A Short But Accurate Definition Of Procrastination
It is a common occurrence for most people, with some believing it is not a big deal. While the negative effects of procrastination are real, there are even more benefits to be found. In this article, I will go over the definition of procratination and the both positive and negative effects of the behavior.
In summary, procrastination is defined as being busy working on something else in an effort to avoid actual work. It can cause stress in people but ultimately has positive effects such as increased motivation and efficiency in workplace settings.
Positive Effects Of Procrastination
There are many benefits to procrastination, but they have mostly have to do with motivation and efficiency. Incomplete projects can be a source of immense negative feelings, but procrastinating is actually beneficial in those cases. [1]
Motivation: Being late has always been seen as a sign of laziness and being just being daunted by the task at hand. However, this is not the case with all procrastinators. Laziness is not part of the definition of procrastination in any way, as it is defined as doing something else instead of doing what one wants to do. Procrastination is about being more productive in a different and often more efficient way than someone else. [1]
Efficiency: The word "efficient" has a negative connotation of actually working on it. With procrastination, the definitions of efficiency and not working on something are opposite. Being late increases the chance that one will do their job well overall, as they usually finish their work faster than they would have had they worked harder. This is also beneficial to employers and coworkers, as it allows them to put more focus on other areas of business. [1]
Negative Effects Of Procrastination
The negative effects completely outweigh any benefits procrastinators may derive from it in the long run. Procrastination causes stress, which is a major detriment to health. Procrastinators are more likely to put off exercise, various types of medication and similar actions that can greatly affect health. [2]
Procrastination also comes with several psychological effects that can lead to anxiety, depression or even suicide. There are many other negative effects of procrastination as well such as making one lazy, distracted and inefficient in their work and relationships. [1]
One of the biggest factors of procrastination is the inability to be pro-active instead of reactive. Procrastinators do not learn from their mistakes as quickly as proactive people would do. Not only does this prolong procrastination, but it also causes unnecessary stress and frustration. [1]
An article called "Procrastination is The Worst Procrastination" goes in depth about the negative aspects of procrastination. In the article, author Brian Tracy lists the best and worst procrastinators. While many of these are not considered negative effects by some, they are certainly frustrating for everyone involved. When there is conflict between people working something out it can often be a struggle to get them to come to an agreement. Good decision-makers use their knowledge to convince others that they are right and everyone else is wrong as well as coming up with a solid plan on how to reach their goal or solution. A procrastinator will make good suggestions, but not take action on them. [3]
These are just a few of the negative effects of procrastination. With no positive aspects specifically, it is clear that procrastination is by far more detrimental than beneficial in any way.
Conclusion
Procrastination has many positive aspects but the negative effects outweigh said positive effects. Procrastinators are less inclined to work hard and succeed over time as compared to other people who are motivated or proactive people. Procrastinators put off not only work, but also actions that may benefit their health such as exercise and medication. Procrastinators are more likely to have a negative effect on the psychology and health of their coworkers. Procrastination can be seen as having the same disadvantages as other behaviors such as procrastination, but it is far more detrimental than any other behavior.
Sources
1. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~council/documents/procrasti... 2. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T8M-4... 3. http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110401/brian-tracy-featured-in...
Title: The Real Meaning Of Procrastination
Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing a task or set of tasks to another time, generally for more enjoyable activities. Many people procrastinate and claim that it can be beneficial to put off things that are hard and boring or to simply just relax and take a break. Procrastination also has many negative effects such as stress, low motivation and low productivity levels in many areas of life. While procrastination does have some positive effects, positive effects are far outweighed by the negative aspects. But why is this? Well, it's due to how we interpret the circumstances that surround us.
It has been said that procrastination can be beneficial because it allows you to put off things that are hard and boring. Procrastination can also allow you to take a break from things like work or school and do something more entertaining. In this sense, is procrastination really beneficial? Well, there's even some research showing how it increases our motivation levels [1]. So unlike earlier times where people would put off work in order to focus on that more important, enjoyable activity, we now know that you can get the same motivation out of it by doing things like exercising first. So is this really procrastination anymore?
Now we're starting to talk about why some people choose not to do things and not just procrastinate. In other words, is there a difference between "procrastinating" and "not doing?" There are many different factors that determine if you'll choose to actually do something or not.
We've all experienced how our bodies can be pushed into working or thinking harder. Your body has been trained to see those consequences as threats and will thus react accordingly. In this sense, delayed consequences cause our bodies to work less effectively. The worst part is that after you've been working for a while, your body will have to work even harder in order to stay at the level it was when you started. It's like pushing a slow-moving car.
So what if we extended that analogy and looked into the future? Well, not too far into the future but still enough to see if procrastination would still be seen as beneficial as time goes by. There are plenty of ways that we can view the world, but I find it most interesting how people perceive control over events happening around them.
Conclusion
Procrastination does have many positive benefits, but the negative effects of delaying work and other activities out weigh this. There are also many different ways to look at procrastination, and most of these are more beneficial than procrastination. When you end up having to put off work or school in favor of an enjoyable activity, do you think you would label that as procrastinating? If someone pushed your body into doing something that it didn't want to do, would you call that procrastinating?
Sources: 1. http://www.contentserver.com/article/115030-Procrastination... 2. http://davidmckay.