6 Minute English from BBCLearningEnglish.com

Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBCLearningEnglish. I'm Sam and I'm Neil.

Come on Neil, let's make a start. I've got a deadline to meet today and I haven't finished my work yet.

Let me guess, it's because you delayed and delayed and put your work off until the last minute

as usual. You're a real procrastinator, Sam, someone who keeps delaying things that need to be done.

What can I say? I work better when a deadline is approaching.

I see, but did you know that people who procrastinate have higher levels of stress and lower well-being?

Procrastination is also linked with lower financial and career success, so there's a lot of

reasons not to do it. In this programme we're discussing procrastination,

the act of delaying things that must be done until later, often because they're difficult,

boring or unpleasant, and as usual we'll be learning some new vocabulary along the way.

So without wasting any more time, I have a question for you, Sam. The fact that procrastinating

or putting things off is bad for us doesn't stop people doing it. According to recent research

by DePaul University in Chicago, what percentage of people procrastinate so much that it interferes

with their day-to-day life? Is it A, 10% B, 20% or C, 30%.

I'll guess that around 10% of people have a serious procrastination problem.

Okay, Sam, we'll find out the answer later in the programme.

Sam is certainly not alone in putting things off until the last minute.

Here's Ella Al-Shamahi, presenter of BBC Radio 4's Why Do We Do That?

Talking to comedian Ishaan Akbar about his procrastination habit.

Would you say Ishaan that you're a procrastinator?

I am a serial procrastinator without a shadow of a doubt.

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