As a definition we can say that procrastination is the act of postponing tasks or situations that need to be done and replacing them with other more pleasant or pleasant ones . But who procrastinates the most? Are those who postpone their tasks the happiest?
A study carried out by researchers from different German entities has tried to give some answers to these questions. The work had the collaboration of 1,350 women and 1,177 men, aged between 14 and 95 years. A questionnaire on procrastination was applied to them as well as other scales of stress, depression, anxiety, fatigue and satisfaction with life, with the aim of analyzing the relationships between the habit of postponing obligations and general well-being through all the previous variables. .
The results have been recently published in the journal PLoS ONE (2016) and have shown that in general, it does not seem that procrastinators enjoy greater well-being compared to those who delay their tasks and activities less. Specifically, the authors found that the youngest individuals procrastinate the most , with the highest rates being between 14 and 29 years of age. In addition, it seems that in general men and women have this tendency equally, except when they are younger, when boys outnumber girls.
Regarding the relationship with the clinical variables, it was found that a greater tendency to procrastination was related to greater stress, more anxiety and depression problems, and greater fatigue . Furthermore, contrary to what might seem more natural, procrastination was related to lower satisfaction with life , specifically with aspects such as work and salary. It was also observed that not having a partner or being unemployed was also associated with procrastination.
The authors suggest the need for more research to be able to study why activities are postponed , mainly in young and unemployed populations, so that this phenomenon can be better understood. In addition, it seems that a logical consequence of this type of study would be to be able to provide the necessary help to those who need it and thus improve their mood and life satisfaction.
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Marisa Fernández, Senior Neuropsychologist, Unobrain
