It’s 5 p.m. and you’ve just realized that report you’ve been putting off is due tomorrow. It’s time to buckle down, open your computer... and check your phone. Maybe catch up on your favorite YouTube channel? Actually, you should probably make dinner first. You usually like cooking, though it’s hard to enjoy with this work hanging over your head, and oh— it’s actually pretty late! Maybe you should just try again in the morning? This is the cycle of procrastination, and I promise you, we have all been there. But why do we keep procrastinating even when we know it’s bad for us?
Pet je popodne i upravo ste shvatili da izveštaj koji ste odlagali treba predati sutra. Vreme je da zasučete rukave, upalite kompjuter... i bacite pogled na telefon. Možda pogledate vaš omiljeni Jutjub kanal? Zapravo, možda bi trebalo da napravite prvo večeru. Obično volite da kuvate, mada je teško uživati kada vam ovaj posao visi nad glavom, i oh— zapravo je prilično kasno! Možda bi prosto trebalo da pokušate ponovo ujutru? Ovo je ciklus prokrastinacije, i obećavam vam, svi smo ga iskusili. Ali zašto odugovlačimo čak i kada znamo da je to loše za nas?
To be clear, putting something off isn’t always procrastinating. Responsible time management requires deciding which tasks are important and which ones can wait. Procrastination is when we avoid a task we said we would do, for no good reason, despite expecting our behavior to bring negative consequences. Obviously, it’s irrational to do something you expect to harm you. But ironically, procrastination is the result of our bodies trying to protect us, specifically by avoiding a task we see as threatening.
Da razjasnimo, odlagati nešto nije uvek prokrastinacija. Odgovorno upravljanje vremenom zahteva da odlučimo koji zadaci su bitni, a koji mogu da pričekaju. Prokrastinacija je kada izbegavamo zadatak koji smo obećali uraditi, bez razloga, iako očekujemo da naše ponašanje izazove negativne posledice. Naravno, nerazumno je raditi nešto što mislite da će vas povrediti. Ali ironično, prokrastinacija je rezultat pokušaja našeg tela da nas zaštiti, konkretno izbegavanjem zadatka koji vidimo kao pretnju.
When you realize you need to write that report, your brain responds like it would to any incoming threat. Your amygdala, a set of neurons involved in emotional processing and threat identification, releases hormones including adrenaline that kick off a fear response. This stress-induced panic can overpower the impulses from your prefrontal cortex, which typically help you think long term and regulate your emotions. And it’s in the midst of this fight, flight, or freeze response that you decide to handle the threat by avoiding it in favor of some less stressful task.
Kada shvatite da morate napisati taj izveštaj, vaš mozak reaguje isto kao što bi reagovao na bilo koju dolazeću pretnju. Vaša amigdala, skup neurona uključenih u emotivno procesuiranje i prepoznavanje pretnji, ispušta hormone poput adrenalina koji pokreću osećaj straha. Ova panika izazvana stresom može nadjačati impulse iz vašeg prefrontalnog korteksa, koji vam obično pomažu da mislite dugoročno i regulišete vaša osećanja. I upravo usred ove reakcije „borbe, bega ili sleđenosti” vi odlučujete da se nosite sa pretnjom tako što ćete je izbegavati u korist nekog manje stresnog zadatka.
This response might seem extreme— after all, it’s just a deadline, not a bear attack. But we’re most likely to procrastinate tasks that evoke negative feelings, such as dread, incompetence, and insecurity. Studies of procrastinating university students have found participants were more likely to put off tasks they perceived as stressful or challenging. And the perception of how difficult the task is increases while you’re putting it off. In one experiment, students were given reminders to study throughout the day. While they were studying, most reported that it wasn’t so bad. But when they were procrastinating, they consistently rated the idea of studying as very stressful, making it difficult to get started.
Ova reakcija može izgledati ekstremno— uostalom, to je samo krajnji rok, a ne napad medveda. Ali najviše smo skloni prokrastinaciji zadataka koji izazivaju negativne emocije, kao što su strah, nesposobnost i nesigurnost. Istraživanja prokrastinacije kod studenata su pokazala da su ispitanici skloniji tome da odlažu zadatke koje vide kao stresne ili izazovne. Percepcija toga koliko je težak neki zadatak se povećava dok ga odlažete. U jednom eksperimentu, studentima su dati podsetnici kada treba da uče tokom dana. Dok su učili, većina je smatrala da nije bilo tako loše. Ali dok su odugovlačili, konstantno su ocenjivali ideju učenja kao veoma stresnu, zbog čega im je bilo teško da započnu.
Because procrastination is motivated by our negative feelings, some individuals are more susceptible to it than others. People who have difficulty regulating their emotions and those who struggle with low self-esteem are much more likely to procrastinate, regardless of how good they are at time management. However, it's a common misconception that all procrastinators are lazy. In the body and brain, laziness is marked by no energy and general apathy. When you’re feeling lazy, you’re more likely to sit around doing nothing than distract yourself with unimportant tasks. In fact, many people procrastinate because they care too much. Procrastinators often report a high fear of failure, putting things off because they’re afraid their work won’t live up to their high standards.
Pošto je prokrastinacija motivisana našim negativnim osećanjima, neki pojedinci su joj podložniji od drugih. Osobe kojima je teško da regulišu svoja osećanja i oni koji se bore sa niskim samopouzdanjem su mnogo skloniji prokrastinaciji, nezavisno od toga koliko su dobri u organizaciji svog vremena. Međutim, česta je zabluda da su svi koji odugovlače lenji. U telu i mozgu, lenjost je obeležena manjkom energije i uopštenom apatijom. Kada osećate lenjost, skloniji ste tome da sedite i ne radite ništa nego da sebi odvlačite pažnju nebitnim zadacima. Zapravo, mnogi odugovlače zato što im je previše stalo. Oni koji odugovlače često prijavljuju veliki strah od neuspeha, i odlažu zadatke jer se boje da njihov rad neće ispuniti njihove visoke standarde.
Whatever the reason for procrastination, the results are often the same. Frequent procrastinators are likely to suffer from anxiety and depression, ongoing feelings of shame, higher stress levels and physical ailments associated with high stress. Worst of all, while procrastination hurts us in the long run, it does temporarily reduce our stress level, reinforcing it as a bodily response for coping with stressful tasks. So, how can we break the cycle of procrastination?
Koji god je razlog prokrastinacije rezultati su često isti. Oni koji često odugovlače su skloniji tome da pate od anksioznosti i depresije, kontinuiranog osećanja stida, višeg nivoa stresa i fizičkih tegoba vezanih za visok stres. Najgore od svega, dok nam prokrastinacija šteti na duže staze, zaista nam privremeno smanjuje nivo stresa, čime se učvršćuje kao telesna reakcija na nošenje sa stresnim zadatkom. Pa, kako možemo da prekinemo ciklus prokrastinacije?
Traditionally, people thought procrastinators needed to cultivate discipline and practice strict time management. But today, many researchers feel the exact opposite. Being too hard on yourself can layer additional bad emotions onto a task, making the threat even more intense. To short-circuit this stress response, we need to address and reduce these negative emotions. Some simple strategies include breaking a task into smaller elements or journaling about why it's stressing you out and addressing those underlying concerns. Try removing nearby distractions that make it easy to impulsively procrastinate. And more than anything, it helps to cultivate an attitude of self-compassion, forgiving yourself, and making a plan to do better next time. Because a culture that perpetuates this cycle of stress and procrastination hurts all of us in the long term.
Tradicionalno, ljudi su smatrali da oni koji odugovlače treba da razviju disciplinu i praktikuju strogu organizaciju vremena. Međutim, danas mnogi istraživači smatraju potpuno suprotno. Prevelika oštrost prema sebi može prekriti zadatak dodatnim negativnim osećanjima, što čini pretnju još intenzivnijom. Kako bi sprečili ovu stresnu reakciju, moramo se pozabaviti ovim negativnim osećanjima i smanjiti ih. Neke lakše strategije uključuju deljenje zadataka na manje delove ili zapisivanje zašto vas zadatak stresira i bavljenje tim fundamentalnim brigama. Pokušajte ukloniti okolne distrakcije koje olakšavaju impulsivnu prokrastinaciju. I više od svega, pomaže da se gaji stav samilosti prema sebi, opraštanja samom sebi i stvaranja plana da budete bolji sledeći put. Jer kultura koja održava ovaj ciklus stresa i prokrastinacije nas sve povređuje na duže staze.