Procrastination: Gateway to Failure

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Clayton Walters

Professor *******

English 1301-102CL

13 June 2007

Procrastination: Gateway to Failure

Procrastination in writing is very common and can result in a substantial loss of pretentiously valuable time. There are many reasons that explain why people procrastinate but these reasons are not always the same from one individual to another. A wide variety of psychological aspects result in procrastination, one of which is anxiety. Everyone exercises procrastination at one point or another in their life, however, most people do not know the cause of this action, or lackthereof.

The psychological causes that often outline procrastination include: a deficient feeling of self-worth, culmination of anxiety, and a self-defeating disposition. In addition, people that continually procrastinate seem to withhold a level of conscientiousness which exceedes the average level. Whats this means is people who repeatedly procrastinate generally withhold a trate which compels them to expend or show diligent care and effort. This careful attention to detail in achieveing a desired objective often leads to an obsessive desire to avoid error. Procrastinator’s sence of reality is “more based on the "dreams and wishes" of perfection or achievement in contrast to a realistic appreciation of their obligations and potential” (Strub 1). There are several psychological causes which result in procrastination.

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Author David Allen has come up with two considerable psychological causes of procrastination in our everyday lives. These psychological causes are directly affiliated to anxiety, not laziness. The first division constitutes things “too small to worry about, tasks that are an annoying interruption in the flow of things, and for which there are low-impact workarounds; an example might be organizing a messy room” (Procrastination 2). The second division incorporates aspects that are too large to master, tasks that might strike fear into a person, or for which the ending result might possibly inflict an abundant and bountiful repercussion on the life of a person (Procrastination 2). Research has shown that the roots of procrastination are in relation to a specific area of the brain.

Information and research has been gathered that proves that the base of procrastination is directly related to the functioning of the individual’s prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is the brain region which is involved in planning complex cognitive behaviors. These behaviors have reference or relation to the mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning. The prefrontal cortex is also engaged in the areas of personality expression and in moderating “correct” social behavior. Another executive brain function which is derived from this part of the barin is the ability for a person to control their impulses. “Damage or low activation in this area can reduce an individual's ability to filter out distracting stimuli, ultimately resulting in poorer organization, a loss of attention and increased procrastination” (Strub 1). An example of this is that the prefrontal lobe carries a large role in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADHD. Underactivation is remarkably frequent among persons diagnosed with this condition (Strub 1). In some people, the act of procrastination can be quite persistent.

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In some people procrastination can be a repetitive and constricting disorder. This disorder has the ability to bring about considerable psychological disability and dysfunction. The individuals that are experiencing these ailments are often suffering from the basis of a mental health problem such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or depression (Procrastination 2). Perfectionism can easily act as a trigger which enacts and jump-starts procrastination.

In accordance with tradition, procrastination has been related to perfectionism, a propensity for being displeased with anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards. “Slaney (1996) found that adaptive perfectionists were less likely to procrastinate than non-perfectionists, while maladaptive perfectionists (people who saw their perfectionism