We put off work because work, for some reason, puts us off.

Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, get a headstart in your personal finance and career with The Straits Times.

Procrastination: The frustratingly human tendency to postpone work we can and should get started on earlier.

It may seem tempting to berate ourselves for being lazy, unmotivated or disorganised. Instead, procrastination is actually our brains trying to shield us from uncomfortable feelings, putting a hidden toll on ourselves.

In this episode, host and ST correspondent Tay Hong Yi hosts an expert on the psychology of people who work together in groups.

She shares with us what research tells us about procrastination and other quirks of our mind that permeate our work and daily life.

She also goes into the “dark things” she relishes researching, such as why people are cynical at work, and the fallout from narcissist leaders.

The guest is:

Dr Ruchi Sinha, organisational psychologist and associate professor (practice) at Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University 

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:00 What is procrastination and what type of procrastinator are you?

11:06 What are some strategies to help you manage procrastination?

14:07 Procrastination is about misplaced priorities too

16:22 Is it any easier for Dr Sinha to beat procrastination, as an expert?

17:05 The “pretty dark stuff” Dr Sinha studies, such as narcissism at workplaces

23:04 How does Dr Sinha translate research in her field to real life?

Read more about procrastination here: https://str.sg/C9QS

Read Tay Hong Yi's articles: https://str.sg/w6cz

Follow Tay Hong Yi on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/AAxy

Host: Tay Hong Yi ([email protected])

Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim

Executive producers: Ernest Luis, Lynda Hong & Joanna Seow

Follow Headstart On Record Podcast channel here:

Channel: https://str.sg/wB2m

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wuN3

Spotify: https://str.sg/wBr9

Feedback to: [email protected]

SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg

Get business/career tips in ST's Headstart newsletter: https://str.sg/headstart-nl

---

Follow more ST podcast channels:

All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa

---

Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:

The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB

Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX

---

#headstart

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.