Who can figure out procrastinators--Cont.

It was said by a therapist when commenting on last night's blog that the most common cause of procrastination is perfectionism.

I don't believe that. I do not believe that someone does not even start a task, let alone finish that task simply because they feel that they will not perform at a level of perfection. There may be some level of reluctance to initiate or complete a task because they don't feel that they can adequately perform, but I think that occurs even in the absence of perfectionism. I would need to see that this particular individual displays perfectionism in other aspects of their lives before I would concede the point. Even then it would only be on a case by case basis.

I believe that there are many other aspects that more commonly contribute to procrastination. I think most prominent is distractability. I believe that most people procrastinate because they are simply distracted and get side tracked by other tasks thereby letting the task at hang "get away from them". You will hear such things as "I didn't get a chance", I"ll get to it later because I got caught upo in another project", and "Where did the time go". Those who are focused and goal oriented are less likely to procrastinate and are more likely to complete tasks.

People who are distracted are also often overwhelmed. When one is overwhelmed they are less likely to initiate a task let alone complete that task. Together, distractability and being overwhelmed are often traits of those individuals who have ADD.

Procrastinators are often people who exhibit lassitude and a lack of caring. Pessimists are more like to be procrastinators--"why start or finish a project if the results just don't matter"

Clearly there are many contributing factors which lead to one becoming a procrastinator and these factors come in many colors and sizes and shapes. It is never one size fits all--but the end result is the same. that end result often leads to frustration; sometimes to the procrastinator and definitely to the family.
How many addicts procrastinate with regards to their treatment. Who has more inertia than an addict especially when it comes to ending their drug binge and starting a treatment program. Working with a program who understands this inertia and can create the appropriate counter forces is crucial.