrastinationmya/from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-practice/201303/6-tips-overcoming-anxiety -related-procrastination