Do you carry out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones or do more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones? Procrastination €“ the habit of putting off impending tasks to a later time €“ can severely affect your productivity and will waste time, as well as gaining you a damaging reputation for not meeting commitments. In the long term, procrastination can result in a sense of crisis, stress and guilt, and these feelings may promote further procrastination.

What tasks do we regularly put off?

• Boring and repetitive tasks
• Difficult or unpleasant tasks
• Projects with a large time commitment
• Tasks with a low personal value.

While it is normal for people to procrastinate to some degree, it becomes a problem when it impedes normal functioning. Self-doubt and fear of failure can be reasons for putting off tasks.