Dealing with Procrastination

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Dealing with Procrastination
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• Procrastination is an uncomfortable feeling
• that drives you away from doing something
• you have planned to do.

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• You may procrastinate because the task you
• are supposed to do triggers uncomfortable
• thoughts and feelings such as
• confusion
• boredom
• a sense of being overwhelmed
• fear of failure

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Confused?

• If you are confused about the
• assignment, go over the
• assignment sheet carefully and,
• if you have any questions, ask
• the instructor for clarification.
• Be sure you know exactly
• whats expected of you.

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Bored?

• Some people falsely believe that
• they have to be in the mood
• before they can start a project. If
• you think this way, disabuse
• yourself of the notion.

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Consider the consequences of not doing the work.

• Tell yourself, I dont feel like doing this
• work, but Ill lose marks if I dont get the
• assignment in on time. If I dont hand it
• in at all, Ill fail the assignment, and
• possibly the course.

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• The thought of having to
• spend time and money to
• repeat the course should
• prove very inspirational.

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Try the 5 minute approach.

• Tell yourself that you will do just 5 minutes of
  the task.
• Start with something significant and concrete.
  If you do something small but significant, youll
  have an immediate success.

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• At the end of five minutes, decide whether you
  want to continue. You might find that your sense
  of accomplishment at getting started will carry
  you through the rest of the task.

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Overwhelmed?

• Break the task into
• smaller, more
• manageable chunks of
• work.

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Reading

• Break a long textbook chapter into sections.
• For each section, create one or two questions
  from the heading.
• Heading Standard Deviation
• Questions What is the definition of
• standard deviation? What formula do I
• use to find standard deviation?

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• Read to find the answer.
• Make notes.
• Recite the answer from memory.

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Writing

• Break a major task into steps.
• e.g., Steps in writing a research paper
• generating ideas through research
• organizing and drafting
• editing and revising
• proofreading

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• Give yourself a small reward as
• you complete each step.

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Rithmetic

• If you are working through a
• chapter in your math text,
• complete the exercises in one
• section to make sure you
• understand the concepts before
• moving on to the next section.

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Afraid of failure?

• You may procrastinate
• because you are afraid of or
• anxious about the task. One
• cause of fear and anxiety is
• perfectionism, which is closely
• related to fear of failing.

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Perfectionists tend to believe that

• if I cant do something right, theres no point
  in doing it at all
• only losers fail at tasks, and I dont want to be
  a loser

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• I have to excel at everything I do
• anything less than perfect is no good at all

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Be more realistic. Think

• My work doesnt have to be perfect, but I will do
  the best I can with the time and resources
  available.

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• Doing poorly or even failing at one task doesnt
  mean Im a failure at everything. There are
  things Im good at. Ill try my best on this
  assignment and learn from any mistakes I make.

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The longest journey begins with one step
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The sooner you start, the closer youll be to
finishing.
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• So if negative emotions
• stop you from working,
• deal with them and then
• get on with the job.