More procrastination went along with more stress and less satisfaction
More than 2,500 people in Germany reported how much they procrastinated. Younger people did so more, and the survey cannot show what causes what.
The key idea
From ages 14 to 95, more procrastination went along with more distress and less life satisfaction.
The study, in plain language
Many studies of procrastination have included only students. This time, interviewers visited households and asked people of different ages how much they put off tasks, how much stress they felt, and how they rated different areas of their lives.
People who said they procrastinated more also tended to report more stress, more anxiety and depression symptoms, and more fatigue. Life satisfaction went in the opposite direction. Procrastination scores were highest among people ages 14 to 29.
This is a broad but static snapshot: procrastination and feeling overwhelmed tend to coincide, at work and elsewhere in life, but the survey cannot say which one drives the other.
What they found
- People who procrastinated more also reported more stress, fatigue, and distress.
- More procrastination tended to go along with lower satisfaction across different areas of life.
- The highest procrastination scores appeared among adolescents and young adults.
Something to think about
If you have been putting something off, it may also be worth noticing how much fatigue or stress you are carrying. The survey only shows that they go together, not that one causes the other.
How they studied it
In 2014, interviewers visited households in Germany and collected responses from 2,527 people ages 14 to 95. They compared age groups and examined how responses about procrastination related to stress, symptoms, and life satisfaction. This was an exploratory survey with many tests, so the authors advise caution in interpreting significance values. They did not intervene; they only asked questions. Because this was a one-time survey, it cannot establish what causes what.
What the study cannot show
- The cross-sectional design and self-reports cannot establish what came first or directly measure procrastinating behavior. Symptom scales are not diagnoses, and age differences may also reflect different generations or contexts.
The original study
Procrastination, Distress and Life Satisfaction across the Age Range – A German Representative Community Study
Source under CC BY 4.0. English adaptation and explanation by PaperFlow, with AI assistance. The text has been reorganized for a general audience; it is not the complete paper and does not imply endorsement by its authors.
One study alone does not represent a field's consensus. Educational content does not replace professional advice. Report a possible error.
