Twenty percent of people identify themselves as chronic procrastinators. For them procrastination is a lifestyle, albeit a maladaptive one. And it cuts across all domains of their life. They don't pay bills on time. They file income tax returns late. They don't cash checks. They leave their Christmas shopping until Christmas eve.

It represents a profound problem of self-regulation. And there may be more of it in the U.S. than in other countries because we are so nice; we don't call people on their excuses, even when we don't believe them.

Procrastination is not a problem of time management or of planning. Procrastinators are not different in their ability to estimate time, although they are more optimistic than others. Telling someone who procrastinates to buy a weekly planner is like telling someone with chronic depression to just cheer up.

Procrastinators are made, not born. Procrastination is learned in the family, but not directly. It is one response to an authoritarian parenting style, which may keep children from developing the ability to regulate themselves, from internalizing their own intentions and then learning to act on them. Under those conditions, procrastinators turn more to friends than to parents for support, and their friends may reinforce procrastination because they tend to be much more tolerant of their excuses.

Procrastinators tell lies to themselves. Such as, "I'll feel more like doing this tomorrow." Or "I work best under pressure." But, in fact, they do not get the urge the next day or work best under pressure. In addition, they protect their sense of self by saying "this isn't important." Another big lie procrastinators indulge is that time pressure makes them more creative. Unfortunately, they do not turn out to be more creative; they only feel that way.

Procrastinators actively look for distractions, particularly ones that don't take a lot of commitment on their part. Checking email is almost perfect for this purpose. They distract themselves as a way of regulating their emotions, such as fear of failure.

There are three basic types of procrastinators: 1) arousal types, or thrill-seekers, who wait to the last minute for the rush, 2) avoiders, who may be avoiding fear of failure or even fear of success, but in either case are very concerned with what others think of them; they would rather have others think they lack effort than ability, 3) decisional procrastinators, who cannot make a decision. Not making a decision absolves procrastinators of responsibility for the outcome of events.


Are you a procrastinator?