Why am I procrastinating?

I am in peak procrastination season — that time in the semester when I find myself looking for any and every excuse to avoid all of my assignments. Maybe you feel the same or maybe it’s because I’ve been a procrastinator for most of my academic career? Becoming less of a procrastinator has always been a goal I’ve wanted to accomplish, but then again, I find myself procrastinating on making steps towards that goal.

Procrastination is not a time management issue, it is an emotional regulation issue.

Your procrastination habits can be traced back to the attachment styles you developed as a child. If you developed an anxious or avoidant attachment style, you probably have a higher rate of procrastination than children who developed secure attachment styles. Therefore, understanding attachment styles and what feelings and habits you internalized as a child is the first step in understanding and overcoming procrastination.

Acknowledge when you procrastinate and figure out the feelings behind why you’re procrastinating.

Dr. Shokrian suggests asking questions that help you understand the underlying feelings and thoughts behind procrastination. Ask questions like: “what is it that I’m putting off and why,” “how long have I been avoiding this” and “how would you feel if you completed the task?”

Like developing any habit, overcoming procrastination takes time and consistency.

The last tip Dr. Shokrian offered was to break down larger goals into smaller tasks. I think one of the main reasons why I procrastinated on my goal was because I had no idea where to start and got intimidated. Starting off with small tasks you can do daily will make the end goal more attainable and help you stay consistent in your habits.

Overall, listening to this episode was worth the 28 minutes. Not only did it expand my understanding of procrastination, I learned about how the things we experience as children affect us as adults and found tips that I can take with me to develop more self-acceptance. Even if you aren’t a twentysomething procrastinator like me, I highly recommend listening to this episode.

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