I procrastinate. I wouldn’t say I always procrastinate, but in some areas, I certainly have the tendency to do so. Here’s an example that in a couple of months, many recent graduates will relate to.

Starting two weeks ago, several thank you cards sat on my kitchen table. (I graduated in December but walked in my school’s ceremony a few weeks ago.) I had written names on each of the cards, but that’s as far as I got for a while.

“Cards” was written in my to do list almost every day last week. I went to bed several nights in a row without checking that item off the list.

Something in my brain just did not want to write those cards, thanking family and friends for their support and updating them on life.

When I finally sat down to get them done, it ended up only taking around 15 minutes.

A study published in Psychological Bulletin found about 20% of adults chronically procrastinate. The same study suggested 80-95% of college students procrastinate, with 70% considering themselves to be procrastinators.

I think it’s important to note that procrastination is not always laziness – in fact, often it’s not.

I may not have been doing the tasks on my to-do list, but you tell me that learning three new songs on the guitar, putting together an extensive list of campgrounds to stay at and teaching my dog to play hide and seek is lazy.

According to Psychology Today, people may procrastinate a certain task for a few different reasons: thinking they will not enjoy doing it, fearing they will not do it well, perceiving it to be complex or being distracted.

What makes procrastination so awful is our awareness of it. As much as I try to distract myself with other tasks, part of me is always aware of the things I am putting off – and I do this, despite knowing the negative consequences that come later.

Experts say putting things off only multiplies our negative associations with them, making us come back to the task with increased anxiety and self-blame, lower self-esteem. 

If procrastination affects us so negatively, why do we continue to do it?

Psychology Today claims it is because of our tendency to prioritize short-term needs over long-term needs. We can avoid doing something we perceive to be unpleasant or difficult, temporarily avoiding negative emotions.

A wonderful TED Talk given by Tim Urban reminded me people mostly think of procrastination involving deadlines – like pulling a college all-nighter to start and finish a paper that was assigned three months prior.

However, the sneakier and arguably more destructive type of procrastination is one without strict deadlines. Some examples of this would be putting off visiting family, going back to school, starting a dream business, learning a new skill, etc.

We think, “oh well I’ll get to those eventually,” while time is slipping by, without the eventual motivation of approaching deadlines.

If you’re looking to eliminate your habit of procrastination, there are several different strategies and tips out there.

What it comes down to is finding a better reward than avoiding a task. This involves a mental shift.

The following suggestions are from various online sources, namely Psychology Today.

Try to be more aware and empathetic of your future self. This advice resonates with me. Thinking about how certain things will affect me down the road can be a big motivation. For example, putting off taking time to call a grandparent might mean one less conversation with them in the long run.

Other suggestions include:

Asking, “if I were to take action right now, what’s the next step I could take?”

Identifying when how and why you procrastinate

Setting concrete deadlines, but forgive yourself if you don’t make them right away

Starting by committing to a task for only five minutes

Trying to understand what motivates you

I know procrastination is not something that vanishes overnight, but I hope this at least got you to begin thinking about what you might be putting off, why you’re putting it off and how it might affect you in the long run.