What is procrastination (DW#562)
Before we go any further, let’s define what we mean by procrastination.
Here is how Piers Steel (among the world’s foremost researchers and speakers on the science of motivation and procrastination) defines it:
Procrastination is the act of needlessly voluntarily delaying an intended action despite the knowledge that this delay may harm the individual in terms of the task performance or even just how the individual feels about the task or him- or herself.
In other words, procrastination is not rational. We fail to act even though logically we know that delaying this action is not in our own best interests.
Timothy Pychyl in his book Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change defines it as a failure of self control.
"Procrastination is a form of self-regulation failure. We fail to regulate our behavior to achieve our own goals. We make an intention to act, but we do not use the self-control necessary to act when intended."
Chronic procrastinators have perpetual problems finishing tasks. They regularly fail to do what they plan.
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