Procrastination and lack of motivation at work

Procrastination is a behavioral pattern in which planned actions are voluntarily postponed. A procrastinator may put off tasks until later, even despite being aware of the negative consequences of their decisions. About 20% adult men and women are chronic procrastinators.

People who prioritize pleasure can become procrastinators. As a result, they tend to complete tasks that are personally important to them, at the expense of professional or household responsibilities.
Procrastination syndrome develops when activities that do not bring satisfaction predominate. In addition, people who lack self-control and tend to devalue the rewards for completing tasks can become procrastinators.

The full list of risk factors that can trigger procrastination needs to be clarified through scientific research. Possible causes of procrastination:

• lack of self-control, time management skills;
• the presence of distractions (for example, household chores when working remotely);
• underestimating the amount of time it will take to perform certain actions;
• waiting for the “right” mood to start doing things;
• lack of motivation;
• fear of failure;
• perfectionism;
• fatigue;
• anxiety;
• depression.

The main manifestation of procrastination is chronic failure to meet deadlines for implementing plans, completing various tasks and assignments.

Symptoms of procrastination:

• negative perception of current tasks;
• anxiety and remorse about inaction; suppression of thoughts about postponed tasks;
• nervousness;
• switching to activities unrelated to the task (for example, doomscrolling - a tendency to regularly view and read negative news, excessively frequent updating of social media pages in search of new messages, ratings and comments);