but not all delay is procrastination.”

Defining “Delay”

Psychologist Mohsen Haghbin has some answers for why we might delay. In his study of procrastination, Dr. Haghbin discovered that “all procrastination is delay, but not all delay is procrastination.” In other words, we “put things off” for different reasons, and procrastination isn’t always one of them. He found six different forms of delay, and they’ll probably sound familiar:

1. Irrational Delay: “I know what I should be doing, but I’m choosing to do something else, knowing I might be worse off later” (i.e., procrastination, the most common form of delay)

2. Hedonistic Delay: “I don’t care about this task right now. I’d rather have fun.”

3. Arousal Delay: “I like waiting till the last minute because I need pressure or an adrenaline rush to complete tasks.”

4. Inevitable Delay: “I care about this task, but there’s something more important and legitimate that I must do first.”

5. Purposeful Delay: “Delay is part of life. It’s required to organize my tasks in a specific order so that I can accomplish them in a strategic and timely way.”

6. Delay due to Emotional Problems: “Delay is a symptom of a deeper emotional problem. Procrastination feels like an effect of something, not its cause.”

Even though the reasons for delay might be different, you might be noticing a trend in all of these forms:

emotions

Anxiety, pleasure, guilt, excitement, fear, care, hopelessness: put simply, delay is often caused by an emotional response to something going on in our lives. It has nothing to do with who we are intrinsically. 

Sometimes delay helps us keep our priorities and mental well-being in order, or what Dr. Haghbin calls “purposeful delay.” We know we can’t accomplish everything at the same time, so we have to stagger our tasks! Other times, delay is beyond our control, or “inevitable delay.” Maybe there’s an emergency that pops up or a deadline with higher stakes than another.

Or perhaps delay happens because the task at hand feels torturous, uninteresting, and/or overwhelming. Psychologist Timothy Pychyl explains that when we experience negative emotions, our brains go into fight or flight mode. We respond by finding an immediate way to cope, which is often through avoiding tasks. The big stressors in life may feel like too much at the moment, so we frequently default to more immediate, feel-good solutions.

Outcomes of Delay

Studies show that delay caused by negative emotions, especially in relation to school tasks, often produce these outcomes:

• Psychological distress

• Anxiety

• Decrease in one’s health condition and behaviors

• Reduced well-being

• Low academic performance

• Regret

• Avoidance of social relations

Moreover, researchers found that “procrastination by definition cannot be associated with academic success” (Klingsieck et al. 2013). This means that saying “tight deadlines motivate me to do homework” might be a short-term solution for a semester, but it won’t produce long-term academic success.

If you’ve said or experienced any of these things, don’t despair.

In addition to knowing you’re not alone in this and that practically everyone struggles with procrastination, it’s also important to realize that there are ways to manage how and when we delay. We’re not necessarily procrastinators by default but have learned to procrastinate in order to cope and survive, especially in the face of difficult emotions.

Seeking a Path Forward

Ready to learn more about strategies that can help you identify why you might be procrastinating? Start with this 15-minute exercise, then go back to the “Student” section on this website for more tips on how to manage procrastination habits and your time.