Why we procrastinate

This week's episodes are about putting things off — including why we all do it.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
For the next five episodes, I'll be talking about the
topic of procrastination. Today, we're talking about what procrastination is
and why we put things off. Over the next few days,

(00:25):
we'll look at strategies for making progress even if we
do feel resistance. Finally, we'll talk about when that resistance
is a good thing, because procrastination is actually our intuition's
way of teaching us something important. But first, a definition,
procrastination means putting something off, even knowing will be worse

(00:46):
off because of the delay. Sometimes delays don't matter or
are even wise. If you put off checking email because
you need to help a colleague who's really struggling with
a project, you are choosing well. If put off writing
a self evaluation that will help your manager argue for
your promotion, that's procrastination. The first thing to know is

(01:07):
that everyone procrastinates to some degree. In the past few weeks,
I've put off a number of things that I definitely
had time to do but chose not to, such as
getting my car's oil changed and making an update that
my marketing person keeps telling me to do with my
Instagram account. People are most likely to procrastinate things that
seem complicated or unpleasant, and I know this is true

(01:29):
for me too. If something doesn't have a definite deadline,
then it's particularly easy to put off to tomorrow what
could be done today. People sometimes ask me if procrastination
means they're lazy. I guess it could. But in a
recent article for The New York Times, writer Charlotte Lieberman
explored a different angle. Sometimes, she wrote, procrastination is about

(01:52):
self doubt, low self esteem, anxiety, or insecurity. Staring at
a blank document might be thinking, I'm not smart enough
to write this. Even if I am, what will people
think of it? Writing is so hard? What if I
do a bad job. All of this can lead us
to think that putting the document aside and cleaning that

(02:14):
spice straw instead is a pretty good idea. I think
Charlotte is onto something. There's some research finding that procrastination
is about protecting our egos from the bruising nature of reality.
One study found that when students were told that a
test was an important judge of their abilities, they put
off studying. When these students were told that the test

(02:35):
didn't matter, well, then they felt no such procrastination urge.
What's happening is that it's really scary to think that
we might try our hardest, throwing our hearts into things,
and still fail. So sometimes we try to protect ourselves
by putting things off. If you put off studying until
an hour before the test, well, of course you won't

(02:56):
do well. That kind of failure feels more psychologically acceptable,
but it's kind of a sad way to go through life.
Developing the courage to risk failure is far more rewarding.
We get better at things by doing our best, seeing
where we come up short, and trying again. It also
helps to realize that failure is generally not that big

(03:17):
a deal. I like to think of the word failure
in the context of weight training. Weightlifters will sometimes do
reps to the point of muscle failure, and that's the
word they use, failure. It's not a judgment. You're not
a bad person because you can't lift those weights indefinitely.
It's just a reality that we have limits. Weightlifters view

(03:38):
failure as part of the process. You go to your limit,
then rest a bit, then try again. And over time
that limit moves. In Charlotte Lieberman's article, she recommended countering
the procrastination cycle with self compassion. One study found that
students who could forgive themselves for procrastinating on a test

(04:01):
or less likely to procrastinate on a future one. So
when you find yourself putting something off, rather than getting
into a cycle of self loathing, simply say it's okay.
Treat yourself just like you treat a friend. If she
put off applying for a new job, you wouldn't tell
her she's a miserable excuse for a human being. You'd

(04:22):
encourage her and point out that this application is just
a small thing standing between her and a great future.
She's totally got this and you do too. So think
about something big that you've been putting off. Would it
change anything to recognize that failure isn't that big a deal?

(04:43):
Would it change anything to tell yourself that you're still
a great person whether you do this thing or not.
But if you choose to do it, it might be awesome.
I don't know, maybe not, but it might. Please. Tune
in for the rest of the week for more on
procrastination and ways we can get going on the things
that matter to us in the meantime. This is Laura.

(05:05):
Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

(05:26):
Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four, then Breakfast
p o D. You can also shoot me an email
at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com
that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

(05:50):
Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
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