"Later"

This article, by James Surowiecki, asks the question, "What does procrastination tell us about ourselves?"  Surowiecki observes that people have become aware of procrastination as a pervasive problem only in the modern era (within the last few hundred years), but makes the point that the behavior might be a fundamental aspect of our relationship with time.  Procrastination has been a puzzling problem for many of the academics that have studied it because it is hard to see why people will consistently engage in a behavior that doesn't seem to make them happier, but rather more anxious about completing certain tasks.

One theory the article posits is that people are able to make rational choices about events far in the future, but for things fast approaching, they are more likely to be seduced by short-term wants and needs.  The author, however, writes that this observation of "ignorance" cannot account for everything.  Surowiecki shows that many people who procrastinate are uncertain about a task and often lack the confidence to proceed with the prospect of failure.  In order to limit procrastination, many rely on tools such as creating frequent deadlines for themselves so they can aid the part of their self that wants to work.  Surowiecki ends the article with an observation that there might be two kinds of procrastination: one due to ignorance and the seduction of things one would rather do now, the other, the kind that reveals a subconscious questioning of whether any of the tasks are really worth doing.