Procrastination

The procrastination is a term relating to the Psychologie which indicates the pathological tendency systematically to give to the following day some actions, that they are limited to a precise field of the daily life or not. The “chronic latecomer”, called procrastinator , is not able “to put himself at work”, especially when that does not get an immediate gratification to him.

Standard profile and behaviors

This tendency often appears with the wire of the studies (that can begin as of the elementary school) and assigns in particular endowed students, accustomed to make a success of the tests with ease and with being recognized for their talent. Having to support an unusual effort vis-a-vis a difficulty, they lose confidence in them and feel a Angoisse.

The majority of the people affected by the procrastination is in general also by the “Perfectionnisme”, i.e. the tendency of a person to consider unacceptable a work which does not approach the Perfection. As it is rare to be able to differently reach the perfection than by tests and errors and than the person does not agree the idea to make an error, she circumvents the problem by not making nothing : for example the need for an arrangement or a classification is sempiternally differed because one does not have time to do something of perfect, and one thus does nothing the whole.

However, being a “latecomer” means nothing to make. On the contrary, the subject can be taken of a true frenzy of activities (to go to make the races, to start a spring cleaning of spring, to repaint the shutters, to take news of the grandmother, to make data-processing maintenance, etc), as long as those do not have any relationship with the problematic task (to submit a report/ratio).

The procrastination can develop at various levels, of benign with the malignant one. If it concentrates on things without consequence (to make the crockery, to fill its income declaration, etc), the feeling of protection which it brings can be worth with the “latecomer” all worries which follow. In the most severe cases, the procrastinator can be caused to have legal problems, to divorce, lose his employment to even commit suicide.

One counts three privileged fields of the procrastination:

in the studies (and later the professional life),
in the daily life (routine procrastination),
in decision makings (decisional procrastination).

The stages which lead to the carryforward car-maintain.

You wish to do something
You decide to do it
You defer without true good reason
You note the disadvantages of this carryforward
You however continue to defer
Is you want to be some, either you find an excuse rational, or you evacuate this problem
You continue to defer
You succeed in making your task right in time, with a maximum of Stress, or you finish too late, or you never done it
You feel guilty to have this behavior
You swear that one will not take again there more
to you Peu of time afterwards, you start again

Probable reasons

One finds this attitude in the majority of the depressive behaviors . As in these phases any action is made even more difficult than with the practice, the subject prefers to defer to the following day what does not appear in general more profitable.

In addition the adult people prone to a deficit of the attention (disorder of deficit of the attention and/or Hyperactivity) also present very often an attitude of systematic procrastination, which does not correspond especially to a depressive phase.

Everyone procrastine not in the same way and the same person either according to the circumstances, but in general, one procrastine:

to escape the Frustration (because the task which one defers is less pleasant than than one makes in the place, and the sanction appears too remote compared to the immediate pleasure which one draws to make another thing) the solution is thus to increase the positive consequences in the short run deferred action, and to protect itself from the distractions.
to protect its regard from oneself: among procrastinateurs, the failure is often perceived like a handing-over in total question of their value. Then, less they are likely to succeed, more they procrastinent. Moreover, as they have a tendency to be more perfectionist than the average, the chances not to be with the height of their requirements are strong. Blow, often, the procrastination creates a Handicap (one did not work enough for its examination, for example) who provides excuses if the performances would not be with the height from what was awaited. Approximately, one can always think that if one had worked more, one would have succeeded, whereas they is perhaps false, but it will not be known, and one protects his regard from oneself. Unfortunately, in the long run, the regard of oneself is nevertheless damaged, since the things are never made completely.
to resist the others: liability-aggressive behavior. One says “yes” at the requests of others, but it is not done.
to live in the stress, a search for strong feelings.
Because one has irrational beliefs, for example, one thinks that one will be motivated more to make a heavy work later, which is always false, or one thinks that it is necessary that it is perfect.

But it is especially about a behavior with whole share. A certain number of fears which can mix are found in the middle of this attitude:

Fear of the failure

The subject prefers to delay work to the maximum until estimating that it is too late to do it. It has a pretext then with the failure. One finds here for example one of the reasons which characterize the Syndrome of the student.

This attitude seems related to a demanding education, founded on a culture of the result. The subject takes the practice to more be able to take action without thinking of the evaluation which will follow it and then seeks to avoid the annoying consequences. The procrastination can be at very gifted subjects in their field and - paradoxically - lack confidence in them in-depth.

Example: a student who stresses with the idea to make a report uninteresting.

Fear of the success

The subject fears that while succeeding it attracts itself the Jalousie others and/or that then it is in charge of new responsibilities, of new higher waitings to which it does not feel able to face. It then tries not to appear perfect nor too filled. This fear can come from a fraternal jealousy felt at the time of childhood. It can also have the feeling which it threatens his parents or Mentor by his success.

Example: an employee who does not wish to change station.

Fear of not controlling its environment

The subject wants to have the feeling that it dominates the situation. That can come from a wish of revenge, of autonomy: individuals pushed with the performance in fields not raising of their own ambition can choose the procrastination to affirm their independence. A person wanting to measure itself with her environment by taste for danger can also become a “latecomer”.

Example: an employee who fights against his hierarchy in extreme cases of the reference or a salesman on the telephone which lets it sound.

Fear of insulation

The subject wishes to be protected, advised, directed; it is at ease in team or when someone else makes the important decisions, like a child in family setting. He can as seek to draw the attention to him by an extreme situation or to know as he has always something to make (feared loneliness).

Example: a pupil who waits until somebody makes him his duties.

Fear of the intimacy

The subject is afraid that the others do not take too much place in its life (belief which it will be made steal its achievements, preceding missed sentimental relation, to remember invading people, etc). It can also fear to reveal its “bad sides” if the others approach too much him and that thus it is made reject.

Example: a man who arrives late systematically at its amorous meeting.

Remarks around the subject

the tendency to procrastination defines in Caractérologie the Seine the difference between the active (A) and the not credits (Na): a credit carries out what it has to do as soon as it can do it. Inactive only acts where it is carried by the emotion (it will go up heroically to the load, for example, but will let trail a long time the drafting of its notes of expenses).
a song of Fernand Sardou constitutes a true anthem with the procrastination: it is about Aujourd'hui perhaps… or then tomorrow which was a great success in the Entre-deux-guerres.
a quotation of Marcel Jouhandeau: It is because one imagines simultaneously all the steps that one will have to make that one discourages oneself, whereas it is a question of aligning them one by one.
the French version of the one of the volumes of annals of the Disc-world of Terry Pratchett is entitled Procrastination .

Random links:

Aphanite | 1880 in literature | School freudienne of Paris | The 3rd and the Mortal | Ylla