Managing Your Procrastination
"It's a job that's never started that takes the longest to
finish."
J. R. R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973)
Sandra Chard
Debra Pretty
Student Development Services
University of Western Ontario
Overview
 Video
 Introduction
Overcoming Procrastination
Activity
Video
 Resources
Video
Tales of Mere Existence – “Procrastination”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P785j15Tzk
Work, School, and Life in Balance –
How do you know?
You are satisfied and happy
You handle many responsibilities
You are healthy
You believe you have control
Choices are informed and not forced
Procrastination – What is it?
 To voluntarily delay an intended course of action despite
expecting to be worse off for the delay (Piers Steel)
 Put off intentionally the doing of something that should
be done (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary)
 To postpone doing something, especially as a regular
practice (Encarta World Dictionary)
http://www.procrastinus.com/
Procrastination – Who does it?
 Procrastination is an almost universal affliction, one that
occurs in almost every culture and is reported as early as
800 BC.
 It affects 95% of the population (Ellis & Knaus, 1977)
 and approximately 20% of those chronically (Harriott &
Ferrari, 1996).
Gröpel, P., & Steel, P. (2008). A mega-trial investigation of goal setting, interest
enhancement, and energy on procrastination. Personality and Individual
Differences, 45 (5), 406-411.
An insight – negative reinforcement
Procrastination is reinforcing - every time you delay, it reinforces
your negative attitude toward that task. Every time you put off
something you dislike, you:
1.
2.
3.
4.
strengthen the habit of not doing;
practice avoidance instead of participation;
avoid acquiring training and skills, and
indoctrinate yourself with fears.
Active participation in anything tends to give you a positive attitude
toward that activity; inactivity helps acquire an unfavorable attitude.
http://sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl/procrastination.html
Myth #1
I can't function in a messy environment. I
can't possibly write this paper until I have
cleaned my apartment
Challenge:
There are no conditions that are necessary in order for you to write, save
two: 1) You must have a writing implement (e.g., a keyboard or a pen)
and 2) you must have someplace for writing to go, such as into a
computer or onto a piece of paper. If, when faced with a writing project,
you start piling up prerequisites for all the things you must do before
you can possibly start writing, consider whether you might in fact be
making excuses—in other words, procrastinating.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/procrastination.html
Myth #2
I know it's time for me to start writing,
but I just haven't done enough research yet.
I'll spend one more night at the library, and
then I'll start writing my paper
Challenge:
Truth be told, you will never collect all the information you possibly
could for your paper. Better to write a tightly-crafted argument
with the information you have NOW, AT THIS VERY MOMENT,
than to keep doing research and risk throwing your paper together
at the last minute.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/procrastination.html
Myth #3
I do my best work under pressure
Challenge:
There are lots of other ways to create pressure for yourself, besides
waiting until the night before the paper is due to start writing it.
You can set a time limit for yourself—for example, "I will write
this paragraph in ½ hour"—or you can pretend that the paper is a
timed essay exam. If you do this a week or two before the paper is
due, you'll have a draft in plenty of time to revise and edit it.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/procrastination.html
Myth #4
In order to work on my paper, I
must have six uninterrupted hours
Challenge:
You can and should work on a paper in one hour blocks (or shorter).
This will help you break the writing task down into smaller pieces,
thereby making it seem more manageable. If you know that you
can work on one part of the paper for one hour, then it won't
seem so daunting, and you will be less likely to procrastinate.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/procrastination.html
Myth #5
What I write has to be perfect,
" AND/OR "I can't write anything
until I have a perfect
thesis statement/intro
Challenge:
A first draft (or a second, or a third, or even—egad!—the final product)
does not have to be perfect. When we write an early draft, we need to
turn off our internal critic and just get some words down on the page.
The great thing about starting early on a writing project is that it leaves
us plenty of time for revision, editing, and proofreading; so, we can set
ourselves free to just let our writing flow, without worrying about
sentence-level concerns such as grammar, punctuation, and style.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/procrastination.html
Why Do We Really Procrastinate?
 Stress and Anxiety – we often feel too overwhelmed and worried to
even being working on tasks.
 Difficulty Concentrating – it may be difficult to begin working
because it is noisy, the phone is ringing, your roommate is watching a great TV
show, the sun is shining, your desk is too cluttered etc.
 Negative Beliefs – Thoughts such as: “I cannot succeed at this” and “I lack
the necessary skills to perform the task” creep into your mind.
 Fear of Failure – You may think that if you don’t achieve a certain mark,
you are a failure. Or, if you do fail an exam, you think that you, as a person, are a
failure, rather than that you are a perfectly ok person that has failed an exam.
Why Do We Really Procrastinate?
 Boring Tasks
of your time.
– you think that the work required of you is useless, boring, or a waste
 Unrealistic Expectations/Perfectionism – You may think that you always
have to achieve A’s, especially if you did in high school. You may believe you MUST read
everything ever written on a subject before you can begin to write a paper. Or, you may
believe you MUST read and take notes on every single sentence and paragraph and
chapter in your textbooks.
 Poor Time Management – You may be uncertain of your priorities, goals, and
objectives. You may not be managing your time wisely.
 Preoccupation with Personal Problems – You may be focusing on
problems un-related to the task e.g. financial difficulty, relationship issues, family
problems etc.
10 ways to deal with procrastination
Challenge self-defeating perfectionistic beliefs because they
slow you down. Use realistic statements to help
your perspective (“Doing something is better than
nothing”, or “Things get done one step at a time”).
2. Just start! Action leads to action ... Pick anything and do
it!
3. Get something or anything down on paper when beginning
a task. Editing comes later! Try writing quickly so the
“inner-critic” can’t interfere.
1.
Wendy Vaughan, M.A., Counselling Services, University of Waterloo
http://www.firstyearstudents.uwaterloo.ca/sl101/2008.01.html#Counselling2
10 ways to deal with
procrastination
Jot down distracting thoughts. Don’t try to continue
concentrating when distracted. Set aside time to
focus on these concerns after getting something done.
5. Ask yourself, “If I can only get one thing done today,
what would it be?”
6. Be assertive and set limits on distractions from friends.
Reduce interruptions of phone, email, MSN, or having
an open door.
4.
Wendy Vaughan, M.A., Counselling Services, University of Waterloo
http://www.firstyearstudents.uwaterloo.ca/sl101/2008.01.html#Counselling2
10 ways to deal with
procrastination
Work in your “high energy” time of day. Do you know
how to use your circadian rhythm?
8. Identify what energizes and motivates you into
action (music, calling a friend, getting organized, going
for a run, studying in a variety of different places) and
combine this with trying to work.
7.
Wendy Vaughan, M.A., Counselling Services, University of Waterloo
http://www.firstyearstudents.uwaterloo.ca/sl101/2008.01.html#Counselling2
10 ways to deal with
procrastination
Don’t keep doing the same ineffective things.
What have you tried in the past? What helped and didn’t
help?
10. Note where you are starting from and set small, realistic
goals (SMART) from there. Chunk large projects and
tasks into very small 15 minute pieces of work and just do
the next step.
9.
Wendy Vaughan, M.A., Counselling Services, University of Waterloo
http://www.firstyearstudents.uwaterloo.ca/sl101/2008.01.html#Counselling2
Activity: Daily Plans
 Get out a sheet of paper and make a to-do list of all the
specific things you’d like to get done tomorrow.
 Beside each item, place one of the following letters
A: for what must be done tomorrow
B: for what should be done or you’d like to get done
C: for what can easily be postponed a day or two
 Now look at your B items. Place these into either the A list or
the C list.
Activity: Daily Plans
 Transfer your top-priority tasks (your A’s) onto a slip of
paper or a notepad.
 As the day goes by, refer to your list and complete your A
tasks as you can, crossing off each one as soon as it’s done.
 Tip: many people write their to-do list for tomorrow’s tasks
at the end of each day, as this eliminated lying in bed
worrying about forgetting something
Video
PROCRASTINATION - Motivation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke6ChHLfLdk
Useful Resources
Procrastination and time management
http://www.learningcommons.uoguelph.ca/
Stress management
http://www.mindtools.com/smpage.html
http://www.cmha.ca/english/coping_with_stress/
Stress and the immune system
http://mentalhealth.about.com/od/stress/a/stressimmune604.htm
Stress and anxiety
http://www.coun.uvic.ca/personal/stress-anxiety.html
Self-esteem
http://www.ucalgary.ca/wellnessguide/selfesteem