Our emotions have a clear link to our wellness and this can impact how we conduct our work. However, have you ever thought about how procrastination affects your emotional state and well-being?
Research by Pychyl and Sirois (2016) explores the relationship between emotion regulation and procrastination. When interacting with aversive tasks, this causes a change in mood resulting in mood repair. Yet, when in the state of repair, this can lead to further procrastination.
So, what exactly is procrastination, and how can you avoid it? Procrastination is all about delaying progress and there is a clear link between emotional regulation and procrastination.
Emotional regulation is the need to manage emotions in any given situation. However, when procrastinating, this may cause a delay in our "present self" impacting our "future self". For example, perhaps you have a deadline for an assignment and your "future self" completes the task on time, but the "present self" (the moment you are currently situated) procrastinates and hinders your "future self" this battle can result in emotional conflict, thus impacting your well-being.
You may become frustrated, but the truth is that you do not want to do the assignment, and you are procrastinating as a way to regulate your feelings and your mood.
So how can you avoid this? Here are three things you can do to manage procrastination.
1. Be honest with yourself. Procrastination sets in when you do not want to do the task at hand. Be honest with yourself and ask yourself why? Perhaps you are too tired, or maybe you need some assistance, ask yourself what is stopping you.
2. Live in the moment. You may get trapped into thinking about the result before you have started. Take small steps and stay in the moment. If you rush ahead, you may become overwhelmed.
3. Understand your mood What state is your current mood? Please make a note of it when you are approaching your tasks. Perhaps you need to change your routine as this may alter your mood avoiding your procrastination tendencies.
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