Procrastination: It's in the Genes

Don't blame lack of concentration just on laziness or impulsivity. Realize that your genes probably played a role somewhere in the mix.

According to researchers from the University of Colorado, Boulder, procrastination may have recently emerged in human history.

"Everyone procrastinates at least sometimes, but we wanted to explore why some people procrastinate more than others and why procrastinators seem more likely to make rash actions and act without thinking," said study author Daniel Gustavson, a psychological scientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, via a press release. "Answering why that's the case would give us some interesting insights into what procrastination is, why it occurs, and how to minimize it."

For the study, researchers surveyed 181 identical twin pairs and 166 fraternal twin pairs. The twins were all surveyed based on their ability to set and maintain goals along with any increased risk of procrastination or impulsivity.

Prior studies have shown that both procrastination and impulsivity may be genetically linked. The findings note that being impulsive may have helped our ancestors with everyday survival. On the other hand, procrastination might have helped to produce more modern-day technologies.

Findings supported previous research, showing that twins similarities with procrastination and impulsivity do tend to have a genetic overlap.

"Learning more about the underpinnings of procrastination may help develop interventions to prevent it, and help us overcome our ingrained tendencies to get distracted and lose track of work," study author Daniel Gustavson said, via the release.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Psychological Science.