When I graduated, many people asked me what I learned at University. There were so many possible answers, but the one I most frequently gave was “I got very good at procrastinating”.
Are you a “pro” at procrastination too?
We procrastinate when we voluntarily postpone actions or decisions that are necessary to reach some goal. The more abstract and/or far off our goals are, the greater the risk that we will procrastinate, especially if there are more fun things to do in the present moment.
It is certainly not a new phenomenon. There are records of procrastination as long ago as 800 BCE.
If procrastination is associated with uncomfortable stress, anxiety, feelings of embarrassment, guilt, shame, worry, headaches, insomnia, missed opportunities, lower academic standing, diminishing financial resources because we’re not financially planning ahead for retirement, or avoiding going to the doctor because we’re afraid of their findings… why are so many of us doing it?
Procrastinators who set meaningful deadlines for themselves improve their ability to complete a task but dealing with the emotional aspects of procrastination is the tougher problem.
Eric Jaffe sums up the current research by commenting that “true procrastination is a complicated failure of self-regulation… a poor concept of time may exacerbate the problem, but an inability to manage emotions seems to be its very foundation”.
People procrastinate more when they are anxious, or the task is one that makes them anxious.
Because anxiety can potentially cause procrastination, and anxiety can be a consequence of procrastination, we can get caught in an anxiety-procrastination cycle.
Canadian researchers Sirois and Pychyl have teamed up to investigate the finding that procrastinators comfort themselves in the present with the false belief that they’ll be more emotionally equipped to handle a task in the future. When tired, stressed, unfocused, and especially when in a bad mood, procrastinators tell themselves that they will put the task off until a later time so they will have the time, energy, concentration/focus, or mood to do it more effectively. Does this sound familiar?
Is it really true that you will be in a much better mood/energy/focus at that later date?
And would it really be done more effectively then?
Is it really true that you would not handle it effectively now, even though you’re in a bad mood?
Sirois’ data suggests that the best way to eliminate the need for procrastination mood fixes is to connect with something positive, worthwhile, or beneficial about the task that gives it some personal meaning.
I find it helpful to remind myself that I don’t have to wait until I feel like doing the job to get started at it. (If I waited until I felt like doing the dishes, they would never get done.)
Self-compassion also appears to be extremely helpful.
Wohl’s team found that university students who forgave themselves after procrastinating from studying for the first exam were less likely to delay for the second exam.
Further procrastination tips are here.
The triad that appears to most effectively decrease procrastination is :
effective goal setting
+
planning strategies
+
self-regulation
(of energy, emotions, self-efficacy, self-compassion)
Pychyl says emotional regulation is the real story around procrastination.
Awareness is the first step.
Monitor your emotions, energy, thoughts, and actions when you are delaying tasks.
Brainstorm ways to self-regulate energy or emotions when facing these situations.
What is your next experiment when you feel tired, or in a bad mood, and tempted to procrastinate?
For effective, practical relaxation strategies that enhance health and performance
check out the Stress Management & High Performance Clinic programs
at https://www.SelfRegulationSkills.ca.
Kathy Somers, R.Kin, BCB
Stress Smart 