Name: Why do we procrastinate? ⏲️ 6 Minute English
Uploaded: 2025-11-29T21:01:10.000Z
Duration: 6 min 24 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Hello, this is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English.

I've got a deadline to meet today and I haven't finished my work yet.

Let me guess, it's because you delayed and delayed and put your work off until the last minute as usual.

Someone who keeps delaying things that need to be done.

I work better when a deadline is approaching.

But did you know that people who procrastinate have higher levels of stress and lower well-being?

Procrastination is also linked with lower financial and career success.

So there's a lot of reasons not to do it.

In this program, we're discussing procrastination,

the act of delaying things that must be done until later, often because they're difficult and boring or unpleasant.

And as usual, we'll be learning some new vocabulary along the way.

So without wasting any more time, I have a question for you, Sam.

The fact that procrastinating or putting things off is bad for us doesn't stop people doing it.

According to recent research by DePaul University in Chicago,

what percentage of people procrastinate so much that it interferes with their day to day life?

I'll guess that around 10% of people have a serious procrastination problem.

Okay, Sam, we'll find out the answer later in the program.

Sam is certainly not alone in putting things off until the last minute.

Here's Ella Al Shamahi, presenter of BBC Radio 4's Why Do We Do That?

Talking to comedian Eshaan Akbar about his procrastination habitat.

Would you say, Eshaan, that you're a procrastinator?

I am a serial procrastinator without a shadow of a doubt.

Over the years I've told myself that I procrastinate because I work better under pressure.

Eshaan thinks that he is a procrastinator without a shadow of a doubt.

A phrase which is used to emphasize that you are completely certain of something.

Eshaan also says that like Sam, he works better under pressure when he feels stressed or anxious because of having too much to do.

But maybe also like Sam, Eshaan has a problem organising his workload and managing his time.

My time management skills are okay, thank you.

With me, it's more of an emotional response.

I see a mountain of work, feel threatened, and think, how on earth will I finish all that?

What Sam says is supported by a theory of human evolution which explains how putting things off is an emotional response.

Back when we were living in caves, life was dangerous and short and our ancestors were impulsive.

They acted suddenly, on instinct without thinking about the consequences of what they were doing.

Back then, being impulsive was a good thing.

But in modern life, we with work goals and deadlines.

When we are impulsive and get distracted, we procrastinate.

So rather than being a problem with time management, Sam should blame her caveman ancestors who acted on impulse.

Let's listen again to comedian Eshaan Akbar talking about how he feels when he procrastinates.

A lot of stuff you read about procrastination focuses on the time management element of it.

I've probably got a better sense that for me, it seems very squarely around the emotional aspect of it.

Perhaps I get more emotional gratification from doing it last minute and I need to understand why.

Why I prefer that over the calm serenity of getting things done with oodles of time in my hands.

In the same way that our ancestors felt good living on impulse, Eshaan thinks he gets gratification, but

a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction from doing things at the last minute.

What he doesn't understand is why he prefers to work under pressure instead of finishing calmly with oodles or lots of time.

Unlike Eshaan, I'd rather finish my work feeling relaxed.

Well, breaking down the task into smaller stages also breaks down the level of threat you feel from your workload.

Also, forgiving yourself for procrastinating in the past seems helpful in avoiding procrastinating in the future.

So forgive yourself and start making changes, Sam, before you end up like the time wasters in my question.

What percentage of people procrastinate so much that it interferes with day-to-day life?

Well, I guessed it was 10%, which was the wrong answer, I'm afraid.

In fact, around 20% of us have a procrastination habit so strong it makes life difficult.

Okay, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned from this program on procrastination.

Delaying or putting off doing things until later, often because they're difficult, unpleasant or boring.

The phrase without a shadow of a doubt is used to emphasize that you are completely certain of something.

If you're under pressure, you feel stressed or anxious because of having too much to do.

Impulsive behaviour is sudden and spontaneous, done without thinking about the consequences.

Gratification means a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction.

And finally, when you have oodles of something, you have a very large amount of something pleasant, like time.

I'm rushing off to finish my work, Neil, but

remember to make time to join us again soon here at 6 Minute English.