“Procrastination is the thief of time” is an old saying that has stood the test of time and proven genuine. No one can claim with certainty never to have postponed something that ought to have been done, be it because of fear, laziness, or any other reason. Well, it’s common for humans to postpone things with the promise of finishing them in the future.

Pessimistic vs. Optimistic View

Over the years, researchers have tried to investigate what causes humans to procrastinate with no substantial success. While the drive is always there, there has never been a concrete reason for the urge to postpone. Nevertheless, researchers at the University of Tokyo believe that people’s point of view about the future always has a significant hand in trying to postpone things.

Their research findings discovered that people with a pessimistic view about the future almost end up with high degrees of procrastination. Whenever fear starts creeping in about the future, there is always a high tendency to try to postpone something with the hope that things could improve.

On the other hand, the researchers found out that people with an optimistic view or confidence about the future always end up wading off the urges of procrastination. The findings make a lot of sense, given that one should always complete any task as long as one is confident that it will lead to a positive outcome in the future. Similarly, people will always procrastinate by trying to come up with reasons not to finish various activities if there are strong feelings that things might not materialize.

Averting Procrastination

So, what do these discoveries imply for those who constantly put things off, aiming to alter their habits? The findings indicate that developing a positive perspective on future stress levels might assist in breaking the cycle of choosing immediate pleasure over enduring objectives.

According to the University of Tokyo researchers, individuals who procrastinate might overlook what’s ahead because they hold a negative view, believing it will only lead to more difficulties and pressures than what they’re facing now. By nurturing a more optimistic view – suggesting that the future could be less demanding than the present – individuals like you might find themselves more inclined to tackle difficult tasks now, knowing they will benefit in the future.