A new study by researchers from the University of Tokyo in Japan found that pessimism and procrastination are linked. People who have a pessimistic view of the future tend to put off what needs to be done. On the flip side, those who tackle chores in a timely manner tend to be optimists.

According to Study Finds, the study authors asked 300 young people to rate their perspectives on the past, present and future. They analyzed measures called the “chronological stress view” and the “chronological well-being view,” as they asked the participants to rate their levels of stress and well-being across nine different time frames. These included the past 10 years, past year, past month, yesterday, now, tomorrow, next month, next year, and the next 10 years.

The participants were then quizzed about their procrastination patterns so that the researchers could draw an association between their view of the future and the tendency to procrastinate.

“Our research shows that optimistic people — those who believe that stress does not increase as we move into the future — are less likely to have severe procrastination habits,” said Saya Kashiwakura, from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo. “This finding helped me adopt a more light-hearted perspective in the future, leading to a more direct view and reduced procrastination.

While the study provided intriguing insights into why people put off tackling chores, it involved only participants in their 20’s, so the findings may not apply across all age groups. However, it does offer hope that cultivating an optimistic view about life can help us achieve long-term goals. Surprisingly, there was no relationship found between a person’s negative sense of well-being or lack of goals and procrastination habits.

According to ScienceDaily, these findings could help procrastinators stop blaming themselves for their “bad habit” knowing that the underlying cause could be their pessimistic view of the future. The study also offers hope that improving one’s outlook could help people achieve their goals. The team of researchers plan to develop ways that allow people to enjoy a more optimistic mindset and overcome procrastination.

“We believe that students will achieve better outcomes and experience greater well-being when they comprehend their procrastination tendencies scientifically, and actively work on improving them, rather than blaming themselves,” said Kashiwakura.