Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing something despite knowing that there will be negative consequences for doing so.

Procrastination is a common phenomenon that occurs so widely it has even been observed in animals. Procrastinators tend to avoid the task, deny that the task is important, distract themselves with other behaviors, compare themselves to worser procrastinators, celebrate non-relevant successes, and blame external factors.

One common cause of high procrastination is perfectionism. Procrastination has been linked to many causes such as depression, low self esteem, anxiety, stress, and ADHD.

Steel, P. (2010). Arousal, avoidant and decisional procrastinators: Do they exist? Personality and Individual Differences, 48(8), 926-934.