Why do I procrastinate? I'll figure it out later

If you are a chronic procrastinator, you're not alone. Habitual procrastination plagues around 15-20% of adults and 50% of college students. For a chronic procrastinator, repeated failure to efficiently complete important tasks can lead to lower feelings of self-worth. In certain contexts, it can also result in very tangible penalties. For example, a survey in 2002 found that around 40% of American tax-payers procrastinated on their taxes, resulting in errors due to rushed filing that cost an average of $400 per procrastinator. More importantly, we tend to procrastinate when it comes to medical care (both preventive and therapeutic), which can involve very real costs to our well-being.

Why is the urge to procrastinate so strong? It sometimes seems that we are compelled to procrastinate by a force that is disproportionate to the small reward we may get from putting off a task we're not looking forward to. According to Gustavson et al., the authors of a study published last week in Psychological Science, a predisposition to procrastinate may have its roots in our genes.

Previous research has suggested a potential link between a tendency to procrastinate and an impulsive nature. Gustavson et al. explored this possible connection by observing the traits of procrastination and impulsivity in a group of 181 identical and 166 fraternal twins. Because identical twins share 100% of their genes and fraternal twins only share around 50% of their genes, if a trait is shared by identical twins more frequently than it is by fraternal twins, it suggests the trait has a significant genetic basis (for more on twin studies see this post).

The investigators reported a significant correlation between procrastination and impulsivity (r = .65). The group also reported that their genetic model determined that procrastination and impulsivity were perfectly correlated (r = 1.0), suggesting that the genetic influences on procrastination and impulsivity might be completely shared. In other words, according to this study, there are no genetic influences on procrastination that aren't also affecting impulsivity.

But why would these two traits be associated with one another? Procrastination involves putting things off, while impulsivity involves doing them on a whim. Gustavson et al. suggest that both procrastination and impulsivity involve a failure in goal management and a deficit in the ability to guide behavior effectively using goals. The authors refer to a hypothesis proposed by procrastination researcher Piers Steel that suggests impulsivity may have been adaptive to our ancient ancestors when survival depended more on thinking and acting quickly. In today's much safer world, however, planning for events yet to come has superseded impulsivity in terms of importance.

Thus, like many of our other bad habits, procrastination may have its roots in a behavior that was at one point adaptive and is now outdated. So, if it feels like your desire to procrastinate is driven by a force much stronger than your willpower, it may be so. If Gustavson et al. are correct, the impetus for procrastination lies in genetic programming that dates back to the Pleistocene era.

Gustavson, D., Miyake, A., Hewitt, J., & Friedman, N. (2014). Genetic Relations Among Procrastination, Impulsivity, and Goal-Management Ability: Implications for the Evolutionary Origin of Procrastination Psychological Science DOI: 10.1177/0956797614526260

YOUR BRAIN, EXPLAINED

Sleep. Memory. Pleasure. Fear. Language. We experience these things every day, but how do our brains create them? Your Brain, Explained is a personal tour around your gray matter. Building on neuroscientist Marc Dingman’s popular YouTube series, 2-Minute Neuroscience, this is a friendly, engaging introduction to the human brain and its quirks using real-life examples and Dingman’s own, hand-drawn illustrations.

An informative, accessible and engaging book for anyone who has even the slightest interest in how the brain works, but doesn’t know where to begin. - Dean Burnett, PhD, author, Happy Brain and Idiot Brain
...a highly readable and accessible introduction to the operation of the brain and current issues in neuroscience... a wonderful introduction to the field. - Frank Amthor, PhD, Professor of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, author, Neuroscience for Dummies
Reading like a collection of detective stories, Your Brain, Explained combines classic cases in the history of neurology with findings stemming from the latest techniques used to probe the brain’s secrets. - Stanley Finger, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University (St. Louis), author, Origins of Neuroscience
Dingman weaves classic studies with modern research into easily digestible sections, to provide an excellent primer on the rapidly advancing field of neuroscience. - Moheb Costandi, author, Neuroplasticity and 50 Human Brain Ideas You Really Need to Know

Order Now

BIZARRE

This book shows a whole other side of how brains work by examining the most unusual behavior to emerge from the human brain. In it, you'll meet a woman who is afraid to take a shower because she fears her body will slip down the drain, a man who is convinced he is a cat, a woman who compulsively snacks on cigarette ashes, and many other unusual cases. As uncommon as they are, each of these cases has something important to teach us about everyday brain function.

Dingman brings the history of neuroscience back to life and weaves in contemporary ideas seamlessly. Readers will come along for the ride of a really interesting read and accidentally learn some neuroscience along the way. - Erin Kirschmann, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology & Counseling, Immaculata University
A unique combination of storytelling and scientific explanation that appeals to the brain novice, the trained neuroscientist, and everyone in between. Dingman explores some of the most fascinating and mysterious expressions of human behavior in a style that is case study, dramatic novel, and introductory textbook all rolled into one. - Alison Kreisler, PhD, Neuroscience Instructor, California State University, San Marcos
Bizarre is a collection of stories of how the brain can create zombies, cult members, extra limbs, instant musicians, and overnight accents, to name a few of the mind-scratching cases. After reading this book, you will walk away with a greater appreciation for this bizarre organ. If you are a fan of Oliver Sacks' books, you're certain to be a fan of Dingman's Bizarre. - Allison M. Wilck, PhD, Researcher and Assistant Professor of Psychology, Eastern Mennonite University
Through case studies of both exceptional people as well as those with disorders, Bizarre takes us on a fascinating journey in which we learn more about what is going on in our skull. - William J. Ray, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, author, Abnormal Psychology