Why Laziness Isn’t the Reason for Your Procrastination but Your Bad Mood Is (According to Two Canadian Psychology Professors)
You put things off because you’re in a bad mood not because you’re lazy.
Procrastination is less about managing time and more about managing emotion. Everybody thinks we put off doing a task because we feel lazy and don’t want to do it. But the reason is deeper than that.
Certain tasks bring out negative emotions that we cope with — boredom, anxiety, frustration, self-doubt.
For example, when I was in elementary school, I put off doing my homework for as long as I could. I distracted myself with anything I could think of. Watching TV, shooting hoops in the backyard and playing Atari were some of my favorites.
I didn’t like doing homework because I felt like I didn’t need to. I was a good student who got good grades. Why would I need to do any homework after school?
The whole thing didn’t make any sense to me. But there was a constant battle with my parents night after night about it. I didn’t realize until much later that I knew the reason why.
I was frustrated about doing homework and did my best to put it off.
