Why We Procrastinate

#. Why We Procrastinate

 

Let's say you have an assignment that you need to finish.

But instead of working on it, you look at your smartphone or find other small tasks to distract yourself.

Pretty soon, an hour has passed and you are still procrastinating.

Almost everyone has been in this situation at some point.

Most people believe such behavior to be a problem of time management.

Therefore, the argument goes, we will stop procrastinating once we learn to schedule our time better.

However, many psychologists now say that procrastination is not a problem of time management.

Instead, they propose that procrastination is fundamentally about managing one's negative emotion.

According to the psychologists, we put off a task because we are feeling badly about it.

Perhaps we find it boring or difficult.

We may even be afraid of failing at the task.

So, we look for things that make us feel better and allow us to avoid the negative feeling, even for a brief moment.

This is one of the reasons that short, funny clips on YouTube have become so popular.

Fortunately, experts say that there are some solutions to the procrastination dilemma.

Most of them involve cultivating positive emotions during the mental battle.

For example, psychologists advise that we treat ourselves kindly when we procrastinate or fail.

Self-appreciation helps us become mentally stronger and better able to overcome procrastinating habits in the long run.

Also, we should try to come up with fulfilling rewards for completing the task in the long term.

This may allow us to give up the short-term enjoyement we get from watch

 

• procrastinate proʊ|kræstɪneɪt (해야 할 일을 보통 하기가 싫어서) 미루다 [질질 끌다] 

• put off (시간·날짜를) 미루다[연기하다] (=postpone, delay)  even for a brief moment  잠깐이라도

• pretty soon 곧, 이내   at some point 어느 시점에  the argument goes 논거가 되다 , 그 주장에 따르면~

• fundamentally ˌfʌndəˈmentəli 근본[본질]적으로, 완전히   be about managing 관리에 관한 것이다

• cultivate ˈkʌltɪveɪt (땅을) 경작하다, 일구다 (=grow)  appreciation əˌpriːʃiˈeɪʃn 감탄, 감상, 공감, 감사

• in the long run (앞으로 길게 보았을 때) 결국에는 

• fulfill fʊlˈfɪl 실현[성취]하다 , (약속·요구 등을) 이행하다[충족시키다] fulfilling fʊlˈfɪlɪŋ 성취감을 주는 (↔unfulfilling)