Procrastinating — we’ve all fallen into the trap of waiting until the last minute to get something done. Maybe you’ve embarked on a deep clean of your house or started a new book to put off that one thing you just don’t want to do.

We all know that procrastinating isn’t exactly a good habit. After all, it can leave you feeling stressed, anxious and, in some cases, can even mean you don’t get around to finishing important tasks.

But while waiting until the last minute to get things done can be harmful, doing the opposite can sometimes be just as bad. 

If you try to avoid procrastination by getting all of your tasks done as soon as possible, you might have a habit of ‘precrastinating’, and according to research from the University of California-Riverside, this habit can sometimes result in impulsive decision-making and hasty work. 

What is precrastination?

Essentially, precrastination is the opposite of procrastination.

“Precrastination describes the tendency to complete tasks as quickly and as far ahead of time as possible,” says Carly Webb, psychotherapist and founder of London-based mental health clinic Vitus Wellbeing. “As the aim is to cross items off a to-do list promptly, the tasks are often not well thought through or executed, so the results can be a little disappointing.”

If procrastinators have a habit of waiting until the last minute, precrastinators like to get things done as soon as possible.

Why precrastination habits form

According to a new study, precrastination is a result of “wanting to clear up the mind”, ie get things done now so we don’t have to worry about them later. 

“In our experiments, participants took longer for the first choice than the second and rarely changed their minds, even when we emphasised second response accuracy,” said study lead David A. Rosenbaum in a press release. “This led us to conclude that our participants wanted to make up their minds as soon as possible rather than act quickly and then have to think or rethink. This suggests that even though people engage in seemingly impulsive decision-making, they may actually be predisposed to curtail it.”

In other words, the new study demonstrates that when we precrastinate, we care less about accuracy and more about simply ticking things off of our lists.

Why precrastination can be so harmful

Although precrastination may initially sound like a pretty good alternative to procrastination, it isn’t always as healthy as it might seem. 

According to this new study, precrastination can lead us to make rushed and ill-informed decisions.

“Precrastinators tend to seek satisfaction and validation from having actioned all their tasks, but are often met with stress or tension instead,” says Webb. “By completing tasks too early, without letting a situation naturally evolve, precrastinators often find themselves having to re-do tasks, or waiting lengthy periods for others to catch-up.” 

Over time, a precrastinating habit can start to become a serious issue. “By rushing their work, they might lack attention to detail and find they make small mistakes or errors frequently,” she says. “While these may be fairly insignificant in isolation, such errors can cause real difficulties in the workplace as they start to add up and cause tension among team members.”

How to stop your precrastinating habit in its tracks

Precrastination is an easy habit to fall into, especially when your to-do list begins to feel overwhelming. Begin by making a plan of action for your to-do list before diving into the individual tasks.

“A good tip is to review your to-do list calmly, and read it through more than once before taking action,” says Webb. “Mark deadlines against each task, to help you to prioritise, and plan how best to execute each action.” 

Next, make a plan about how you’ll approach each task. “Once you’re confident you’re going about it in the most efficient and effective way, start to take action,” she says. “Make a conscious decision to slow down, to review your work as you go, and to focus on a good outcome, rather than a quick one.”

While it may be tempting to get through your to-do list as quickly as possible in order to keep your mind clear, sometimes, it’s important to slow down.

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