Making good friends can be hard to come by these days especially those that you can depend on and trust to help you when you really need it. If you ever need a friend, please don't select someone named Procrastination because the only friend Procrastination has is named Delayed. They are besties for life.

Procrastination is defined as the action of delaying or postponing something. Some say that it is a sign of laziness, but is it really? It could be that perhaps a person really, really don't want to do something for whatever reason, so he or she keeps putting it off perhaps hoping that it will simply disappear. However, in real life, we all know that this vanishing act will not happen because this is not the Magic Kingdom.

Are you a procrastinator? Alright now, don't everyone raise their hands at the same time. Even if you are not guilty, I bet you a million dollars that you can name at least one person who procrastinates. OK, I have been guilty of this myself on a few occasions especially when I was in high school. However, I promised myself that when I started college that I was going to unfriend Procrastination.

In this article, we will be discussing the following:

• The three forms of procrastination.
• What are the effects of procrastination?
• Why do people procrastinate?

While performing research on this topic, I learned that there are three forms of procrastination which is called thrill-seekers, avoiders, and decisional procrastinators. Which one are you?

Let's see. Thrill-seekers are described as an individual who waits to the very last minute to get something completed because they look forward to an adrenaline rush.

Being an avoider procrastinator is someone who uses fear as the reason why they are reluctant to complete the necessary task, and sometimes this is related to how they think other individuals perceive them.

An individual who is considered a decisional procrastinator is someone who is hesitant and unable to make a decision. They often question their ability and seek the opinion of others.

Photo by Fernando @cferdo on Unsplash

Note that there are millions of people who procrastinate all over the world, and the more I learn, the more questions I have. What do we get out of procrastinating? Is procrastination an intentional or a habitual trait?

Some individuals who procrastinate may indeed fear the outcome of what would happen if the task is completed because in the back of their mind they may not actually want to do the task. In some cases, they may not know how to go about performing the task. Some procrastinators fall into this category because of their habits. They may have good intentions of getting the work done, but keep pushing it off until the last minute, this develops into a pattern and becomes a habitual trait.

Procrastination can cause various effects on the human body and personal life such as:

• Health Issues: Anxiety, panic attacks, depression, headaches, insomnia, weakened immune system, and abdominal pain
• Credibility Issues: Missing deadlines, not trustworthy, creates relationship strain, less dependable, and could hinder workplace promotions and/or pay rate increases

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

Is procrastination considered a bad thing? In my opinion, procrastination will only become a bad thing when an individual allows it to continuously get out of control where it starts to snowball and it affects that person's life and others around them negatively. Now I asked you, what can be done to stop procrastination so that it will not become a vicious cycle?

In order to find a solution to eliminate procrastination, you have to first find the reason why procrastination is occurring. Sometimes procrastination can be caused by Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) so you need to consult with your medical provider.

On a less serious note to assist with procrastination, you have to set goals for yourself and keep track of your projects by maintaining a journal and/or even setting alarms in order to keep yourself on track, I called this making a To-Do-list. Also, keeping yourself motivated about the task that needs to be completed will help eliminate procrastination. One rule is to never put off what you can do today because tomorrow is not promised to you.

The main rule to live by that I always want you to remember is to never bite off more than what you can chew, meaning that you should not overload yourself so that you can stay better organized with smaller tasks. If you find yourself getting bogged down and falling into your old pattern of procrastinating, don't be afraid to seek help.