Why Procrastinators Procrastinate — Wait but Why

Many people associate procrastination with laziness. But psychologists find that procrastination is not a time management problem—it’s an emotion management problem.

Perfectionists are quick to find fault in themselves and others and are overly critical of mistakes. Because I know that I want to be able to do things right, I procrastinate out of my fear of criticism, failure, or rejection. Procrastinating perfectionists often feel that it may be psychologically more acceptable to never tackle a job than to face

We procrastinate when we know that we need to be thinking. In fact, we avoid thinking because we worry about where all that thinking might lead. We fail to finish a project that we were previously excited about, not because we aren’t capable but because we are afraid to discover whether the project will succeed or flop. Ideas are two-edged swords,

in a moment of procrastination masquerading as an act of reflection, I decided to examine how I spend my time.

procrastination is not a character defect; rather, it is an attempt—albeit an unsatisfactory one—at coping with the often incapacitating fear of having our worth held up for judgment.