If you're still looking for last-minute bargains and stocking stuffers, you're not alone. The Saturday before Christmas is the busiest shopping day of the year.
Last-minute gift gathering is a perfect time to reflect on why we put things off.
Let Me Feel Bad Later
Research shows that there are two core reasons for procrastination, and two main types of procrastinators.
The first type of procrastination is avoidance. Avoidance procrastinators put off tasks that triggers thoughts and feelings they don't want to have-anxiety, overwhelm, or self-doubt. If you're an avoidance procrastinator, you might refuse to open your bills because you're afraid to see how much you owe. You put off projects when you're worried you won't do a good enough job. You avoid making decision if you're afraid of making the wrong choice or hurting someone's feelings. You'd rather push feeling bad into the future than face your fears today.
Chronic avoidance procrastinators may be perfectionists paralyzed by their own expectations, or they may feel over their heads and unable to see a path to completion.
Put a Little Pressure on Me
At least half the chronic procrastinators reading this are thinking, hey, that is so not me. You may be that other species, the arousal procrastinator. You put things off not because you're anxious, but because you simply don't feel motivated. If you're an arousal procrastinator, you might put off paying your bills not because you're scared to see what you owe, but because it takes a late fee to catch your attention. If you put off a project, it's probably not because you doubt yourself, but because it just doesn't seem important enough until there's a deadline staring you in the face.
Putting off a boring task until the pressure's on is the arousal procrastinator's strategy to make the task more interesting. They long for a little bit of the stress that avoidance procrastinators are avoiding. Avoidance procrastinators are overwhelmed; arousal procrastinators are underwhelmed.
Last-Minute Christmas Shopping
A classic study of Christmas shopping demonstrates the differences between the two types of procrastination. Early in his days as a procrastinator researcher, Joseph Ferrari went to the mall on Christmas Eve and, posing as a mall employee, handed out gift certificates to shoppers who filled out a survey about their procrastination habits.
Avoidance procrastinators were most likely to attribute their last-minute shopping to lack of energy, indecisiveness, and dislike for shopping-all consistent with the idea that they felt overwhelmed by a difficult task they didn't want to get wrong.
In contrast, arousal procrastinators attributed their delay to work demands that kept them too busy to shop any sooner. They weren't worried that Aunt Selma wasn't going to like the reindeer garter belt-they just couldn't be bothered to hit the mall until Santa was halfway down the chimney. Fighting the crowds and finding the last-minute bargains was a bonus for these thrill-seekers.
(Sneakily, Ferrari also tracked how long it took participants to redeem the gift certificates. Shoppers with higher overall self-rated procrastination tendencies took longer to redeem the gift certificate or failed to use it before the six-month expiration date, confirming the validity of participants' self-reports.)
Why Are Your Procrastinating?
Is there something you've been putting off-a project, a phone call, an appointment, a purchase, a decision? If so, take a moment to ask what's driving the delay:
1. Do you feel exhausted or overwhelmed when you think about the task?
2. Do you worry that you'll fail, let someone down, or make a bad decision?
3. Does the task make you think about your past failures or negative experiences?
4. Does the deadline seem too far away, and benefits of the task just not urgent enough, to command your full energy and attention?
5. Do you tell yourself the task is boring, and there are so many better ways to spend your time and energy?
6. Do you enjoy the rush of last-minute efforts, and tell yourself starting earlier is a waste of time?
Which questions rang most true for you? The first three questions reflect avoidance procrastination; the last three reflect arousal-seeking procrastination.
Kelly McGonigal is a psychologist at Stanford University. Her latest book is The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It.
References:
Ferrari, J.R. and Pychyl, T.A. (2000). Procrastination: Current Issues and New Directions. Select Press, Corte Madera, CA.
Ferrari, J. R. (1993). Christmas and procrastination: Explaining lack of diligence at a "real-world" task deadline. Personality and Individual Differences, 14, 25-33.
