Why Procrastination is Bad for Your Health

Serial procrastination can be detrimental to your life and health, so it’s important to find ways to kick the habit.

21:42 19 September 2024

We all procrastinate sometimes, and it’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes, you just need a break from all of the demands of daily life, and often, that means putting things off because you don’t have the energy to deal with them. However, serial procrastination can be detrimental to your life and health, so it’s important to find ways to kick the habit. When you do, you’ll be more productive and you’ll find that procrastination was taking more of your energy than you thought.

Procrastination can hurt your health

Of all the things you could possibly put off, procrastinating when it comes to your health can have some of the worst consequences. For instance, if you develop symptoms of an illness and choose not to see a doctor, that illness could progress to a serious level without treatment. 

It’s understandable if your symptoms don’t seem severe, but if it turns out to be something serious, it might become harder or even impossible to treat. For example, the symptoms of mesothelioma mimic pneumonia, which results in many misdiagnoses. When early treatment is essential, you don’t want to prolong an accurate diagnosis.

If you feel ill and your symptoms aren’t going away, or if you’re injured, see a doctor right away. At worst, it won’t be anything to worry about, but if there’s a chance it’s something you need to address, you’ll catch it sooner than later.

You’ll lose people’s trust

One of the biggest forms of procrastination is not making good on your promises to other people. When you don’t do what you say you’re going to do, people notice, and they start to see you as unreliable. If you put things off too often, they will stop trusting you altogether.

You’ll miss deadlines

Whether it’s a deadline for work, school, or something in your personal life, procrastination is the number one enemy. The longer you put something off, the harder it will be to do at the last minute. If other people depend on your work to be completed first, the impact will be far greater.

You’ll feel guilty

Procrastination isn’t an intentional act, and most people feel extremely guilty for not being able to complete tasks. If you are stuck in the procrastination cycle, the guilt can feel like a heavy weight on your shoulders. You can end up feeling depressed, overwhelmed, and discouraged for not being able to meet other people’s expectations.

Solutions to procrastination

Although it may seem insurmountable, procrastination can be overcome, and the triggers that lead to procrastination can be managed and even eliminated in some cases. The first place to start is with managing your promises. Anytime you tell someone you’ll do something – whether or not you use the word ‘promise’ – you’re creating an expectation for someone that you will do that thing.

Many people with a procrastination habit simply overpromise and find they don’t have the time, energy, or desire to follow through. The less you promise, the less you’ll procrastinate. If a lack of energy is your underlying issue, don’t give your energy away.

Start by not making any promises on the spot. Don’t agree to go anywhere or do anything until you’ve had time to think. When you cut down on the number of unnecessary tasks you add to your plate, you’ll be less overwhelmed, which will automatically reduce the need to procrastinate. Reducing the source of your feelings of overwhelm will also reduce stress and anxiety.

Another solution to procrastination is to get organized. Often, procrastination happens when you spend your time doing other things and by the time you need to do something important, you’ve run out of time and energy. Creating a daily routine where you schedule important tasks to be done at specific times will help immensely. For example,

Last, don’t be too flexible. Flexibility is important, but there should be limits. For example, when someone wants to hang out, but you’ve already planned on doing something important, learn to say no. Start honoring your prior commitments even when something more fun comes around. Take your commitments seriously so you don’t need to constantly reschedule with people or cancel. The more you honor your word and show up for people, the more trust you’ll gain from others.

Procrastination isn’t a sign of laziness

Despite what some people believe, procrastination isn’t a sign of laziness. It’s typically connected to mental health challenges and/or a lack of energy and poor planning. Organizational strategies, like scheduling tasks and time management, can go a long way to help you overcome the habit of procrastination.