Adults with an optimistic view of the future are less likely to put off doing things they could do right away.
- Procrastination reduces well-being and increases stress.
- According to a study of 296 young adults, those who had a positive outlook on their stress levels in the future, compared to the past or present, were less likely to suffer from severe procrastination.
- “We hope that our findings will be particularly useful in the education sector. (…) Our next step is to explore which approach is appropriate this time and how we can develop the ‘right’ mindset to have a happier society and more fulfilling lives.”
We’ll see tomorrow… This is one of the phrases often uttered by people who tend to put everything off until tomorrow. “I have struggled with procrastination since I was a child. I would clean my room when I needed to study for an exam and prioritize practicing aikido over my academic research. This habit of putting off important tasks has been a constant challenge. I wanted to change my behavior because I realized that I was not facing the future impact of my actions,” said Saya Kashiwakuraa researcher at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo (Japan).
Stress, well-being: 296 adults gave their impressions on the future
In a new study, she wanted to determine how to overcome procrastination, which reduces well-being and increases stress. Together with her colleague, the scientist started from an observation. “Previous research has shown that procrastinators tend to neglect the future. However, the temporal vision of these adults, including their impressions of the future, has not been adequately examined.” So, as part of their work, the team wanted to introduce new points, “chronological view of stress” and “chronological view of well-being”, which deal with impressions of the past, present and future.
In detail, the authors surveyed 296 Japanese adults in their twenties to find out their views on stress and well-being and, importantly, how they had changed over time. This included questions about their experiences in the past up to the present, as well as their expectations for the next ten years. Based on the results, the participants were grouped into four groups (e.g., whether they thought their situation would improve or stay the same), and then each group was divided into “severe, moderate and weak procrastinators”.
Optimism keeps procrastination away
According to the results, published in the journal Scientific Reportsoptimistic people, that is, those who believe that stress does not increase as we move forward into the future, are less likely to have serious procrastination habits. The researchers noted that no link was found between procrastination and negative views of well-being, such as attitude toward oneself or not yet finding a purpose and goals in life.
Using this study, the team wants to develop ways to help people develop a more optimistic mindset and overcome procrastination. “We hope that our findings will be particularly useful in the education sector. (…) Our next step is to explore which approach is appropriate this time and how we can develop the ‘right’ mindset to have a happier society and more fulfilling lives.”
