Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator

'Wait but Why', a website founded by Tim Urban and one other, includes various posts on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to procrastination. The latter was the topic of concern at a Ted Talk by Tim Urban. You may have wondered at one point in life why procrastinators always have the urge to delay tasks to the last day or maybe even the last hour.

The explanation for this query was given by Tim in a very humorous way. He gave the idea that the minds of both, a procrastinator and otherwise, have a rational decision-maker developed inside of them. However, what is unusual about the procrastinator's mind is that it is home to the instant gratification monkey. The name may sound weird, but it is actually a common term used to describe an imaginary creature said to live in some minds and grapple with the decision-maker of the brain. This is usually where the feeling of wanting to indulge in fun tasks rather than sitting down and studying for school comes from.

That’s why there’s an overlap; sometimes they agree, but other times it makes much more sense to be doing things that are harder and less pleasant for the sake of the big picture, and that’s when we have a conflict.

— Tim Urban

Urban believes that everyone procrastinates, but the situation they might be in may be different. This gives us two types of procrastination. One of which is deadline-driven, probably the one we are all familiar with, and the other is situational procrastination (without deadlines). The difference between the two, as mentioned by Urban, is that in the second type, a person can go on procrastinating for as long as they like, as the panic monster is not triggered due to no deadlines. So, for situations like eating well or exercising, this is the primary source of frustration for many leading to long-term unhappiness.

Upon posting about the same topic on his website, Tim says he received several emails from people of all professions from all around the world. They all had the same complaint: “I have the same problem.” This further proved Urban's point that everyone is a procrastinator and suffers various consequences. The light and hearty tone of this Ted Talk was what made things very understandable and enjoyable at the same time. Such matters should not be discussed to worry anyone but to keep them aware that they are not alone and that their deadlines will be met once the panic monster comes into action!

These three characters (Rational Decision-Maker, Instant Gratification Monkey, and the Panic Monster) are all part of the procrastinator's system. Waking up one day to realize you have an assignment due the next day and up until now, you were having trouble with just the first line when, out of nowhere, the sudden motivation to work kicks in. That is all but the work of the mind. This Ted Talk is a great look into the mind of a procrastinator. It also has solutions on how to overcome an issue that many deal with. Tim introduces us to a life calendar, which includes a box for every week for a 90-year life. Figuring out what exactly you are procrastinating on and realising that the number of boxes in this one calendar will come to end is a driving force to resolve the issue named procrastination.

-Tim Urban's illustration of a procrastinator's mind