PROCRASTINATION

By Hilary Finch

This is Professor Timothy Pychyl

Prof. Tim PychylDr. Timothy Pychyl is an associate

professor in the department of psychology at Carleton University. His research focuses on procrastination.

He has numerous publications, a website, a blog, podcasts, and comic

strips

For more information about his research, visit www.procrastination.ca

… ENOUGH TO BREAK THE ICE!

Procrastination: The Musical

What is Procrastination?

Derived from the latin verb: procrastinare

pro – forward motion

crastinus – belonging to tomorrow

To “put off or postpone until another day”

Tomorrow (noun)

A mystical land where 98% of all human productivity, motivation, and achievement is stored.

- Unknown

Procrastination is the art of keeping

up with yesterday

Don Marquis

Procrastination is the thief of time

Edward Young

Never put off till tomorrow what

you can do the day after tomorrow

just as wellMark Twain

Who Procrastinates?

Everyone procrastinates

BUT

Not everyone is a procrastinator

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9SWJRwvHb4

Why do People Procrastinate?

• Perfectionism• Feeling inadequate• Undeveloped study

skills• Aversion to

discomfort• Resentment

• Being overextended• Lifestyle issues• Fear of

success/failure• Overwhelming

Negative emotional states

Procrastination involves a voluntary, irrational, delay despite the expectation of a potential negative outcome.

(Mohsen Haghbin)

Psychologists define procrastination as...

The gap between intention and action

This is an example of Self-Regulation Failurea.k.a.

Short-Term Mood Repair

“Giving in to Feel Good”

Self-Regulation

Failure

Personality (me)

Nature of our goals and intentions (the task)

Self-control and willpower (lack of

willpower)

Cognitions and beliefs(the way I think)

Personality

Conscientiousness

Impulsivity

Perfectionism

“I just don’t want to do it”

“It will never be good enough”

“I don’t know where to start”

(Resistance)(Fear of Failure)

Flavours of Procrastination

Arousal Avoiders Decisional

Types of Procrastinators

THE TASKTask Aversiveness=

Dreading the displeasure of doing the task

1. Lack of Meaning lack of enjoyment, fun, pleasure, passion, self-identity

2. Lack of Structure lack of autonomy, control, initiation, uncertainty

“It’s not fun” “It’s too hard”

PERSONAL PROJECTSANALYSIS

Lack of WillpowerWillpower is like a muscle...the more we exercise it, the

stronger it gets!

It is also a limited resource!

The Way We Think

1. Irrational Beliefsa. “I’m not smart enough to do this”b. “Studying won’t help”

2. Self-Deceptionc. “I’ll feel more like doing it

tomorrow”d. “There’s plenty of time, it can wait

until later”

Effects of Procrastination

a. performanceb. emotional and mental well-beingc. physical healthd. relationships

Procrastination is more than the cost of a few “all nighters” in the dorms of

universities

So if procrastination occurs because of the way we

think…

To beat it, we need to THINK about how we THINK.

“Metacognition”

Recognizing Procrastination

1. Admit that you WILL procrastinate! (it’s inevitable)

2. Identify the cost of procrastinating or the benefits of completing the task on time

3. Forgive yourself!

3 Steps to Managing Procrastination

1. Plan and Set GoalsPlan goals

Plan time

Plan resources

Plan the process

Plan for distractions

Plan for failure

Intention to ActionImplementation Intentions:

“When X occurs, I will do Y, resulting in Z”

X= Social cueY= The taskZ= Result

2. Create Obstacles

“If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably

doesn’t lead anywhere”

- Frank a. Clark

2. Create Obstacles- Multi-tasking is a myth!- Choose a designated workspace that

you feel motivated in- Bring only the tools you need for the

task- Use internet blocking apps such as

anti-social- Leave post-it note reminders on your

most common forms of procrastination

Once concentration has been broken, it takes at least 15 minutes to get back into the

“work” state of mind

Minutes Turn into Hours

Accountability Chart

Realistically evaluate your work by tracking your progress, hour by

hour

Record your Procrastination

How do you eat an elephant?

3. Just Get Started!

....One bite at a time!

3. Just Get Started!

Divide the task into 5, 15, or 30 minute portions

ResearchIntro

Discussion

Conclusion

Divide the task into bite-sized chunks

Pomodoro Technique

• Choose a task to work on• Set a timer for 25 minutes• Work on the task until the timer goes off• Take a 5 minute break• Reset the timer and repeat

After 2 hours, give yourself a longer break

In Conclusion…

Resources• Pychyl, t.a., and flett, g.l. (2012). procrastination and self-

regulatory failure: An introduction to the special issue. journal of rational-emotive and cognitive-behavior therapy. DOI: 10.1007/s10942-012-0149-5

• http://www.brianrlittle.com/topics/research/personal-projects-analysis/

• http://www.counselling.cam.ac.uk/selfhelp/leaflets/procrastination

• http://www.mentalhealth.ualberta.ca/en/~/media/mentalhealth/docs/hintsprocrastination2012.pdf

• www.procrastination.ca• http://http-server.carleton.ca/~tpychyl/PYCHYL%20procras

tination%20presentation%20march%2019%202012.pdf• http://www.watchwellcast.com/