I’m sorry this is late, I really meant to post this earlier…..or iProcrastinate
As summer comes to an end and we’re back to school, some of us are still on vacation time. Assignments just keep coming, due dates are approaching and, surprisingly, nothing gets done. Where did the excitement for the new school year go? Procrastination is the answer.
Are we the only victims of procrastination? Definitely not. Ancient Greeks used to represent procrastination as a “state of acting against one’s better judgment”, or akrasia. Akratic behaviour is documented in discussion between Socrates and Protagoras. Socrates claimed “No one goes willingly toward the bad”. This makes sense from a biological prospective of natural goals of an individual. Aristotel, however, took this idea and examined it deeper. From his prospective, akrasia occurs as a result of opinion. An opinion is mentally developed form of reality or truth.
So when we think another 30min nap before writing a paper might help, we are sincere in our intentions to write the paper. However it does not necessarily mean we are right that we need a nap.
Did modern scientists figure out something more useful than ancient Greeks’ theory? Yes.
According to physiologists, procrastination arises in the front part of our brain, or prefrontal cortex. Earlier studies agreed upon the impulsive nature of procrastination. Prefrontal cortex is responsible for such brain functions as planning, attention, motivation and impulse control. When impulse control does not function in its maximum ability, the overall function of planning, attention and motivation decreases. This causes procrastination.
Is a procrastination purely physiological phenomenon or are the psychological aspects? Needless to say there are numerous psychological theories trying to explain procrastination. One of the most common theories is the lack of self-confidence. Also anxiety levels of procrastinators are especially high near exam period, and these individuals feel the most relief right after exams are done or papers are turned in. Tice and Baumeister (1997) reported a study where they show a number of college students, procrastinators and non-procrastinators. Research found that procrastinators get lower grades than non-procrastinators, as opposed to a belief that best work is done under pressure.
Procrastination is a problem for scientists publishing a paper. As we know, whoever publishes his work first gets the acknowledgments. That is why it is so important to concentrate on true long term benefits and produce a great piece of work that will contribute to humankind, whether is it is just another paper or a finished experiment. Procrastination should neither affect the quality of our work not stay in our way of enjoying what we do.
Further reading:
Evans, James R. (8 August 2007). Handbook of Neurofeedback: Dynamics
Adler, J.E. (July 2002). “Akratic Believing?”. Philosophical Studies 110 (1): 1–27
Ferrari, J.R.(2001). Procrastination and attention: Factor analysis of attention deficit, boredomness, intelligence, self-esteem, and task delay frequencies. Journal of Social Behaviour and Personality, 16, 185-196
September 20th, 2011 at 8:31 am
Very interesting! I have listened to a few “iProcrastinate” podcasts on itunes and I think learning more about procrastination has helped me deal with it better.
September 22nd, 2011 at 8:44 pm
I would have left a comment earlier but…I know, I know, bad joke. Coming from someone else who has been known to procrastinate, this was a very interesting post. Thanks for sharing.
September 23rd, 2011 at 8:49 am
I never associated procrastination to be controlled by my brain. It was cool to know that impulse is controlled by prefrontal cortex and how if you lack the impulse to do work, it eventually leads to procrastination. Knowing that I can control my brain helps me to rethink about who is in control of my habit of procrastination.
September 25th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
This is such a relatable blog post! It’s interesting to read that the prefrontal cortex is one of the main culprits of procrastination. I’d love to read more and find out if there are more ways to maximize impulse control other than the pressure of a due date!
October 9th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
This is an excellent topic! And it is so true because I decided to procrastinate studying for genetics by reading everyone’s cool blog posts – and now I feel bad haha.
I really like the style in which you wrote this (question and answer). It is very clear and interesting. Also, you found an amazingly artsy video!
October 19th, 2011 at 6:27 pm
This is a very informative post. I will be on the lookout for ways to maximize the function of my prefrontal cortex! What I found interesting was working under pressure does not necessarily produce the best work. Although I have steered away from waiting to the last minute, many times in high school I felt that pressure allowed me to produce quality work.