Why Do We Procrastinate?

Do you consider yourself a procrastinator? “By when do you need to know?” would be the classic procrastinator’s reply. For many people, procrastination is a strong and mysterious force that keeps them from completing the most urgent and important tasks in their lives. Some also see it as potentially dangerous, causing victims to fail at school, perform poorly at work or put off medical treatment. But is procrastination all bad? Perhaps its vices are over-exaggerated in a highly driven materialistic world? Does it have any redeeming elements? What, for example, is the difference between procrastination and deliberation?

The reasons people procrastinate are not understood well. Some researchers view procrastination largely as a failure of self-regulation — like other bad behaviors that have to do with a lack of self-control, such as overeating, a gambling problem or overspending. Others say it’s not a matter of being lazy or poor time management, as many smart overachievers who procrastinate often can attest. They say it may actually be linked to how our brain works and to deeper perceptions of time and the self.

As it is with all challenges, to get to the bottom of a predicament, we need to distinguish between causes and symptoms: Is procrastination a symptom or a cause? What are its origins in the human psyche?

Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he dissects the anatomy of procrastination, and gets to its core soul and root causes. By identifying the forces that bring on procrastination, we will discover ways to preempt it, and even tap into its power.

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Rebecca Singer
7 years ago

I think you lost sound

Wayne Starr
7 years ago

the mic went dead…no volume.

Lisa
7 years ago

Rabbi Jacobson,
Thank you for your Wednesday podcasts, I look forward to hearing your message each week.

Just and FYI, there have been some problems with the sound cutting in and out (last week), and this week barely any volume, making it almost impossible to really listen. For the sake of all of us who really love your teachings, would it be possible to address the sound issue?

Thank you so much for all you do ????

Toby
7 years ago

Could you redo this lecture as it was interesting and the sound went out?

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