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Have you noticed that sometimes we postpone things "for later", but do not fulfill them? The past holidays, like a trigger, reminded us that we need to sum up the results. But what if these results are not pleasing enough?
And various negative aspects come to the fore, such as:
- You did not have time to complete large tasks and as a result simply "scored" on them;
- There are blockages of small tasks that you have long wanted to perform;
- Disappointment that the goals were never achieved.
All this is sometimes accompanied by dissatisfaction with oneself, self-blame, perhaps a loss of strength and you may feel that some time has been wasted. Of course, this may be an isolated case, but it happens that this state is noticed on an ongoing basis, when failures occur one after another and you no longer want to plan the next tasks in order to avoid disappointment. In psychology, this condition is called deferred life syndrome.
1. Formation of the delayed life syndrome
Deferred life syndrome develops due to procrastination - a tendency to postpone one's affairs, leading to psychological conflicts, dissatisfaction with one's results and what is happening in life.
What is the difference between procrastination and laziness?
There is an opinion that procrastination is just laziness, but it is not. Laziness is inaction and has other mechanisms. Procrastination is a person's unrevealed urges that remain unfulfilled. The human brain and body spend energy distracting themselves from fulfilling these impulses by switching to others. Thus, the potential of energy is wasted and there is no energy left. Simply put, a procrastinator is a person who does not really rest, he spends energy on avoiding the plans made and postponing the fulfillment of his promises.
The procrastination mechanism is as follows:
Procrastination is a protection mechanism that has a number of causes.
When it is not chronic or developing into a state of deferred life syndrome, its causes may be conscious and often consist of the following:
- Inability to make decisions - there is a potential for making decisions, but it is unclear which of them will lead to the result, so decision-making is postponed;
- Fear of change;
- Secondary benefits (inaction, because I do not want to take responsibility – I do not take responsibility – I do not bear any burden);
- Reduced motivation;
- Failure to understand the negative consequences of procrastination for one's personality;
- Perfectionism (either perfect or not at all);
- Fixed installation on the negative resolution of the situation (it is better to be inactive, because the results are always negative);
- Failure to prioritize optimally.
When you are in a state of procrastination, its causes become unconscious. Any postponed case increases anxiety and stress in the body, leading a person to a state of unwillingness to do anything fully or apathy.
2. Consequences of procrastination
There are a number of consequences of this condition, some of which you may have already experienced or may experience in your life:
- Closed circle of apathy;
- Almost any impulse remains unfulfilled. In psychology, there is a rule – if you postponed the case and did not complete it within 48-72 hours, you will never do it or will do it, but the quality of the completed work will be much lower;
- Failures in life, game, anywhere. Your brain is looking for confirmation of the “putting things off for later” program, taking a resource from what you already have in your life.
- Reduced level of your psychological and physical health. Doing things at the last moment – people sometimes sacrifice sleep, hygiene, money, harmonious relationships with others, etc.
The deferred life syndrome is a constant shifting of tasks and disorganization, because when the deadlines are "burning", a person urgently takes up one thing, again postponing other tasks.
Have you noticed any signs of procrastination? Does it interfere with your life? Would you like to get rid of it or is it already comfortable? Write in the comments if you want to know what methods are available to combat procrastination and deferred life syndrome? I remind you that if you feel the need to improve your psychological state, you can always contact me for advice, where we will analyze specifically your reasons for postponing things for later and set up your psyche for success.
