Studies have found a link between procrastination and poor health. It is associated with higher levels of stress, unhealthy lifestyles, and delays in seeing a doctor for problems mental health.
Procrastination causes physical and mental health problems
These Education, by the nature of their design, cannot tell us the direction of the relationship. Does procrastination cause physical and mental health problems because people, for example, put off starting a new exercise regime or visiting the doctor for a health problem? Or is it the opposite? Does poor physical health, for example, lead people to procrastinate because they don’t have the energy to do the task now?
To try to solve this puzzle, we conducted a longitudinal study, which is a study that followed people over a period of time, taking measurements at various points throughout the study. We recruited 3,525 students from eight universities in and around Stockholm and asked them to complete questionnaires every three months for a year.
Our study, published in JAMA Network Open, aimed to investigate whether students who procrastinate are at greater risk of poor mental and physical health. Of the 3,525 students recruited, 2,587 responded to the follow-up questionnaire nine months later, in which several health outcomes were measured.
To understand how procrastination relates to subsequent health outcomes, students with a greater tendency to procrastinate (as rated on a procrastination scale) at the beginning of the study were compared to students with a lower tendency. The results showed that higher levels of procrastination were associated with slightly higher symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress nine months later.
Students with higher levels of procrastination were also more likely to report disabling pain in the shoulders or arms (or both), worse sleep quality, greater loneliness, and greater financial hardship. These associations remained even when we took into account other factors that might influence the association, such as age, sex, parental education level, and previous physical and psychiatric diagnoses.
While no specific health outcome was strongly associated with procrastination, the findings suggest that procrastination may be important for a wide range of health outcomes, including mental health problems, disabling pain, and an unhealthy lifestyle.
As mentioned above, in previous studies, participants were only assessed at a certain point in time, making it difficult to know which of the conditions came first: procrastination or poor health. By asking students to answer questionnaires at different times, we could be sure that high levels of procrastination were present before measuring their health.
But it is still possible that other factors not taken into account in our analysis could explain the associations between procrastination and subsequent poor health outcomes. Our findings are not proof of cause and effect, but suggest it more strongly than previous “cross-sectional” studies.
There’s good news for habitual procrastinators. Clinical trials (the gold standard of medical research) have shown that cognitive behavioral therapy is effective in reducing procrastination.
The treatment helps the person overcome procrastination by breaking long-term goals into short-term goals, managing distractions (such as turning off cell phones), and staying focused on a task despite experiencing negative emotions.
This requires some effort, so it’s not something a person can do while trying to meet a specific deadline. But even small changes can have a big effect. You can try it yourself. Why not start today by leaving your phone in another room when you need to stay focused on a task.
Procrastination is linked to health and career problems
Have you ever scolded yourself for procrastinating? You might write that note for a friend you have to disappoint, or write an important report for school or work, and do your best to avoid it, but deep down you know you should just move on.
Unfortunately, beating yourself up won’t stop you from procrastinating again. In fact, it’s one of the worst things you can do. This is important because, as my research shows, procrastination isn’t just a waste of time, but is actually linked to real problems.
Procrastination is not the result of laziness or poor time management. Scientific studies suggest that procrastination is due to poor mood management.
This makes sense if we consider that people are more likely to put off starting or completing tasks to which they feel aversion. If just thinking about the task makes you anxious or threatens your sense of self-worth, you’ll be more likely to put it off.
Research has found that brain regions linked to threat detection and emotion regulation are different in people who chronically procrastinate versus those who do not procrastinate frequently.
When we avoid the unpleasant task, we also avoid the negative emotions associated with it. This is rewarding and conditions us to use procrastination to repair our mood. If, however, we engage in more pleasant activities, we obtain a further improvement in mood.
Emotionally charged or difficult tasks, such as studying for an exam or preparing for public speaking, are prime candidates for procrastination. People with low self-esteem are more likely to procrastinate, as are those with high levels of perfectionism who fear their work will be judged harshly by others. If you don’t finish the report or complete the home repairs, what you’ve done can’t be assessed.
But guilt and shame often linger when people try to distract themselves with more enjoyable activities.
In the long term, procrastination is not an effective way to manage emotions. The mood improvement you experience is temporary. Subsequently, people tend to engage in self-critical reflections which not only increase their negative mood but also strengthen their tendency to procrastinate.
So why is this a problem? When most people think about the costs of procrastination, they think about the price they pay on productivity. For example, some studies have shown that academic procrastination has a negative impact on student performance.
But academic procrastination can affect other aspects of students’ lives. In a study of more than 3,000 German students over a six-month period, those who reported procrastinating on their academic work were also more likely to engage in academic misconduct, such as cheating and plagiarism. But the behavior to which procrastination was most closely linked was the use of fraudulent excuses to obtain deadline extensions.
Other research shows that employees spend on average nearly a quarter of their workday procrastinating, and again this is linked to worse outcomes. In a US survey of more than 22,000 employees, participants who said they regularly procrastinated had lower annual incomes and less job stability. For every one point increase in a measure of chronic procrastination, salary decreased by $15,000 (£12,450).
Procrastination is also linked to serious health and well-being problems. The tendency to procrastinate is linked to poor mental health, including higher levels of depression and anxiety.
Through numerous studies, I have found that people who regularly procrastinate report more health problems, such as headaches, flu, colds, and digestive problems. They also experience higher levels of stress and poor sleep quality.
They were less likely to practice healthy behaviors, such as eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise, and to use destructive coping strategies to manage stress. In a study of more than 700 people, I found that people prone to procrastination had a 63 percent greater risk of heart health problems after accounting for other personality traits and demographics.
Learning not to procrastinate won’t solve all your problems. But finding better ways to regulate your emotions could be a path to improving your mental health and well-being.
An important first step is to manage your environment and how you view the task. There are numerous evidence-based strategies that can help you quarantine distractions and set up your activities to cause less anxiety and be more meaningful. For example, reminding yourself why the task is important and valuable to you can increase your positive feelings toward it.
Forgiving yourself and being compassionate when you procrastinate can help you break the cycle of procrastination. Admit that you feel bad without judging yourself. Remind yourself that you are not the first person to procrastinate, nor will you be the last.
This way you can ease the negative feelings we have about ourselves when we procrastinate. This can make it easier to get back on track.
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