He’s Studied Procrastination for 40 Years. Here’s What He’s Learned

Joseph Ferrari has a nickname for procrastinators — procs — and he’s been studying them for 40 years. He became fascinated with procrastination when he was working on a PhD in experimental psychology and realized that no one had studied the psychology of why some people put off completing tasks. Because he is not a proc, he immediately got to work, exploring what causes procrastination across various cultures and demographics.

He went on to write multiple books on the topic, including “Still Procrastinating?” in 2010. He now teaches at DePaul University and has found that 20 percent of people are chronic procrastinators — meaning they habitually, intentionally and irrationally delay a target task, often to the point that they cause discomfort for themselves and others. “That’s high,” Ferrari said. “Higher than depression, phobia, panic attacks, alcoholism, substance abuse.”

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