Have you ever wondered why? Like why do we kiss? Why do we do we scroll? Why do we sit down to go to the loo? Every day things, but actually when you think about them are pretty weird. I'm Anna Ashramahi. I'm an explorer, stand-up comic and paleoanthropologist. You know, the guys who are really into human evolution? This is why do we do that? An anthropologist's guide to the modern world, a podcast from BBC Radio 4. So, why on earth do we do the things we do? Your mate might tell you to blame popular culture. Your therapist might tell you to blame your parents. Well, I'm here to tell you to blame the grandparents. The great great great great great great grandparents. At least for some stuff. Maybe if we can understand our evolutionary story, we can finally figure out why the hell do we do that? Good old procrastination. The thing that has come between us and many a deadline since, well, probably since the beginning of time, we know our putting off is going to bite us in the arse and yet some of us never seem to learn. So, why? Why can't we just get things done in good time? Is it that our modern lives and all the technology around us, amps us up for distraction after distraction? Or is something else going on here? Is there some biological basis for it? And is it possible the procrastination is actually somehow beneficial? Or that it was beneficial way back when caves with the original prime real estate and we are just living with the legacy? To explore why so many of us put it off till later, I'll be talking to comedian and ultimate procrastinator, Isha Nakbar, and delving into the brains of us time-wasters with psychologist Caroline Schluter. But first, it's time for an anthropologist notebook. The problem of procrastination goes way back. The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote about the perils of procrastination. You could be good today, but instead you choose tomorrow. And today we are masters of it. Recent research suggests that chronic procrastination, where it's so severe that it interferes with day-to-day life, is now 20%. That's a pretty high percentage for a trait that trust me, is pretty disadvantageous. There are studies that have shown that people who procrastinate have higher levels of stress and lower wellbeing. It's also linked with lower financial and career success. So there's a lot of reasons not to do it. So what is going on here? Why do we constantly put stuff off? Well, there are a lot of theories and research on this, but one out of the University of Colorado Boulder showed not only that there is a genetic component, yes, you can blame your parents for this one, at least partially, but also that procrastination is genetically linked to impulsivity. So the desire to act out whatever whim pops into your head. So what does all this mean? Well, it might lend some support to an interesting evolutionary explanation for procrastination. See, back in the day, when just living till the end of the week was a mission and completely uncertain, our ancestors would have been more inclined to go after immediate rewards. Impulsivity could be a good thing. But today, we have goals and to-do lists, but when we are impulsive and get distracted, we procrastinate. So there's a theory that suggests that genetically speaking, procrastination is an evolutionary byproduct of impulsivity. So rather than being a problem with time management, should we be blaming our paleolithic ancestors who lived for the here and now? Someone I know who is definitely hijacked by their own impulsivity is comedian and my mate, Ishaan Akbar. Would you say Ishaan that you're a procrastinator?

I am a serial procrastinator without a shadow of a doubt. Why do you think you procrastinate? Over the years, I've told myself that I procrastinate because I work better under pressure. That's what I've told myself. The lie runs deep. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I always somehow feel like I've got more time than I think. So for example, my master dissertation, you know, I knew I had a year to write this dissertation. I wrote it in the night and a half before it was due. No. Got a distinction though.