Why do we procrastinate?

In this TED talk, Tim Urban states that there are two kinds of procrastination; Short-term procrastination, in the looming shadow of a deadline, and long-term procrastination. The first is the most recognisable - we've all shirked off doing a task until the last minute. The second is a kind of procrastination that I had never considered.

Urban proposes that when there is no deadline for a task, one will procrastinate continuously and never reach the point where one finds the determination to get on with it. This raises an interesting question: Why does this happen? Urban suggests, through his comical analogy of the brain, that the "Instant Gratification Monkey" will make one seek enjoyment instead of getting on with a task. Essentially, he is saying that our attraction to enjoyment pulls us away from doing a task. I am inclined to agree with this.

However, I don't think this is the full story. I believe that when people procrastinate, it is not only because they are being pulled to something more enjoyable but because they are being pushed away by the task itself. I believe this push factor is the main reason why people procrastinate. If procrastination was caused purely by the desire for instant gratification, then the world as we know it would not exist. A person's perception of the difficulty, irrelevance or lack of urgency of a task is the key factor that causes them to procrastinate. Once there is a push factor, the enjoyable pull factors can begin to take hold.

For me, the pull factor was always planning my next Dungeons and Dragons session or even familiarising myself with a set of D&D rules. This was extremely detrimental as I was able to scribble down and develop any ideas that popped into my head at any time - even during class! My workbooks were littered with sketches of maps, statistics for different rules or plot hooks for an upcoming adventure. Writing about it now makes me want to grab a pen and paper and create a new fantasy world - I am really that obsessed with it!

But I don't believe that the enjoyment of D&D itself causes me to procrastinate. There needs to be something pushing me away from the task that I'm supposed to be focusing on. For example, I've almost finished this post - therefore I'm not intimidated by the amount of work it will take to complete. I am determined to finish, and that is why my "Instant Gratification Monkey" has not taken hold.