Why you procrastinate even when it feels bad

8,328,682 views ・ 2022-10-27

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

Translator: Aubrey Cheng
00:07
It’s 5 p.m. and you’ve just realized that report you’ve been putting off
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而家係下晝5點, 你突然醒起一直擺埋咗一邊嘅功課
00:12
is due tomorrow.
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聽日要交
00:14
It’s time to buckle down, open your computer...
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係時候要埋位坐定定,打開電腦...
00:17
and check your phone.
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然後㩒下手機
00:20
Maybe catch up on your favorite YouTube channel?
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或者睇下最鍾意嘅YouTube頻道?
00:22
Actually, you should probably make dinner first.
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其實,應該煮晚飯先
00:25
You usually like cooking,
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你一向都鍾意煮嘢食
00:27
though it’s hard to enjoy with this work hanging over your head,
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雖然喺有份功課趕住要交嘅情況下 好難享受煮嘢食嘅樂趣
00:30
and oh— it’s actually pretty late!
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而且—其實已經好晏!
00:33
Maybe you should just try again in the morning?
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不如聽朝再試下做唔做到?
00:36
This is the cycle of procrastination, and I promise you, we have all been there.
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呢個就係拖延症嘅循環, 我可以向你保證,大家都經歷過
00:44
But why do we keep procrastinating even when we know it’s bad for us?
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但點解我哋明知係唔好 我哋都要繼續拖延時間呢?
00:49
To be clear, putting something off isn’t always procrastinating.
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講清楚先, 將啲嘢擺埋一邊唔代表一定會拖延
00:54
Responsible time management requires deciding which tasks are important
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負責任嘅時間管理 係要我哋決定邊啲工作重要
00:59
and which ones can wait.
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邊啲可以等一等
01:01
Procrastination is when we avoid a task we said we would do, for no good reason,
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拖延症係我哋喺毫無原因之下 逃避去處理一件我哋講咗會做嘅工作
01:06
despite expecting our behavior to bring negative consequences.
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儘管明知我哋嘅行為會帶嚟負面後果
01:10
Obviously, it’s irrational to do something you expect to harm you.
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好明顯,明知會害你嘅事情都要做 咁樣係好唔理智
01:15
But ironically, procrastination is the result of our bodies trying to protect us,
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但,諷刺嘅係, 拖延症係身體嘗試保護我哋嘅結果
01:21
specifically by avoiding a task we see as threatening.
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尤其係要逃避一件我哋 視之為有威脅嘅工作
01:26
When you realize you need to write that report,
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當你醒起要做嗰份功課嗰陣
01:29
your brain responds like it would to any incoming threat.
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你嘅大腦會將佢當成 嚟緊會發生嘅威脅去俾反應
01:33
Your amygdala, a set of neurons involved in emotional processing
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而杏仁核就係一組掌管情感、
01:37
and threat identification,
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辨識威脅嘅神經
01:39
releases hormones including adrenaline that kick off a fear response.
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佢會釋放出荷爾蒙 包括會激起恐懼反應嘅腎上腺素
01:45
This stress-induced panic can overpower the impulses from your prefrontal cortex,
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呢種由壓力引起嘅恐慌 可抑壓嚟自前額葉皮質嘅衝動
01:50
which typically help you think long term and regulate your emotions.
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前額葉皮質幫你長遠思考 同埋調整你嘅情緒
01:55
And it’s in the midst of this fight, flight, or freeze response
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等你喺或戰或退嘅反應之間
01:59
that you decide to handle the threat
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去決定處理呢個威脅嘅方式
02:01
by avoiding it in favor of some less stressful task.
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就係避開佢,去做一啲壓力較少嘅工作
02:05
This response might seem extreme—
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呢個反應好似太極端
02:08
after all, it’s just a deadline, not a bear attack.
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講到尾,都只係到期要交啫, 又唔係洪水猛獸
02:11
But we’re most likely to procrastinate tasks that evoke negative feelings,
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但遇到引起負面感受嘅工作, 我哋又會拖延
02:16
such as dread, incompetence, and insecurity.
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負面感受如恐懼,無能力,冇安全感
02:20
Studies of procrastinating university students have found participants
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針對有拖延症嘅大學生嘅研究發現
02:24
were more likely to put off tasks they perceived as stressful or challenging.
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參與者較易將佢哋視為有壓力 或有挑戰性嘅工作擺埋一邊
02:29
And the perception of how difficult the task is
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而對於工作難度嘅感受
02:32
increases while you’re putting it off.
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會隨住你擺埋一邊而不斷增加
02:35
In one experiment, students were given reminders to study throughout the day.
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喺一個實驗種, 學生全日都收到溫書提示
02:41
While they were studying, most reported that it wasn’t so bad.
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當佢哋溫緊書嗰陣, 大部分人都話個提示唔係太差
02:44
But when they were procrastinating,
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但當佢哋拖延緊嗰陣,
02:46
they consistently rated the idea of studying as very stressful,
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佢哋不斷話溫書好有壓力
02:51
making it difficult to get started.
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變咗好難去開始溫書
02:55
Because procrastination is motivated by our negative feelings,
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因為拖延症係由負面感受去推動
02:58
some individuals are more susceptible to it than others.
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有啲人比其他人更易受影響
03:02
People who have difficulty regulating their emotions
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唔識控制自己情緒嘅人
03:05
and those who struggle with low self-esteem
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同埋自尊心低嘅人
03:08
are much more likely to procrastinate,
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都較容易會拖延時間
03:10
regardless of how good they are at time management.
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同佢哋時間管理有幾好係冇關係
03:14
However, it's a common misconception that all procrastinators are lazy.
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但係,認為所有拖延時間嘅人都係懶, 係一個常見繆誤
03:20
In the body and brain, laziness is marked by no energy and general apathy.
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喺身體同大腦入面, 懶惰嘅特徵就係冇能量、漠不關心
03:26
When you’re feeling lazy, you’re more likely to sit around doing nothing
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當你覺得懶散,通常都會坐低咩都唔做
03:30
than distract yourself with unimportant tasks.
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多過以一啲唔重要嘅工作去分散注意力
03:33
In fact, many people procrastinate because they care too much.
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事實上, 大部分人拖延時間係因為佢哋太在乎
03:39
Procrastinators often report a high fear of failure,
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拖延時間嘅人一般極度害怕失敗
03:43
putting things off because they’re afraid their work
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將份工作擺埋一邊係因為害怕份工作
03:45
won’t live up to their high standards.
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達唔到佢哋嘅高要求
03:48
Whatever the reason for procrastination, the results are often the same.
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拖延時間係咩原因都好, 結果通常都一樣
03:53
Frequent procrastinators are likely to suffer from anxiety and depression,
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頻頻拖延時間嘅人 會較易患有焦慮症同抑鬱症、
03:58
ongoing feelings of shame,
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持續有羞恥感、
04:00
higher stress levels and physical ailments associated with high stress.
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更高嘅壓力,以及同高壓力有關嘅身體病痛
04:05
Worst of all, while procrastination hurts us in the long run,
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最差嘅係, 雖然長遠嚟睇拖延症會對我哋唔好
04:09
it does temporarily reduce our stress level,
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佢的確短暫性降低咗我哋嘅壓力程度
04:13
reinforcing it as a bodily response for coping with stressful tasks.
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令佢成為喺應付充滿壓力嘅工作嗰陣, 變成更強勁嘅身體反應
04:18
So, how can we break the cycle of procrastination?
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咁,要點先可以打破拖延症嘅循環?
04:23
Traditionally, people thought procrastinators needed to cultivate
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傳統嚟講, 一般都以為有拖延症嘅人需要培養
04:27
discipline and practice strict time management.
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紀律同執行嚴格嘅時間管理
04:31
But today, many researchers feel the exact opposite.
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但到咗今日,好多研究人員 覺得啱啱相反
04:35
Being too hard on yourself can layer additional bad emotions onto a task,
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對自己太嚴苛, 可能會將壞情緒一層層加到工作中
04:40
making the threat even more intense.
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令到個威脅更加強
04:43
To short-circuit this stress response,
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要縮短呢個壓力反應
04:45
we need to address and reduce these negative emotions.
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我哋需要處理同減少呢啲負面情緒
04:50
Some simple strategies include breaking a task into smaller elements
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一啲簡單策略, 包括將一件工作分拆成細小部分
04:55
or journaling about why it's stressing you out
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或者記低令你覺得好大壓力嘅事情
04:57
and addressing those underlying concerns.
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同埋處理嗰啲隱憂
05:01
Try removing nearby distractions that make it easy to impulsively procrastinate.
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嘗試攞走喺附近會容易令你 有衝動拖延時間、令你分心嘅物件
05:07
And more than anything, it helps to cultivate an attitude of self-compassion,
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最重要係, 會幫到你培養對自己有同情心嘅態度
05:12
forgiving yourself, and making a plan to do better next time.
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原諒自己,計劃下一次會做得更好
05:17
Because a culture that perpetuates this cycle of stress and procrastination
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因為一個令壓力循環同拖延時間持續嘅文化
05:22
hurts all of us in the long term.
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長遠嚟講會對所有人都唔好
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