Procrastinators around the world also have their world day. On a fixed date, yes. Every March 25 since 2010, hyperactive people across the planet are invited to spare a thought for their neighbors who tend to put off until tomorrow what they could do that same day. Amusing? Not for everybody. Because procrastination can also be a real handicap for those who suffer from it. Clinical psychologist Alexandra Rivière-Lecart deciphers the mechanisms for 20 minutes.
Is procrastination a pathology?
No, it is not a listed pathology, not yet anyway. It is a psychological trait which is reflected in behavior: those who suffer from it postpone everything until tomorrow, to the point of handicapping them personally, professionally… But it will perhaps be recognized one day. Many people seek professional help for their tendency to procrastinate.
What are the psychological factors that lead to procrastination?
They are very varied. Among the patients, we find perfectionists, who cannot bear the idea of doing imperfect work and would rather abstain than risk failure. But there are also anxious people and their problem then concerns self-esteem. Others fear that the work they will submit will not reflect the depth of their thinking and cannot tolerate limits (of time, for example). Generally speaking, procrastination is a complex concept because it refers to very different notions: some procrastinators see the end as the idea of death, others see the obligation to do something as an opportunity to play. with the framework and the limits and to derive pleasure from it. Behind the fact of postponing everything until the next day, there is also for some people the hope that something will save the day, an absent teacher who will temporarily allow them to escape an exam for example.
Students, in fact, are the biggest procrastinators…
Yes, many are affected. They walk with pleasure and grant themselves the right to listen to each other. They play with the framework, the limits, the authority, testing themselves and the other. Parents didn’t always teach them to finish things, even just their meal, their year of sports or a project. A lot of things happen during childhood and adolescence.
Does today’s society promote procrastination?
No. Procrastination has always existed, it’s just that we didn’t realize it and we didn’t put a word on it. What is true, however, is that as society becomes more castrating and rigid with all its rules, procrastination has become more visible. Now, we cannot say that the Internet, for example, promotes procrastination. It’s just one way to procrastinate. An individual who suffers from it will always find something better to do than work, in any environment. A procrastinating teenager will not spontaneously clean his room, but he will do it to avoid doing his homework.
How do you help patients who come to see for this reason?
there is no treatment. I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). I make my patients do exercises to push back deadlines less and less, I work with them on their fears and their self-esteem so that they learn to say to themselves “I am capable” and we finally work on their thoughts (the cognitions). If some people see pushing back as an opportunity to show their omnipotence, others will see it as a way to test their ability to obtain a favor from their boss, for example. We need to decipher all of this.