The ugliest one you can find. The psychology underpinning this technique is simple: If you can manage your emotions then you have what it takes to manage your procrastination. But in order to manage your emotions you need to get in touch with them. Write a list of all the things you really want to do. Remember, you only get to do these things once you complete the task at hand. This is similar to the Snow White method but there is a subtle difference.
Some people pay personal trainers upfront to have 10 training sessions. In the same way, you can organise private study sessions with a tutor or a study group. This locks you into studying for a set period of time each week. Start meditating Find it challenging to stay focused? Then you probably procrastinate. Studies have shown that practising meditation can help people to cultivate better attention. Implementation intentions are basically goals that specify when, where and how the desired behaviour will be performed.
You just do it. You can read more about implementation intentions here. Give yourself permission to make a mess and stuff up. This strategy is perfect for perfectionists! Go make a mess. Write something really rubbish. Any result will be regarded as progress. Look out for procrastination warning signs. What do you typically tell yourself when you procrastinate?
Pay attention to what you tell yourself just before you start to avoid doing your work. Think of these statements as warning signs, signals, or flags to look out for. When you see a procrastination flag come up, stop yourself. There you have it: At this point you run the risk of feeling overwhelmed by all of these strategies. Pick any of them and use it straight away. For your mobile phone, check out flipd http: Once you download one of these apps, the key is to be disciplined and use the app! The more you use it, the more likely it will be become a habitual part of your study routine.
Now, why do they do that? Now, some of them fool themselves and say, "I do my best work under pressure," which I don't think is actually true at all, but a lot of people believe it; a lot of young people in particular believe that. But I think they're coping with the concern or the fear of doing the project wrong or getting a bad grade, and I think we often cope by putting things off because in the short run it actually makes you feel better.
So if you're having to face balancing your checkbook and you just don't want to deal with what you're likely to find - maybe errors, maybe a lower balance than you thought you had - you sort of say "I'll do it later," and you put it off and you go watch TV for a little bit. And while you're watching TV for that little bit, you feel better. So in the short run, procrastination actually makes you feel a whole lot better because it's a momentary escape from the thing that's unpleasant. Another concrete example might be having to return a phone call that you anticipate being unpleasant.
So, someone calls, leaves you a message; you know you're going to have to deal with them. You're going to have to either give them bad news or hear bad news, and you just don't have the energy to deal with it. And so you put it off. You wait, and while you're waiting, you're focusing on something that's easier or more pleasant, and you're distancing yourself from the stress of that phone call, and so it works. It helps you to cope in the short run, so it's a good short-term coping strategy.
The problem is that usually the problem sticks around, so it's going to come back and haunt you or come back and demand your attention sooner or later. You know, as I hear you talk about your students' procrastination, it certainly takes me back to my own student days, and it makes me wonder if it might also be a bit of a developmental issue having to do with the maturation process.
I know when I was in the early days of my studenthood, I think it was anxiety that would cause me to procrastinate. I just felt so anxious about I guess doing a good job or something. Yes, and it took years, actually, through some time in working on a Ph. Somewhere along that pathway, it finally got through to me that there was more anxiety attached to putting it off than to just doing it. You're right, and I do think that's a motivating factor for some people, where the anxiety of not getting it done has to get bigger than the anxiety about making a mistake.
So it's like really as you get down to the wire and you start to worry about not getting it done on time or not completing it, and then you just sort of rush through it and get it done.
It's About Time!: The Six Styles of Procrastination and How to Overcome Them by Linda Sapadin
Developmentally, the other thing is that I think sometimes people - it takes awhile before you learn organizational skills, and part of procrastinating is when we tell ourselves "I've got plenty of time; I'll get it done later," we actually believe that's true, that we do have time later and it can get done. And sometimes when you're not really good at time management, you might underestimate how long your task is going to take, and you might overestimate how much time you really have. And so we learn a bit by trial and error of how long things take to complete and certainly that it's not always done as quickly as we might optimistically believe.
And you learn a bit by trial and error, and you develop your time management skills. Not everybody does, but most people develop them over time, so that's another developmental process. I've found that I had to tell myself, okay, I'm going to write a C paper. I'm just going to write a C paper. And most often they would turn out to be an A paper, but somehow being willing to write a C paper helped me to get it done. So, you talk about six types of procrastinators. I don't know if you have your book in front of you -. I can do that. So, I'm actually going to open up the book. I put a quiz in the book where you can answer some questions about your procrastination behaviors, and if you add up your score in each of these categories, it helps you to figure out what type of procrastination you're typically using or what might be behind your procrastination.
And if you understand the type or the kind of procrastination, then it's a little bit easier to read the book because then you can just go to those chapters that cover the type of procrastinator you might be. So that's kind of the gist of it. So, let's talk about the different types. So, the avoidant type is kind of what we've been talking about right now, the person who avoids things because they think it's going to be unpleasant or uncomfortable. I think that's a very common type of procrastinator. So, getting the bills in the mail but not opening them up right away because you don't want to see them - that kind of thing.
That would also fall in the category of not returning phone calls or not taking care of things that you think are going to be unpleasant; so you're trying to avoid discomfort. Or even just doing a task that you know you have to do. It's not scary necessarily; it's just going to be unpleasant, and it's not very much fun, like doing your taxes. It's easy to procrastinate on putting your taxes together because it's not fun.
And so it's uncomfortable, and it can be painful for some folks. Or going to the - oh, yes, yes. Or the gynecologist or the gastroenterologist or all those various things we have to do. It's going to be unpleasant, and so if you avoid it in the short run, you can feel a little better in the long run - and in the long run, the problem's still there, but in the short run you can avoid discomfort. The second type is the disorganized type, so that's the group that is bad with time management, doesn't really realistically estimate how long it takes to get tasks done or how much needs to be done.
So, I do think you see that quite a bit in students. I think it kind of - some of these types will obviously overlap with one another, but I do think that, in addition to perhaps avoiding unpleasant tasks, sometimes people who are just disorganized with their time don't allot that amount or don't prioritize their goals or their tasks, so it's hard to get things done. You know, we do better when we have deadlines, right?
We know that we have to file taxes by April 15, or you know your rent's due by the first of the month. When there's specific deadlines we do better. When they're aren't deadlines, when things are more open ended, like getting your teeth checked, for example, it's harder to organize yourself around getting them done.
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So the disorganized type, that's really kind of their deal. They don't manage their time well, and then they run out of time, or they get overwhelmed because they have too much to do and too little time to do it in. That makes sense to me. I've known some of those types, even in my family, but I won't go any further. I mean it's not unusual. I think, again, we usually learn over time how to get organized, but not always. Sometimes we don't ever learn those skills.
The third type is the self-doubting type. It has a little bit of overlap with the avoidant, but what's different about the self-doubting type - this is a group that doesn't trust themselves to make good decisions or trust themselves to go down the right path. So the self doubter is the one who says, "Should I change jobs or should I stay with the one I'm at?
I'm not really sure what the right choice is. But maybe that's a mistake. Maybe I should stay with it longer. I'm not sure, so I'm going to do nothing. So you put off dealing with things when you just doubt your ability to make a good choice, make a good decision, go down the right path. Some people want to do positive things like go back to school perhaps or maybe retrain for a new job, and they may put that off because they're not sure that's really the right direction to take. Again, I see it with college students who come and are trying to select a major.
But it happens with people who are not students, who are trying to make a decision about a particular job path or a training opportunity that might come up, making a change that has some risk associated with it. It may not turn out well, and if you have doubt in yourself, it's hard to make that leap. It's hard to make a change when you're not entirely certain how it's going to work out for you. So the self doubters - does that make sense? The next type is the interpersonal type and that what I kind of mentioned briefly: I think of them as - in different ways you can use it.
You sort of can use procrastination as a weapon against somebody, so if someone is demanding that you do something for them and you don't want to do it and it's important to them, you just dig in your heels and put it off and intentionally procrastinate and drive them crazy. So, you irritate your boss or your co-worker or your spouse or somebody else because you just don't really want to be told what to do, or you don't want to deal with it, so you use your procrastination in that way.
Sometimes you can use your procrastination as a tool to get your way, to get other people to do things for you. Moms who tell their children repeatedly to pick up their toys and then eventually go pick them up themselves because they know their kids are not going to pick them up. They've trained their children into knowing that if you hear Mom say pick up your toys three times, on the fourth time she'll just do it herself. So, that's sort of an interpersonal kind of situation where you're using that procrastination as kind of a tool. And another way I think about it in relationships is it's sort of a shield.
If you anticipate criticism from others for what you're doing, you procrastinate so that you don't have to be criticized for doing something wrong. So the shield sort of protects you from those harsh words or that criticism or that disapproval from others, and so that's another way that you use procrastination in a relationship. It sounds like there's some overlap with what we used to call - or maybe still do - a passive-aggressive stance. I do think so. I think definitely part of that is passive-aggressive in that interpersonal type, because definitely the focus is the relationship.
The focus is how your procrastination will impact the other person. Now, we don't always do this with full awareness. I mean we're not always insightful about it, and so we might be passive-aggressive without realizing it. But once you become aware of how you're using your procrastination to get your way, you might choose to do it a different way.
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The next type is the all-or-nothing type, and this is where those perfectionists kind of fall into place. So that's the group that really - they either go percent or they completely become overwhelmed and exhausted and do nothing, and they don't have a middle. So this is a group that, when they are on top of things, they are completely on top of things.
And when they're not able to be completely on top of things, they can swing in the opposite direction and just fall way behind and not take action. And perfectionists have a tendency to be sort of all-or-nothing in their approach to things in life, and the same thing for this type of procrastination. Another all-or-nothing might include people also who take on too much, over-committers. People try to do so much, but they can't say no very easily, and so then they become overwhelmed with all of their responsibilities, all the things that they have agreed to do, things they want to do, things they've chosen to do.
And then they sort of shut down. You kind of hit your limit, can't handle any more, sort of maybe not even realize you're hitting your limit until you're there. And then they sort of shut down and stop taking phone calls, turn on the television, lay on the couch, and they're not doing anything until they recoup; and recoup their energy and then come back to that all-or-nothing approach, come back to high intensity.
So they sort of sling back and forth between the extremes. Obviously, moderation may be a goal for that group. And the last group are pleasure seekers.
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Now, those are actually people who are probably just plain old lazy, but my editor thought that lazy was a negative term and we shouldn't call readers lazy, so I rephrased them and we're calling them pleasure seekers. But it's really kind of just plain old run-of-the-mill laziness, just "I don't want to. I'm not in the mood. I've got chores to do - yeah, they're important. I'm not afraid to do them; I'm not disorganized about it; I'm not trying to make a point.
I'm just not in the mood, and I'd so much rather play than work, given the choices. Now, that would probably describe me. I enjoy having fun, and I don't want to miss an opportunity to have fun, so it's hard for me sometimes to give up the fun and do the work, because there's some times I'm just not in the mood to work hard and pursue those tasks.
So, pleasure seekers can have a lot of fun, and there's nothing bad about being a pleasure seeker, nothing bad about goofing off and relaxing rather than doing chores, at all. That's not a problem unless you do it too much. You fall out of balance so that the things that are your responsibilities or the tasks that you're required to do suffer. They don't get done or they get done poorly because you're spending too much time goofing off.
So that might be true of people who sort of get hooked on computer games or video games or television or things that are sort of addictive, fun activities that they would much rather do. And there are so many distractions like that available. Yes, actually I was going to ask you about all the digital distractions that are in our lives these days.
And I'm wondering if they might contribute to the problem of procrastination. I mean those are so much more fun than cleaning toilets or mowing your lawn or doing your laundry or paying your taxes or whatever else you need to do. I mean, I think that we tell ourselves "Oh, I have to return this phone call. I need to check my email. I have to update my Facebook page. I have to do that; I can't not respond to someone who just contacted me by one of those electronic mechanisms.
But if we're really honest with ourselves, we probably ought to be doing something else with our time, and there should be limits placed. And they are sort of addictive because the more friends you have, the more contacts you have, the more contact you have with other people through these various means, and so, yeah, you can use procrastination.
I mean, if I have some work-related task I don't really want to do - I mean I really don't want to do it - I'll go check my email, which once you start checking your email, that can go on for hours. It used to be sharpening your pencils, you know. Trying to write something and you'd have to go to the bathroom, and then you have to sharpen your pencils, and then you have to have a cup of coffee.
But now we're sitting at the computer doing our writing, and there's the email and there's the instant messaging. And particularly for the younger population that you're working with, I would think that. It's definitely a distraction, but it's all ages. There's lots of folks that - these mechanisms of communication are really quite wonderful. I mean they do allow people to stay in contact with one another, and they really are valuable tools, but they are really - yes, they are kind of addictive. If you have to choose between work and play, it's hard to not choose play sometimes, and it requires us to be really self-disciplined, and that's just a hard thing, even for grownups, even those of us who raise children and tell them to be self-disciplined.
Now, you have a chapter on guilt. Tell us a bit about the role of guilt in procrastination. Well, a funny thing about guilt is that I think if we could all be pleasure seekers - pleasure seeking is kind of guilt-free procrastination. You sort of have some fun, and you know there's things to be done, but you can actually really enjoy the moment and relax and not be bothered by that long list of to-dos. But the people who come to treatment and complain about procrastination, and the ones that really want to fix it, are the ones that can't do that, what pleasure seekers can do.
They might delay or procrastinate, but their mind keeps working, so they are thinking about what they should be doing instead of the relaxing task they're trying to do. And that nags at them. It nags at them and makes them feel guilty for not getting work done. So that's when - you were saying that when the uncomfortable feeling in procrastinating sometimes becomes more uncomfortable than the task, guilt is part of that.
When part of your brain - you can't even enjoy the moment because part of your brain is telling you, you really should be up; you really should get moving; you really should get this taken care of; it would really be better if you stopped goofing off and got this thing out of the way; then you wouldn't have to think about it any more.
And those messages come from within ourselves. We may have picked them up from a parent or a school teacher or a coach or someone else who told us that we needed to stop procrastinating along the way. But I think guilt is what makes the procrastination so unpleasant. And the people I've treated, they come in and they're frustrated because they'll say, "I realize; I understand in my head that procrastinating feels bad and makes me feel guilty, and I understand entirely why I am procrastinating, but I still do it anyway. That's really the group that I had in mind as I was considering all these different types of procrastination.
Now, you've touched on treatment. What is your approach to helping people overcome their tendency to procrastinate? Well, it kind of depends on which type we're talking about, so the interventions are a bit different for each one, but let me give you sort of a general idea and then maybe we can talk about specifics.
I think the first one is to actually become aware of what you're doing, that you're actually procrastinating, kind of be mindful of it, catch yourself, ask yourself that question: And start to pay attention to how often you do it. So that's one of the goals, is to kind of be mindful of how often it's happening and really questioning do I really need to do this distracting task, or am I just trying to put something off - do I really need another cup of coffee, for example, or am I just trying to avoid having to return these phone calls that are unpleasant.
So, self awareness does help to get you started. It isn't the be-all-end-all, but it does help.
Procrastination-Busting Strategies for Perfectionists
I also think that you have to have some basic understanding of what's behind your procrastination, what type you are, why you do it. Are you a fearful person? Is that what this is about? Are you afraid that either you're going to have to face something unpleasant, or are you afraid that you're going to make a mistake or an error or regret what you've done?
So, you're kind of asking yourself some of questions that go along with these different subtypes of procrastination. Is that what the problem is? Or am I using this in this relationship when I really don't have to procrastinate? Am I trying to approach the world in an all-or-nothing way like being completely on top of things or completely falling apart?
Or am I just a plain old, run-of-the-mill pleasure seeker? And I think if you understand the type that you are, then you can sort of zero in on what to do about it. I think big picture intervention-wise, once you have some sense that you're doing these procrastinating behaviors and you've decided that you probably want to change - that's probably what got you to read the book or read the article or look online for information is that you probably think you ought to change - I think you start off, no matter which type you have, I think you start off with a reason to change.
I mean, why would you want to change? I mean, procrastination works in the short run. It doesn't work in the long run, but it works in the short run to avoid discomfort. So, I think before we take on any major effort, any behavior intervention, for example, to change how we handle tasks, I think we start with, well, what would be the reason to do that. Now, I know there's a lot of different reasons, and it has to be one that's unique to the person, the individual.
Some people will do it because it'll relieve their guilt. Some people will do it because it'll get their mother off their back, so it could be something like that. Some will do it because they can't handle the stress of waiting till the last minute. Some people do it because they just want to stop having to think about the task that they're putting off.
They just want it out of their life and out of their mind. So there's a lot of reasons why we do it. Some people do it because they just don't like the fact that that's who they've become. They've become a procrastinator and that becomes their persona; that's just who I am.