In my first part, I explained what the term procrastination refers to and some of the positive and negative aspects of the habit. In this section, I will explain some of the reasons that make us procrastinate.

The following are some of the reasons why people procrastinate;

• Lack of Motivation – People procrastinate because they feel like they need some motivation before starting a task. True motivation appears when you start to see progress. As you progress, over time, you will begin to see the fruits of your labor and with this, you will become more and more motivated.
• Lack of interest: people delay the completion of tasks because they do not find them interesting since there is no motivation. If you find that you have no interest in completing a particular job, there are ways you can deal with it, such as delegating it to someone who is better suited for the task, breaking it down into smaller components and handling one at a time, and move on. -Getting started on the big task at once while putting off all other errands and distractions.
• Skills deficit: Some people see a skills deficit as an obstacle to achieving their goal. They don’t know that achieving new goals and objectives is a learning process as one develops them along the way. Do not give up. Create a learning and development plan that allows you to build skills and knowledge and fill the gap.
• Fear of Failure: Many people are afraid of failing. They see it as something that cannot be rectified. That it’s over for them. They see it as a stain that cannot be removed. This causes their self-esteem to plummet, their confidence to fade and cause them to procrastinate on tasks they are even sure of completing. It is not normal to think that you can be successful without going through obstacles along the way. Are you afraid to fail? Create measures that increase your chances of success and build on them.
• Fear of success: Some people see success as stress and pressure in their life. As they think about being successful, they also think about the negativity that accompanies success. Don’t be afraid of success. Success comes with challenges, which toughens you up, gives you more knowledge and makes you develop new skills. No matter what task you are doing, each task must be completed. With good planning and self-confidence, no task is unmanageable.
• Endurance – Sometimes many people are able to complete a task, but decide to procrastinate. This is because they have rebelled. They do it deliberately, perhaps because they have been mistreated in one way or another. In case you are dealing with someone who is resistant, you can;

1. insist on deadlines
2. Give homework by email so you have written tests
3. Be frank and talk to them while you find a solution.
4. Make your communication clear
5. Organize regular updates for time-consuming projects so you can easily identify the problem and fix it
6. If it’s out of control, delete them

• Perfectionism: People procrastinate for fear of making mistakes in their work and showing their weakness. This causes people to put off some of their vital tasks for another day. They want their work to be perfect, since they believe that they will definitely fail if the task is not linked to their talent, so it is better to do it another day. Perfectionism prevents success. It should be avoided.
• Laziness- “I’ll do it later”, that’s what some procrastinators will say. It is a dangerous excuse that gives you the hope that in a day or later you will have the opportunity to accomplish your task. You can predict the future. Your mood can be bad, you can feel exhausted, unmotivated and you can end up doing nothing.

Apart from the above, other causes of procrastination are; not having a strong reason to act, always short-term thinking, fear of the unknown, feeling overwhelmed, low energy levels, lack of clear goals, anger and resentment, addiction to last minute rush, and many more.

Check out my part 3 on how to kick the habit.