Don’t put off tackling procrastination

Last week I talked about procrastination, saying many people procrastinate because they fear success or failure to the degree they will not complete duties. By avoiding the completion of duties, they feel they will escape from failure or success.

Research is continuing on procrastination and other behavioral traits associated with this habit. Such traits include:

• Passive aggression. Many people seek control in their lives by being “passive aggressive” to others. If this seems implausible to you, consider the individual who will not complete a task and seeks to frustrate those around him. He may be trying to control the other person’s life.

It could be a way of achieving revenge or of hurting someone he perceives has hurt him in the past. An example is an employee who intentionally sabotages deadlines by not completing tasks needed by his employer to win a contract.

To an employer it may seem like simple procrastination and an inability to perform. The real reason for lack of completion could be the employee wants to get even with the employer. He was passive in performance, but aggressive in his intent.

• Lack of direction. Some individuals simply do not make decisions about what they want to do. They cannot organize tasks ahead of them to establish their priorities. They lack the proper amount of self-discipline, or they fail to exert self-discipline to achieve their goals.

Through counseling and direction, I have observed many people who have been able to modify their work style and lifestyle so time management, goal-setting and attention to priorities changed their habit of procrastination. Life became more rewarding for them because self-satisfaction was the end result.

• Active resistance. Some people procrastinate as an active resistance to control. When asked by their spouse, parent or employer about their foot-dragging, these individuals will say: “I resent completing a task because I resent your control over me.”

The husband who feels henpecked will procrastinate in his duty of raking the leaves because his wife informed him it was time to do so. The teenager who has the responsibility of mowing the yard will find excuses to put the task off because he has been reminded about it too often by his parents. The typist who resents her new supervisor will complete other tasks before typing a list given to her by her new boss.

These individuals may harbor anger and hostility and are looking for a way to get out from under the control of the person or people they resent.

New research suggests other possible psychological barriers may exist in the minds of people who are always behind. But research continues to show that once these individuals are aware of the real reason for their procrastination, they may be willing, even eager to change their behavior.

We all tend to put off doing unpleasant tasks, but when procrastination stifles our goals in life, it is time to change.

Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1987