The sin takes several forms from
Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson once wrote that procrastination is “really sloth in five syllables.” And yet the word denotes so much more than mere sloth or indolence: A procrastinator meticulously organizing a sock drawer or an iTunes library can't exactly be accused of laziness.
Time is precious. To waste it, to squander it through sloth - laziness, procrastination, task avoidance, amotivation, desultory or dilatory behavior - is a sin against life itself. This is a general commonality of the "sin" of sloth. Sin.
Laziness, indolence, or sloth should not be confused with procrastination. To procrastinate—from the Latin cras, meaning "tomorrow"—is to postpone one task in favour of another or others that are perceived as being easier or more pleasurable but which are typically less important or urgent.
While the Bible doesn't specifically tell us if procrastination is a sin or not, God's Word is clear that we are to guard against laziness and sloth. Proverbs 15:19 says, “The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.”
Proverbs 12:24
24 Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
Procrastination can lead from self-deception to outright lies. In both scenarios the students convince themselves that because they are being productive, it's okay to avoid priorities.
It turns out procrastination is not typically a function of laziness, apathy or work ethic as it is often regarded to be. It's a neurotic self-defense behavior that develops to protect a person's sense of self-worth.
They say that there are four main types of avoidance archetypes, or procrastinators: the performer, the self-deprecator, the overbooker, and the novelty seeker. Figuring out which group you're in can help you break out of your procrastination patterns — and maybe even turn in something early.
Sloth and laziness, are voluntary, with this difference, that sloth, implies, utter in|activity, an absolute aversion to work; laziness, an inclination, but, a fear of trou|ble and fatigue: whereas, sluggishness, is, often, involuntary; proceeding, sometimes, from constitution, and, is discovered, by its dull, heavy ...
Procrastination is not laziness: it's a behavior caused by the stress in our lives or unfounded negative beliefs we have about ourselves. If you tend to procrastinate, don't be hard on yourself. Instead, ask yourself if your behavior may be linked to fear, anxiety, ADHD, or another underlying issue.
One of the more misunderstood of the cardinal sins is sloth. This is because most see it merely as laziness. But there is more to sloth than that.
According to a 2009 study by the Jesuit scholar Fr. Roberto Busa, the most common deadly sin confessed by men is lust and the most common deadly sin confessed by women is pride.
While laziness is certainly an element of sloth, there's more to this sin than just laziness. In Hit List, Brian Hedges defines the sin of sloth with four characteristics: (1) carelessness, (2) unwillingness to act, (3) half-hearted effort, and (4) becoming easily discouraged by any possible difficulty.
You are NOT born a procrastinator; you are NOT the product of “bad genes” from your parents. You LEARN procrastination as a way of life, to avoid responsibility, to complete or begin tasks.
But in reality, there are three types of procrastination: classic procrastination, creative avoidance, and priority dilution. It can be difficult to pinpoint what type you're experiencing because sometimes the different types of procrastination are mixed together.
Perceiving (P) personality types, particularly those who are also Intuitives (N), are often painted as the worst procrastinators.
Such procrastinators can also be called neurotic procrastinators, if they're high in the neuroticism personality trait. Perfectionistic procrastinators, who are concerned about being imperfect or doing things imperfectly, so they delay things like publishing their work once it's ready.
Chronic procrastination:
From a trauma perspective, procrastination may occur when certain parts of a traumatic memory that has not been processed fully are unconsciously triggered. An individual may not be able to understand why they put things off, or have a strong emotional response to being asked to do something.
Science agrees. A 2016 study published in Journal of Research in Personality found that people with high IQs tend to procrastinate more, if only because high intelligence affords the luxury of waiting to begin a task. So if you put something off just because you don't feel like working on it, that's one thing.
Forgive yourself for past procrastination.
For example, you can say “It's true that I should have gotten started earlier, but the best thing to do now is forgive myself for delaying and focus on getting started as soon as possible, and also find a way to avoid making the same mistake again in the future”.
Procrastination is associated with a wide range of mental health issues, like stress, as well as physical health issues, like an increased rate of illness. Furthermore, procrastination is also associated with issues when it comes to adjusting to and properly dealing with health conditions.
Laziness is about not being willing to put in the work and energy needed to do something. Whereas procrastination is about feeling unable to put in the work, despite really wanting to.
Given its widely recognized negative consequences, procrastination is most easily deemed unethical by a consequentialist system of ethics such as utilitarianism. Utilitarianism judges the ethical merit of actions by the goodness (or utility) to which they lead.