How Procrastination Slows You Down

Procrastination is the act of avoiding something on purpose when you want to avoid it.  This often occurs when there is a specific task you want to avoid doing because you dread doing it, whether it’s because you’re not very proficient at it or you’re just not fond of the actions necessary to complete the task.  Many people think that if they procrastinate, it will help them to avoid the task they want to avoid doing.  In truth, however, procrastination will just slow you down and cause you to have to work faster and harder to accomplish the task and any associated project connected with it.

When you procrastinate, you slow down your work by intentionally taking longer to do other work you find more enjoyable in an effort to avoid the work you really don’t want to do.  Unfortunately, this will lead to you being less proficient because you are intentionally slowing yourself down on a task that you can do much faster and still produce the same or higher-quality work as when you are procrastinating on it.  In addition, it will take you longer to get to the task you are trying to avoid, and if you are not as proficient at it, it’s a likelier bet that you will need longer to do that specific task instead of the more enjoyable one you are working on now.

In effect, you are slowing yourself down in two ways.  First, you are slowing yourself down on a more enjoyable task that you could do a lot quicker and still do just as well or better on.  Second, you are avoiding a task that might take more focus to complete well, which means that it will take you longer to complete that less enjoyable task.  This will result in you either missing the deadline you set to complete your project, or you will rush through the less enjoyable task in an effort to meet the deadline, likely leading to lower-quality work.

As a result, your project will not turn out as well as expected and/or it will be completed later than you anticipated, all because of procrastination.  When you procrastinate to avoid a task you are trying to avoid, all you’re really doing is slowing yourself down and leading yourself to perform work that either takes longer than it should take, is not as high of quality as it should be, or both.  