Friday is Fight Procrastination Day

ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — Friday is Fight Procrastination Day. We know we could have written this story early in the day, but we procrastinated.

So what exactly causes someone to procrastinate? According to the website Solving Procrastination, procrastination is caused by a combination of factors. Mental exhaustion can play a role, as well as fear.

“[When] the negative factors outweigh our self-control and motivation, we end up procrastinating, by putting off our work either indefinitely, or until some future point in time when the balance shifts in our favor,” the website said.

A Psychology Today article claims procrastination is a learned condition, not something we are born with. Solving Procrastination lists some of the most common causes of procrastination:

• Vague or abstract goals;
• Lack of a near-term reward;
• Indecisiveness;
• Feeling overwhelmed;
• Anxiety; and
• Perfectionism.

Now that we know what causes procrastination, how do we overcome this habit? WebMD has many suggestions that may just help you fight or overcome procrastination.

• Be decisive;
• Be realistic;
• Eliminate distractions; and
• Do the most difficult tasks first.

It isn’t easy to overcome procrastination, but we hope to break the habit by the next Fight Procrastination Day on Sept. 6, 2020.