Bangalore: Every individual has been exposed to some form of procrastination: self-imposed or otherwise.

Procrastination is a common destructive deep-seated psychological avoidance mechanism which sabotages one's ability to lead an effective and stress-free life, says Mukesh Batra, founder of Dr. Batra's Positive Health Clinc, offering alternative healing for several ailments.

"Although everyone struggles with some natural tendency to avoid unpleasant tasks, with many people, procrastination really interferes with enjoyment of life. It has been a cause for missed deadlines and lost business deals; yet the world still struggles with procrastinators who realise its downfall and yet cannot find a solution," he says.

Procrastination is most common among students and adults. There are many who struggle with deadlines every day, with the feeling of impending doom as the exam or project date looms.

World Procrastination Day is observed on Wednesday — a day to recognise procrastination as a serious condition that can be cured. Contrary to the belief that procrastination is a cause of laziness, it is a condition that arises due to cognitive distortions. People who procrastinate typically make certain cognitive distortions, which promote procrastination.

Most people procrastinate because they pursue perfectionism, are fearful of doing badly at the task, or are simply too disorganised with their time and resources.

Procrastinators who are driven by fear usually use avoidance and have an intense desire to delay performing a task or simply wait for its expiration so that it no longer has to be dealt with.

Being disorganised is probably the largest cause of procrastination, especially among students.

Most people who procrastinate tend to tackle the easiest tasks first, regardless of whether they are urgent or not. More urgent or difficult tasks, however, begin to pile up as they are put off.

This leads to missed deadlines and an eventual overload of work.

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