{"id":127976,"date":"2024-08-10T08:33:21","date_gmt":"2024-08-10T12:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=127976"},"modified":"2024-08-12T09:30:15","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T13:30:15","slug":"why-is-procrastination-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is Procrastination Bad? Exploring the Top 3 Reasons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why is procrastination bad<\/a>? How does procrastination affect your physical health?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timothy A. Pychyl contends it\u2019s important to be aware of the specific ways your procrastination habit<\/a> works against you. After all, procrastination keeps you from putting your limited time to the best possible use, and this can have a cascade of consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, we\u2019ll consider three ways that procrastination can sabotage you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. It Chips Away at Your Ability to Get Things Done<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the reasons why procrastination is bad is that<\/strong> it hinders your ability to do and be your best<\/strong>. Pychyl warns that when you give in to procrastination and delay working on the tasks that your partner, your boss, or your friends are depending on you to complete, you don\u2019t put your best effort into fulfilling your obligations. He warns that it\u2019s easy to disappoint yourself or somebody else and regret it later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pychyl argues that if you aren\u2019t able to find the time to do the things you said you would, procrastination can undermine your relationships with the people you care about most<\/strong>. It can also make you regret missing out on things you always wanted to do but never got around to doing, like taking the trip you and your partner have always talked about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you keep putting a task off, you might find yourself in the final stretch before the deadline with little time left to do a good job. Pychyl explains that procrastination often reduces the quality of the work you ultimately do<\/strong>. This can feel like an acceptable trade-off because it seems to lower the stakes, too. (If you do a good job, you manage to perform well even when working at the last minute. And if you do a poor job, you can just attribute it to the lack of time left to complete the task, and move on.) But no matter how you justify it to yourself, procrastination still keeps you from doing your best work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. It Results in More Negative Feelings, Not Fewer <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You might recall from the previous section that the desire to avoid negative emotions often drives procrastination. Pychyl warns that this rarely works out the way we expect it to: Procrastination doesn\u2019t really make you feel happier, even in the moment<\/strong>. He explains that when you know you should be working on a task you\u2019ve delayed, you probably feel mixed emotions about it. One of the most common is guilt (which you feel when you know you\u2019re doing something that conflicts with your sense of what\u2019s right or wrong for you).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, procrastination causes<\/a> you to feel an array of negative emotions later<\/strong>, when you have to deal with the consequences. Pychyl contends that deferring a task often results in more negative emotions than you\u2019d experience if you\u2019d just gotten started on the task, no matter how unpleasant it is. For example, as many undergraduates learn, if you wait to write a paper until the night before it\u2019s due, you\u2019ll spend the night feeling anxious, harried, or frantic\u2014and the next day feeling sleep-deprived and regretful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. It Takes a Toll on Your Physical Health<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Research also shows that procrastination can have a harmful effect on your health and well-being<\/strong>. How is that possible? Pychyl explains that first of all, procrastination causes stress. (Just think of how stressful it is to write a paper the night before it\u2019s due!) But stress isn\u2019t just a feeling: Stress is a psychological, emotional, and physical reaction to the challenges you experience. Even when you create a stressful situation yourself by putting off until later something you should do now, that stress can have an impact on your body, and sometimes that impact can harm your health.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Pychyl, another reason that procrastination takes a toll on your physical health is that while putting off a few unpleasant tasks can seem harmless, procrastination isn\u2019t so innocuous when it involves health-related tasks<\/strong>. Skipping gym sessions, delaying the start date for healthier eating habits, pushing back your bedtime, failing to find the time for doctor\u2019s appointments, and delaying recommended health screenings all keep you from taking care of yourself to the best of your ability. Your health can suffer in the long run: After all, your blood pressure doesn\u2019t care that you always intend to exercise more or that you have a plan to start a new diet next month.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why is procrastination bad? How does procrastination affect your physical health? Timothy A. Pychyl contends it\u2019s important to be aware of the specific ways your procrastination habit works against you. After all, procrastination keeps you from putting your limited time to the best possible use, and this can have a cascade of consequences. Below, we\u2019ll consider three ways that procrastination can sabotage you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":128015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9],"tags":[1564],"class_list":["post-127976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-psychology","tag-solving-the-procrastination-puzzle","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Is Procrastination Bad? Exploring the Top 3 Reasons - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Procrastination comes with some costs. Discover the top three reasons procrastination is bad, including a great toll on your health.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Is Procrastination Bad? Exploring the Top 3 Reasons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Procrastination comes with some costs. Discover the top three reasons procrastination is bad, including a great toll on your health.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-10T12:33:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-12T13:30:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/procrastination-clock.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"616\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Doll\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Doll\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Katie Doll\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e1b539e89423b544ede91ab2bff937\"},\"headline\":\"Why Is Procrastination Bad? Exploring the Top 3 Reasons\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-10T12:33:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-12T13:30:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/\"},\"wordCount\":756,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/procrastination-clock.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Solving the Procrastination Puzzle\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\",\"Psychology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/\",\"name\":\"Why Is Procrastination Bad? Exploring the Top 3 Reasons - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/procrastination-clock.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-10T12:33:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-12T13:30:15+00:00\",\"description\":\"Procrastination comes with some costs. Discover the top three reasons procrastination is bad, including a great toll on your health.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/procrastination-clock.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/procrastination-clock.webp\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":616,\"caption\":\"A man sitting in front of a giant clock, wondering why procrastination is bad\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why Is Procrastination Bad? Exploring the Top 3 Reasons\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e1b539e89423b544ede91ab2bff937\",\"name\":\"Katie Doll\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6239731a3fc739640b80be30f2b1727a055d3535d0ee4569e8282faa323e47fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6239731a3fc739640b80be30f2b1727a055d3535d0ee4569e8282faa323e47fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Katie Doll\"},\"description\":\"Somehow, Katie was able to pull off her childhood dream of creating a career around books after graduating with a degree in English and a concentration in Creative Writing. Her preferred genre of books has changed drastically over the years, from fantasy\/dystopian young-adult to moving novels and non-fiction books on the human experience. Katie especially enjoys reading and writing about all things television, good and bad.\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"Bachelor of Arts in English With a Concentration in Creative Writing\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior SEO Writer\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/katie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Is Procrastination Bad? Exploring the Top 3 Reasons - Shortform Books","description":"Procrastination comes with some costs. Discover the top three reasons procrastination is bad, including a great toll on your health.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Is Procrastination Bad? Exploring the Top 3 Reasons","og_description":"Procrastination comes with some costs. Discover the top three reasons procrastination is bad, including a great toll on your health.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2024-08-10T12:33:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-08-12T13:30:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":616,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/procrastination-clock.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Katie Doll","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katie Doll","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/"},"author":{"name":"Katie Doll","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e1b539e89423b544ede91ab2bff937"},"headline":"Why Is Procrastination Bad? Exploring the Top 3 Reasons","datePublished":"2024-08-10T12:33:21+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-12T13:30:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/"},"wordCount":756,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/procrastination-clock.webp","keywords":["Solving the Procrastination Puzzle"],"articleSection":["Lifestyle","Psychology"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/","name":"Why Is Procrastination Bad? Exploring the Top 3 Reasons - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/procrastination-clock.webp","datePublished":"2024-08-10T12:33:21+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-12T13:30:15+00:00","description":"Procrastination comes with some costs. Discover the top three reasons procrastination is bad, including a great toll on your health.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/procrastination-clock.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/procrastination-clock.webp","width":1100,"height":616,"caption":"A man sitting in front of a giant clock, wondering why procrastination is bad"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/why-is-procrastination-bad\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why Is Procrastination Bad? Exploring the Top 3 Reasons"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e1b539e89423b544ede91ab2bff937","name":"Katie Doll","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6239731a3fc739640b80be30f2b1727a055d3535d0ee4569e8282faa323e47fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6239731a3fc739640b80be30f2b1727a055d3535d0ee4569e8282faa323e47fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Katie Doll"},"description":"Somehow, Katie was able to pull off her childhood dream of creating a career around books after graduating with a degree in English and a concentration in Creative Writing. Her preferred genre of books has changed drastically over the years, from fantasy\/dystopian young-adult to moving novels and non-fiction books on the human experience. Katie especially enjoys reading and writing about all things television, good and bad.","knowsAbout":["Bachelor of Arts in English With a Concentration in Creative Writing"],"jobTitle":"Senior SEO Writer","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/katie\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/procrastination-clock.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127976"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128016,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127976\/revisions\/128016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}