In this article, I’m going to present the root causes of procrastination and the importance of creating an anti-procrastination method based on psychological research.
As you know, in addition to being a coach, I have a master’s degree in psychology and I often offer advice based on science.
Here, I will present you with a synthesis of scientific studies on the topic of procrastination.
This research is also the foundation of the anti-procrastination method that I use in my time management training and in my time management coaching practice.
What are the root causes of procrastination?
1 – Lifestyle and procrastination
Research shows that lifestyle has a significant effect on procrastination. Specifically, poor sleep quality influences both general procrastination and work procrastination, and the tendency to procrastinate at work is greater when sleep quality is low, but only for individuals with low levels of self-control.
Low self-control is positively associated with undesirable behaviors such as procrastination Steel (2007).
One study shows a correlation between procrastination and sleep quality for individuals who are afternoon or evening sleepers.
Another study conducted in the work context also shows a relationship between fatigue at work and the tendency to procrastinate and be less productive at work.
But what exactly is the effect of sleep deprivation on procrastination?
According to Sheng and al. (2020), insufficient sleep and poor quality sleep reduce the self-regulatory resources of individuals the next morning, which favors procrastination.
Simple and effective strategies can reduce procrastination, for example as shown by Pestana and al. (2020) dedicating free time to yourself can reduce procrastination.
In summary, a person’s lifestyle has an important effect on their tendency to procrastinate or to take action.
2 – Emotion management and procrastination
According to some authors, procrastination is linked to difficulty in managing and using certain emotions effectively, especially the less pleasant ones.
Chen and al (2020) show that people who experience negative emotions in relation to procrastination are those who procrastinate more.
Ferrari and Tibett (2019) show that regret is the emotion that most influences the creation of a procrastinator identity which consequently increases the likelihood that the person will continue to procrastinate.
Eckert and al. (2016) show that the ability to adaptively cope with unpleasant emotions reduces the likelihood of procrastinating in the future.
In this sense, Wohl and al. (2010) and Martinčeková and Enright (2020) show that forgiving yourself for your own procrastination reduces the tendency to procrastinate in the future by facilitating focus on new tasks.
Stephen and al. (2014) show that when people fail to complete a task within the time limit they are more likely to procrastinate because they experience negative emotions, but being busy helps to better manage these emotions and reduce procrastination.
Finally, procrastination is greater among people who have a more negative view of the past and who expose themselves more to risk and less among individuals who are able to set goals and meet deadlines.
In summary, good emotional management reduces procrastination, but some emotions reduce procrastination while others reinforce it.
3 – Self-efficacy, self-esteem, impostor syndrome, and procrastination
When a person believes in his or her ability to perform a task, he or she is considered to have good self-efficacy.
When a person has a good opinion of him or herself, he or she has good self-esteem.
Both self-efficacy and self-esteem play an important role in reducing procrastination.
Self-esteem, self-efficacy, and achievement motivation are negatively correlated with procrastination (Boysan and Kiral 2016; Cerino, 2014; Effert and Ferrari,1989; Ellis and Knaus 1977).
One study shows the mediating effect of self-esteem on procrastination, specifically the stronger self-esteem and the less likely to procrastinate.
Steel (2007) conducts a meta-analysis of the possible causes and effects of procrastination, based on 691 correlations showing that:
⦁ aversion
⦁ putting off the task
⦁ self-efficacy
⦁ impulsivity
⦁ being conscientious (trait awareness) and its components: self-control, inattention, organization, and achievement motivation
are strong and consistent predictors of procrastination.
Imposter syndrome also negatively impacts procrastination (Ross et al., 2001; Cowman & Ferrari, 2002; Want & Kleitman, 2006), Rohrmann, Bechtoldt, and Leonhardt (2016).
This is quite consistent because people who suffer from impostor syndrome generally have lower levels of self-esteem and as seen earlier, low self-esteem increases the risk of procrastination.
4 – Task perception and procrastination
According to some authors, it is possible to overcome procrastination by acting on the way the task is perceived.
According to Zhang and Feng (2020), people expect to procrastinate as long as the perceived aversion to the task is higher than the usefulness of the outcome and they stop procrastinating when the perceived aversion to the task becomes comparable to the utility of the outcome.
Harriott and Ferrari (1996) and Steel (2007) identify task aversion as one of the factors responsible for procrastination.
Gröpel and Steel (2008) show that increasing task interest reduces the tendency to procrastinate.
Steel shows that interventions that promote automaticity reduce procrastination.
In summary, anything that makes the task more enjoyable and easier to perform reduces procrastination.
5 – Perfectionism and procrastination
People who are too perfectionist tend to postpone their actions because of their fear of other people’s judgment or because of their own judgment.
Yu, Chen, and Faxiang (2018) show that perfectionists tend to procrastinate more compared to non-perfectionists, but that self-efficacy plays into this relationship in the sense that people with a greater sense of self-efficacy procrastinate less than others.
Fear of failure is also another factor that influences the relationship between perfectionism and procrastination. Specifically, as Yosopov (2020) shows fear of failure predicts the tendency to generalize failures to overall self-perception, and this combination of effects is what causes the association between perfectionism and procrastination.
In summary, increasing self-efficacy and better managing fear of failure and judgment of others reduce procrastination.
6 – Beliefs and procrastination
Our beliefs influence our perception of reality, of ourselves, of others and therefore the actions we decide to take or to avoid.
According to Balkis and Duru (2019) doubting ourselves and having irrational beliefs influences the fear of failure which in turn has a negative effect on procrastination.
Brown (2019) shows that creating choice restrictions for the future strengthens self-control through a reduction in the optimistic belief that one will be more capable of performing the desired behavior in the future. As long as self-control increases, procrastination decreases.
In summary, becoming aware of our beliefs and taking action to change them can help us better manage procrastination.
7 – Self-awareness and procrastination
Any change requires awareness of a given situation in order to change our perception of reality, our thoughts, and our actions.
Procrastination is positively correlated with neuroticism and has a strong negative relationship with being self-conscious (Johnson, & Bloom, 1995, Lay et al., 1998, Milgram, & Tenne, 2000; Schouwenburg, & Lay, 1995).
Hensley and Karleton (2019) show university students that journaling stimulates four essential processes: understanding procrastination, making changes at the moment, motivating action, and finding direction for change.
The practice of mindfulness also has positive effects on procrastination, as Shutte and Del Pozo de Bolger (2020) show mindfulness reduces procrastination through an increase in people’s ability to focus. Specifically, as Singh and Bala (2020) show, greater awareness of our own behavior enhances self-efficacy which in turn reduces procrastination.
Research shows that the personality factor consciousness is positively associated with work performance (Barrick, Mount, & Judge, 2001; Judge & Bono, 2001; Liao & Chuang, 2004) and negatively associated with procrastination (Van Eerde, 2003).
In summary, all that helps to promote awareness allows for reducing procrastination.
Conclusion on the causes of procrastination
In this article, I have summarized psychological research on the subject of procrastination.
If you are interested in the topic of productivity, I invite you to discover all my articles on productivity.
If you are looking for tools to improve your time management skills, I recommend you read my article on the best time management apps.
If you want to learn how to manage your time, I invite you to find out more about our online time management course.
To take advantage of the expertise of a time management coach to overcome procrastination, write to us now using our contact form, call us at +33 6 69 46 03 79 or contact us on WhatsApp at +33 6 69 46 03 79.
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Read this article in other languages
Français : Méthode anti-procrastination en psychologie et causes de la procrastination
Italiano: Come non procrastinare più grazie alla psicologia