What Is Habitual Procrastination? Check If You Fit The Description.
Everyone procrastinates at some point, especially with tedious or daunting tasks, whether it is washing the dishes or studying for the upcoming exam.
Although you may tend to put off important tasks to do less meaningful ones, that doesn’t make you a habitual procrastinator.
Habitual procrastination, also known as chronic procrastination, is the habit of consistently putting off responsibilities and avoiding important tasks, despite the negative consequences of doing so.
Habitual procrastination is lingering, pervasive, and causes negative consequences in many aspects of the procrastinator’s life.
In that sense, you need to distinguish between habitual procrastination, which can be disruptive to your life, and occasional procrastination, which is a normal behavior that many people engage in from time to time.
So, are you a habitual procrastinator or an occasional procrastinator? Spotting the difference is important to gain better insight into your habits, and to figure out if you need help to overcome your problematic behavior.
You’ll find further details on the characteristics of habitual procrastination and what signs to look for. Some examples of chronic procrastination are also provided.
You’ll also find a scientifically valid test (Quiz) to assess the severity of your procrastination.
To find out more, keep reading.
Table of Contents
Habitual Procrastination: What Is It, and What Is It Not?
Habitual or chronic procrastination is not considered a disorder, despite the fact that it has been associated with many mental health conditions, such as ADHD, depression, and anxiety.
Putting off important tasks and responsibilities is not enough to meet the criteria for chronic procrastination. Everyone procrastinates from time to time or in certain aspects of their lives, but not everyone who procrastinates is a habitual procrastinator.
There is no widely recognized criteria or guideline to diagnose chronic procrastination, as opposed to other mental disorders such as major depression or social anxiety.
So, in order to determine what constitutes chronic procrastination, we should take a look at the research done on procrastination and the assessment tools that are used to measure this habit.
For procrastination to be considered chronic, it needs to fit three characteristics referred to as the Three P’s: Persistent, Pervasive, Problematic.
Let’s get into details.
1. Persistent: this suggests that procrastination is persistent and consistent across time, lasting months or years.
Chronic procrastination, as opposed to acute procrastination, is not limited to a certain time frame and is not linked to a temporary situation or a major life event.
For example, if you procrastinate occasionally or experience short bouts of procrastination from time to time, you may not be considered a habitual procrastinator.
Also, you may not be considered a chronic procrastinator if you are procrastinating during a limited period of time, for example, when you are experiencing major life events (e.g., marriage, divorce) or an extreme period of stress (e.g., grieving the loss of a loved one).
During these circumstances, you may start avoiding some day-to-day activities, but this should be temporary until the issue or event passes or gets resolved.
2. Pervasive: this means that procrastination is not limited to one area of your life, but usually extends to multiple domains, such as school, the workplace, relationships, health, etc.
As a habitual procrastinator, you procrastinate in a multitude of domains. for example, you postpone finishing your homework (school), but you also delay going to the doctor (health), you miss commitments with your spouse (relationship), and you may also fail to bring your cat on time.
Most chronic procrastinators don’t just procrastinate on work projects or housework, as this behavior tends to be prevalent in most, if not all, aspects of their lives.
3. Problematic: chronic procrastination is disruptive and causes significant problems in many aspects of your life, academic, professional, social, personal, and in your relationships.
Chronic procrastination can also have negative consequences for your physical and mental health. You may experience increased stress, anxiety, and depression. Your overall physical health may suffer as well.
Studies have shown clearly that chronic procrastination has negative effects on academic achievement.
A survey of over 700 people discovered that people who procrastinate have a 63% higher risk of poor heart health.
Similarly, in an online poll (2003) based on over 7800 participants, 94% of them indicated that procrastination has some negative effect on their happiness, while 17% indicated an extremely negative effect.
Read this article on research and surveys on procrastination.
Why Is Chronic Procrastination Persistent and Pervasive?
The consistency of chronic procrastination across time and life domains can be partly explained by the fact that procrastination has been linked to some personality traits, especially the trait of “conscientiousness .” In fact, research suggests that procrastinators tend to score lower on conscientiousness.
conscientiousness is the tendency to be organized, disciplined, and to plan things ahead.
And as you may already know, personality traits are known to be stable and consistent across situations and circumstances.
Check out this article for a more in-depth explanation of the link between procrastination and personality traits.
On the other hand, personality traits are partly inherited, which means that some traits associated with procrastination, like impulsivity and lack of self-control, are embedded in our DNA. This may also explain why procrastination tends to be a lasting pattern for some people.
Check out this article about the genetics of laziness and procrastination.
Prevalence of Chronic Procrastination:
Chronic procrastination is fairly common. Research suggests that 20–25% of adults are considered chronic procrastinators, and about 50% of adults admit they procrastinate from time to time.
Another study found that 50% of college students procrastinate consistently and problematically, while 80–95% engage in procrastination from time to time.
Furthermore, research found that chronic procrastination in the general population is increasing over time. In the 1970s, surveys indicated that only 5% of the population admitted to being chronic procrastinators, compared to roughly 20% today. This is a 300% increase in less than four decades.
Are You a Habitual Procrastinator? (Signs of Chronic Procrastination)
There is no clinically recognized set of signs and symptoms that characterize habitual or chronic procrastination. The scientific literature and different assessment tools can provide some insight on the major signs of chronic procrastination. These may include:
- Needlessly delaying important tasks and tough decisions
- Wasting time on pointless tasks and activities
- Having a hard time meeting deadlines
- Being late most of the time
- Can’t stop delaying responsibilities despite the negative consequences of doing so
- Having difficulty maintaining focus when performing a task
If you exhibit more than 3 signs, you may have chronic procrastination.
What Is an Example of a Habitual Procrastinator?
I’ll give you three real-life examples of habitual procrastinators and the negative effects this maladaptive habit can have on their lives.
Example 1: Academic procrastination
James is an undergraduate student. He has one month left to work on his upcoming exams.
He knows he should start studying, but he can’t help delaying this “boring and daunting” task.
Every day he tells himself “I will start tomorrow”; and when tomorrow comes, he always finds an excuse not to study. He tells himself, “I don’t have the energy today”, “I am not ready”, “I don’t have the necessary tools to start” and “I cannot focus”.
Day after day, James keeps coming up with excuses not to study. The stress and anxiety build up as the dates of the exams approach.
Instead of studying, James chooses to watch TV, play video games, go out with friends, etc. Anything goes as long as it is not studying.
A day or two before, James opens his school book but is overwhelmed by the number of subjects he needs to revise and the little time that is left for the exams.
On the day of the exam, he enters unprepared and anxious and finishes feeling depressed and disappointed in himself.
James failed his academic year and is now very depressed, and his self-confidence is at rock bottom. These negative feelings further hurt his chances of overcoming his bad habits.
More in-depth explanation of the link between depression and procrastination.
Example 2: Workplace procrastination
Meet Sabrina; she is a project manager at a big corporation. Her boss assigned her to be in charge of a market study regarding a new product that the company is about to launch. She has two months to make a presentation of the project’s outcome.
Doing market research is obviously a demanding task, and as a relentless procrastinator, Sabrina overestimates her capacity to get the job done in less than 2 months, so she doesn’t start working right away.
She keeps doing random stuff around the office, checking her emails, chatting with co-workers, and doing unimportant tasks.
The clock is ticking, and Sabrina is still stuck doing random, unnecessary tasks; she can’t seem to focus on her project, and even when she starts working on it, she gets easily distracted and abandons it halfway.
15 days before the deadline, Sabrina is all of a sudden in panic mode; she realizes that she underestimated the time needed for the job to be done and gets overwhelmed by the prospect of not accomplishing her assignment.
She starts writing down the study questions and the customer samples, but time is running out and she is not well prepared for the upcoming meeting to present the results of her market study.
On the day of the meeting, she does a lousy job, and her presentation is of low quality. Her boss is understandably not impressed with the outcome; he thinks she didn’t put in the necessary effort. So he assigns the project to another coworker.
Sabrina is feeling worthless and angry at herself.
Example 3: housework procrastination
Jenny is a stay-at-home mom; she is in charge of two kids, and her husband is at work all day.
She feels overwhelmed as the piles up. The floor is dirty, the wardrobe is dusty, and the kids’ clothes are still unfolded.
Cleaning the house and tidying up is a daunting task; it seems like an endless loop, she mops the floor, disinfects the surfaces, washes the dishes, and two days later, she needs to do it all over again.
It seems like a thankless task to her.
But the clutter doesn’t take a vacation; it keeps piling up. This disordered house is causing friction between Jenny and her husband. He thinks she’s not doing enough around the house, and she thinks she’s never been appreciated, neither by her husband nor by her kids.
She is stressed out, and this feeds the procrastination-depression-anxiety loop. Jenny keeps delaying housework, the kitchen counter gets dirtier, the carpets get dustier, and the laundry basket is overflowing.
Jenny feels stuck in this loop, and unless something drastic changes, this vicious loop causes more conflict in her relationship. Jenny is mentally and emotionally exhausted, and she’s on the brink of a breakdown.
Did you identify with one of the three situations? Tell us in the comments below.
Are You a Chronic Procrastinator? (Take The Quiz)
Do you think that you fit the profile of a chronic procrastinator?
You may have gained a better insight into whether or not you fit the description, but just to make sure, take this free Quiz, which will assess the severity of your procrastination.
Called the Tuckman’s Procrastination Scale (TPS), this test is considered one of the most reliable assessments of procrastination and is widely used in research.
Takeaways
Habitual procrastination, also known as chronic procrastination, is the habit of consistently putting off important tasks, despite the negative consequences of doing so.
Three characteristics characterize habitual procrastination, known as the “Three P’s: Persistent through time, Pervasive across several life domains, and Problematic for the procrastinator.
The consistency of chronic procrastination across time and life domains can be partly explained by the fact that procrastination has been linked to some personality traits, especially the trait of “continuousness.”
Chronic procrastination is common. Research suggests that 20–25% of adults are considered chronic procrastinators.
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About the author
My name is Sam David. I am the founder of "Proactivity Lab," a website that provides comprehensive strategies and resources for understanding and overcoming procrastination.
The website's resources are the culmination of more than 20 years of research and experience, during which I embarked on a long and gruelling journey of study and self-discovery.
Being a former procrastinator myself, it took me years of investigation and numerous trials and errors to gain a clear understanding of the underlying causes of procrastination and the most effective and scientifically supported strategies to permanently conquer the vicious cycle of procrastination.
I would like to share my knowledge with you, for free.
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