What causes your brain to procrastinate and how to face it (Article)

“A 2022 study in the journal Nature Communications suggests that a root of procrastination may lie in a cognitive bias — we believe that doing tasks will somehow be easier in the future.

“You know it’s going to stink in the future just as much as it’s going to stink doing it now, but internally you just can’t help yourself,” said Samuel McClure, professor of psychology and cognitive neuroscientist at Arizona State University. “It’s a fascinating phenomenon — that myopia you can’t escape — even though if you just stop and think about it, it’s ludicrous.”

There is individual variation, but “procrastination is a tendency that we all encounter in our life in different domains, or at different time points in our lives,” said Raphaël Le Bouc, a neurologist at the Paris Brain Institute and author of the study. “But the true cognitive mechanisms behind it are not really known. And this might be a reason why it’s difficult to overcome this tendency.””

My Takeaways:

• According to a Nature Communications study, people have a tendency to procrastinate due to a belief that the task at hand will become easier the later time moves on.

• Of course if you really think about this notion it sounds silly. But researchers find that these kinds of justifications are often made almost subconsciously as we go about our day. Ever find yourself saying “I’ll do it tomorrow”? It may be a manifestation of a belief that tomorrow will be a better day to work, or your mind will be better prepared to tackle the task at hand.

• In reality, this isn’t the case. Realizing this may be the key to avoid procrastination and putting things off for later.

Full article is here!

#Procrastination #WorkStress #Studying

What are some ways we can counter procrastination?