I'll Deal With My Procrastination Later

If you’ve ever procrastinated, you’ll enjoy this piece by Eric Hoover at Chronicles of Higher Education. Hoover writes:

“Scholars from around the world are finding that procrastination is more complex — and pervasive — than armchair analysts might assume.”

What they are really saying is that they need more time to figure this one out.

Thanks to Keith for pointing out this piece, which does eventually get around to offering help. Later in the article, that is.

Psychologists generally agree that the behavior is learned and that students choose to procrastinate, even though they may feel helpless to stop.

Mr. Ferrari identifies two kinds of habitual lollygaggers. "Arousal procrastinators" believe they work best under pressure and tend to delay tasks for the thrill. "Avoidant procrastinators" are self-doubters who tend to postpone tasks because they worry about performing inadequately, or because they fear their success may raise others' expectations of them.

And then it gets really good. After spending all that time trying to figure procrastination out, they turn around and find a way to avoid figuring procrastination out.

Other findings complicate fear-of-failure theories. Some researchers say an inability to control impulses explains procrastinators best.

Did you catch that? It isn’t fear of failure that keeps us from doing what we are supposed to do...it is lack of self-control, or the [read in pseudo-German accent] “inability to control impulses.”

But don’t expect agreement among psychologists even on that one. As the article states, “Science is not likely to resolve the mysteries of procrastination anytime soon.” And in the meantime, you’ve got a paper to write.

While you are waiting around for them to “get to it,” try this simple method: ask God for greater self-control. I have a good feeling he won’t be slow about granting such a request--at least not slow “as some count slowness” (2 Peter 3:9). God doesn’t procrastinate, in other words.

But we do and the Spirit helps us, by grace, not to.

Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 2 Peter 1:5-9