“Procrastination is like a credit card; it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill.”
– Christopher Parker
This is a funny quote but is procrastination ever fun?
When I procrastinate it often takes up more mental energy. I have a constant nagging commentary in my head saying, ‘Right now you should be doing…’ and yet I still procrastinate.
Some excuses for procrastinating are obvious, such as:
- Not in the mood to do it now.
- Too tired to concentrate.
- Plenty of time before the deadline.
However, these are symptoms not causes. Often the cause of procrastination is fear. Here are three procrastination fears that surprised me when I first read about them:
- Fear of failure. Perfectionists fear failure because they equate who they are with their performance.
- Fear of success. Have a feeling of unworthiness to succeed or belief they can’t be both happy and successful.
- Fear of missing out. By saying ‘Yes’ to everything they become overwhelmed and fail to finish some or all projects.
In each case, fear leads people to sabotage – unconsciously – progress by procrastinating.