Although you may sometimes feel that you are the only one who cannot "pull yourself together" and get "it" (insert important task yourself) done, it is actually something we all do.

It's a universal human trait and part of being human, but luckily that doesn't mean it has to stay that way. Because you can get better at handling it. But it requires an insight into why you put off your important tasks.

According to Psychology Today are four reasons why we put off tasks until later (ie last minute).

The first step, however, is to become aware of the reason why you are putting off your tasks. In this article, we first identify the four things that cause you to procrastinate, and then we describe what you can do to get your tasks done on time.

These four things cause you to put off important tasks

Procrastination is a strange thing. Because even tasks that we find exciting and that we intellectually know will be good for us, we put off until later. And the reasons we do it are paradoxical.

Because it turns out that the measures (ie the psychological mechanisms or behaviors) we put in place to avoid a certain unpleasant outcome actually reinforce the unwanted outcome.

1. Fear of success
   It probably sounds strange if you haven't experienced it. But fear of success is actually a fairly common reason why we put off tasks. This takes the form of self-sabotage and is caused by an unconscious fear that one's success will make those closest to one appear stupid. To avoid the pain it would cause, we subconsciously sabotage our own performance by putting off work until the last minute. Which means that you perform worse, and thus avoid putting those closest to you in a bad light. Unfortunately, your bad results rarely mean less pain for those closest to you. By sabotaging our own achievements, we actually rob those closest to us of the joy of being proud of us. Intellectually we know this, yet we do not act accordingly.
2. Lack of faith in own ability.
   Another widespread reason for task procrastination is that we don't believe we can handle the task. We simply doubt that we can do it well enough and therefore postpone the task until the last minute. Then we can blame a lack of time for a bad result - and not that we simply weren't skilled enough. Again, this is a behavior that reinforces what we fear.
3. Enjoy the thrill
   A third reason why some people procrastinate is because they enjoy the thrill of turning in at the last minute. If you work under pressure, you inevitably feel an adrenaline rush, which for some people is exciting. Some even feel they need this adrenaline rush to perform at their best. But all research indicates that this is not the case. If you solve tasks at the last minute, you will deliver worse results.
4. PerfectionismPerfectionism is perhaps the most paradoxical reason for putting off tasks until the last minute. Perfectionism is born from a fear of making mistakes. An anxiety that can cause perfectionists to put off tasks until the last minute. Which leads to them achieving worse results. Researchers have investigated what they call "regulatory mode theory", where they identify two orientations towards action. THE researchers call it "assessment" and "locomotion". Individuals who score high on assension want to be sure that they are doing the right thing (typical of the perfectionist), while people who score high on "locomotion" just want to get started with the task. The results showed that people who scored high on "assessment" were more likely to procrastinate because they were afraid of making the wrong decision.

   It's truly a vicious cycle: Perfectionism leads to procrastination, which leads to more mistakes, which leads to poorer results, which reinforces the fear of making mistakes.

As I said, procrastination is something we all do, and it's not something you can completely get rid of. But if you feel that task procrastination is hindering your performance, there are a number of measures you can try.

First, you identify the reason(s) that you are putting off your tasks. Are you afraid of success, do you doubt your own abilities, is it all about the thrill or are you a perfectionist? Maybe there is more than one reason?

Once you have an idea of what is causing you to procrastinate on important tasks, you can try one or more of these tactics.

Get your assignments done on time with these four tactics

1. How to fight your fear of success: It's not easy to get rid of your anxiety about success, but according to Psychology Today, it's important that you realize how unlikely it is that your beliefs are true. People who care about you want you to succeed. Your success will actually reflect positively back on them.
2. This is how you build faith in your own worth. If you are convinced that you cannot hand in assignments on time or if you doubt your own abilities to manage your calendar, practice on small tasks that you know you can handle, where the deadline is relatively close. Once you see that you can do this, you can gradually extend the deadlines and thus build your belief that you can handle the tasks and manage your own time effectively.
3. Learn to perform without the adrenaline rush. Find excitement elsewhere, is the advice from Psychology Today. Pay particular attention to the times when you didn't manage to deliver on time. Where your performance suffered because they put off tasks until the last minute. If you need the thrill, set up your own private deadlines. Over time, you should be able to make the intervals longer and longer.
4. Fight perfectionism by focusing on action. If you put off your tasks because you are afraid of making mistakes, Psychology Today recommends that you find a business partner who scores high on "locomotion".