In the case of my unfinished column, perhaps the fear I had that it was not good enough or that I would be judged as lazy by publishing it that led to the procrastination.
Yet it isn’t only perfectionism that drives procrastination. There is a sort of thrill that comes with having a deadline and doing things at the last minute. In a world that seems a little boring at times, isn’t it nice to have a little bit of adrenaline pumping? For people like me who love challenges, reducing the amount of time to get things done is an appealing way to turn a ho-hum task into something that gives me a sense of purpose.
And then, there’s another reason for procrastination: I am overloaded with tasks and my bandwidth has been exceeded. There are few people I know who would agree with the statement that they are on top of things. Most of us feel perpetually behind and trying to do any number of disparate tasks at the same time. Procrastination, in that sense, is very much a mechanism to defend us from short-circuiting our brains from thinking about everything at all times. Those of us in academic rheumatology are particularly prone to this rationalization for procrastination because we are expected to do many things, like generate revenue, teach learners and publish research at the same time.
Perversely, procrastination is also a form of hope. Procrastination is often a way to escape the unpleasantness of a looming task. For example, when I have to call a patient with whom I do not (yet) have a strong relationship, I fear what they will think of me. While I would love to be able to dive apathetically and immediately into the call, I know I have to prepare myself, occasionally by pursuing more enjoyable tasks before coming to the reality that a difficult conversation is inevitable.
Taming Procrastination
With so much self-reflection on my bad habit of procrastination, I have sought for decades to reduce procrastination. However, no matter how hard I try, procrastination always creeps back in my life. More recently, I’ve realized that I need to adopt a better approach. Instead of trying to eliminate procrastination altogether, I’m working on taming it and managing it in a way that leads to enhanced productivity.
As I was procrastinating one night a few months ago, I learned about a fascinating psychological phenomenon called the Zeigarnik effect.4 The Zeigarnik effect refers to the tendency of people to remember unfinished or interrupted tasks better than tasks that they have completed. When I continued to research this phenomenon, as well as the related Ovsiankina effect (i.e., the innate human urge to finish tasks), I recognized that this was the path forward.5 Although horribly maligned, when applied mindfully, procrastination can be a great tool to advance productivity.
