Why you procrastinate even when it feels bad
TED-Ed
5 min, 46 sec
The video explains the psychological mechanisms behind procrastination and offers strategies to overcome it.
Summary
- Procrastination is characterized by avoiding tasks without good reason and expecting negative outcomes from this behavior.
- The amygdala's threat response to challenging tasks can overpower rational long-term thinking, leading to procrastination.
- Negative emotions associated with a task can trigger procrastination, especially among those who struggle with emotion regulation or self-esteem.
- Procrastination can lead to anxiety, depression, and stress-related physical ailments, but it temporarily reduces stress, reinforcing the behavior.
- Strategies to combat procrastination include breaking tasks into smaller parts, journaling, removing distractions, and practicing self-compassion.
Chapter 1
The video opens by illustrating a common scenario of procrastination and posing the question of why it happens.
- The scenario depicts realizing a report is due and choosing to procrastinate by cooking or watching YouTube instead.
- The video questions why we procrastinate even when we are aware of its negative consequences.
Chapter 2
Procrastination is distinguished from responsible time management and is linked to expected negative outcomes.
- Procrastination involves avoiding tasks we intend to do for no valid reason, against our better judgment.
- It's an irrational behavior since it's known to result in harm to oneself.
Chapter 3
The psychological response to perceived threatening tasks is explained as a root cause of procrastination.
- The amygdala's response to a challenging task is similar to a threat, triggering a fear response and leading to avoidance.
- The fight, flight, or freeze response can cause one to choose less stressful tasks over the one causing anxiety.
Chapter 4
The video discusses how negative emotions around a task increase the likelihood and the intensity of procrastination.
- Tasks that elicit feelings of dread, incompetence, and insecurity are more prone to be procrastinated on.
- Procrastination increases the perceived difficulty of a task, making it harder to start.
Chapter 5
Certain individuals are more prone to procrastination due to emotional regulation difficulties or low self-esteem.
- People with emotional regulation issues and low self-esteem are more susceptible to procrastination.
- Procrastination is commonly misunderstood as laziness, but it can also stem from caring too much and fearing failure.
Chapter 6
The video highlights the negative impacts of frequent procrastination on mental and physical health.
- Procrastination can lead to anxiety, depression, shame, and stress-related physical problems.
- Procrastination's temporary stress relief reinforces the behavior despite its long-term damage.
Chapter 7
The video suggests strategies to overcome procrastination by addressing negative emotions and practicing self-compassion.
- Contrary to past beliefs, strict discipline might worsen procrastination by adding negative emotions to the task.
- Reducing negative emotions through task segmentation, journaling, removing distractions, and self-compassion can help stop procrastination.
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