PROCRASTINATION

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PROCRASTINATION

• Ive been thinking about this presentation for a
  long Time
• But..

I NEVER GOT AROUND TO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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PROCRASTINATION
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Why would people do that?

• There are many ways avoid success in life, but
  the most surefire way just might be
  procrastination. Procrastinators sabotage
  themselves. They put obstacles in their own
  paths. They actually choose paths that hurt their
  performance.

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PROCRASTINATION

• It is estimated that 90 of college students
  procrastinate. Of these students, 25 are chronic
  procrastinators and they are usually the ones who
  end up dropping out of college.

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What is Procrastination?

• Procrastination is the avoidance of doing a task
  which needs to be accomplished. This can lead to
  feelings of guilt, inadequacy, depression and
  self-doubt among students. Procrastination has a
  high potential for painful consequences. It
  interferes with the academic and personal success
  of students.

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Why do Students Procrastinate?

• Poor Time Management. Procrastination means not
  managing time wisely. You may be uncertain of
  your priorities, goals and objectives. You may
  also be overwhelmed with the task. As a result,
  you keep putting off your academic assignments
  for a later date, or spending a great deal of
  time with your friends and social activities, or
  worrying about your upcoming examination, class
  project and papers rather than completing them.

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Why do Students Procrastinate?

• Difficulty Concentrating. When you sit at your
  desk you find yourself daydreaming, staring into
  space, looking at pictures of your
  boyfriend/girlfriend, etc., instead of doing the
  task. Your environment is distracting and noisy.
  You keep running back and forth for equipment
  such as pencils, erasers, dictionary, etc. Your
  desk is cluttered and unorganized and sometimes
  you sit/lay on your bed to study or do your
  assignments. You probably notice that all of the
  examples that you have just read promote time
  wasting and frustration.

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Why do Students Procrastinate?

• Fear and Anxiety. You may be overwhelmed with the
  task and afraid of getting a failing grade. As a
  result, you spend a great deal of time worrying
  about your upcoming exams, papers and projects,
  rather than completing them.
• Negative Beliefs such as "I cannot succeed in
  anything" and "I lack the necessary skills to
  perform the task" may allow you to stop yourself
  from getting work done.

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Why do Students Procrastinate?

• Personal problems. For example, financial
  difficulties, problems with your
  boyfriend/girlfriend, etc.
• Finding the Task Boring.

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Why do Students Procrastinate?

• Unrealistic Expectations and Perfectionism. You
  may believe that you MUST read everything ever
  written on a subject before you can begin to
  write your paper. You may think that you haven't
  done the best you possibly could do, so it's not
  good enough to hand in.

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Why do Students Procrastinate?

• Fear of Failure. You may think that if you don't
  get an 'A', you are failure. Or that if you fail
  an exam, you, as a person, are a failure, rather
  than that you are a perfectly ok person who has
  failed an exam.

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• Better to remain silent and appear a fool,

than to
open your mouth and remove all doubt.
-Abraham Lincoln
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Other reasons for Avoiding Work

• LACK OF RELEVANCE. If something is neither
  relevant nor meaningful to you personally, it may
  be difficult to get motivated even to begin.
• ACCEPTANCE OF ANOTHER'S GOALS. If a project has
  been imposed or assigned to you and it is not
  consistent with your own interests, you may be
  reluctant to spend the necessary time to see it
  to conclusion.
• PERFECTIONISM. Having unreachable standards will
  discourage you from pursuing a task. Remember,
  perfection is unattainable.
• EVALUATION ANXIETY. Since others' responses to
  your work are not under your direct control,
  overvaluing these responses can create the kind
  of anxiety that will interfere with work getting
  accomplished.
• AMBIGUITY. If you are uncertain of what is
  expected of you, it may be difficult to get
  started.
• FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN. If you are venturing into a
  new realm or field, you don't have any way of
  knowing how well you'll do. Such an uncertain
  outcome may inhibit your desire to begin.
• INABILITY TO HANDLE THE TASK. If through lack of
  training, skill, or ability you feel that you
  lack the personal resources to do the job, you
  may avoid it completely.

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Procrastination Takes Many Forms

• Do you act as though if you ignore a task, it
  will go away? The mid-term exam in your chemistry
  class is not likely to vaporize, no matter how
  much you ignore it.
• Do you underestimate the work involved in the
  task, or overestimate your abilities and
  resources in relationship to the task? Do you
  tell yourself that you grasp concepts so easily
  that you need only spend one hour on the physics
  problems which would normally take you six?
• Do you deceive yourself into believing that a
  mediocre performance or lesser standards are
  acceptable? For example, if you deceive yourself
  that a 2.3 GPA will still get you into the
  medical school of your choice, you may be
  avoiding the decision to work harder to improve
  your grade point average and thus may have to
  alter your career plans. This form of avoidance
  can prevent your from consciously making choices
  about important goals in your life.
• Do you deceive yourself by substituting one
  worthy activity for another? Suppose you clean
  the apartment instead of writing your term paper.
  Valuing a clean apartment is fine but if that
  value only becomes important when there is a
  paper due, you are procrastinating.

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Procrastination Takes Many Forms

• Do you believe that repeated delays are harmless?
  An example is putting off writing your paper so
  you can watch five minutes of your favorite
  television program. If you don't return to
  writing the paper after five minutes have
  elapsed, you may stay tuned to the television for
  the entire evening, with no work being done on
  the paper.
• Do you dramatize a commitment to a task rather
  than actually doing it? An example is taking your
  books on vacation but never opening them, or
  perhaps even declining invitations for
  pleasurable events, but still not pursuing the
  work at hand nor getting needed relaxation. This
  way you stay in a constant state of unproductive
  readiness to work--without ever working.
• Do you persevere on only one portion of the task?
  An example is writing and rewriting the
  introductory paragraph of the paper but not
  dealing with the body and the conclusion. The
  introductory paragraph is important, but not at
  the expense of the entire project.
• Do you become paralyzed in deciding between
  alternative choices? An example involves spending
  so much time deciding between two term paper
  topics that you don't have sufficient time to
  write the paper.

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What to Do about Procrastination

• Does any of this sound Familiar???
• Do you resemble any of these remarks????
• Can you visualize yourself in one or more of
  these vignettes?
• If so, you may be ready to overcome your problems
  with avoidance or procrastination.

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How to Overcome Procrastination

• Recognize self-defeating problems such as fear
  and anxiety, difficulty concentrating, poor time
  management, indecisiveness and perfectionism.
• Identify your own goals, strengths and
  weaknesses, values and priorities.
• Compare your actions with the values you feel you
  have. Are your values consistent with your
  actions?

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How to Overcome Procrastination

• Discipline yourself to use time wisely Set
  priorities
• Study in small blocks instead of long time
  periods. For example, you will accomplish more if
  you study/work in 60 minute blocks and take
  frequent 10 minute breaks in between, than if you
  study/work for 2-3 hours straight, with no
  breaks. Reward yourself after you complete a task

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How to Overcome Procrastination

• Motivate yourself to study Dwell on success, not
  on failure. Try to study in small groups. Break
  large assignments into small tasks. Keep a
  reminder schedule and checklist.
• Set realistic goals.
• Modify your environment Eliminate or minimize
  noise/ distraction. Ensure adequate lighting.
  Have necessary equipment at hand. Don't waste
  time going back and forth to get things. Don't
  get too comfortable when studying. A desk and
  straight-backed chair is usually best (a bed is
  no place to study). Be neat! Take a few minutes
  to straighten your desk. This can help to reduce
  day-dreaming.

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Discipline is...
1. Do what has to be done
2. When it has to be done
3. As well as it can be done and

4. Do it that way every time.
-Bobby Knight
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The procrastinator can change procrastinating
ways of thinking to productive ways
Lets see How
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The Procrastinator Says,

• I must...(or) have to...(OR something awful will
  happen)
• CHANGE TO
• I'd like to...(or) choose to...

• I've gotta finish...
• CHANGE TO
• When can I get started on...

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The Procrastinator Says,

• Oh, God, this assignment is enormous.
• CHANGE TO
• Where is the best place to start?

• I must do well (fantastic, perfect).
• CHANGE TO
• I'll do okay I'll give it time.

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The Procrastinator Says,

• I have no time to play.
• CHANGE TO
• It is important to play one hour.

• I see life and work as a grind.
• CHANGE TO
• Life and work can be fun.

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Prepare yourself mentally...
Think of

• when..., not if...
• the price of delay
• positive thoughts

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NOW.....
JUST DO IT!!!!!
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Links and resources

http//ub-counseling.buffalo.edu/stressprocrast.sh
tml http//mentalhelp.net/psyhelp/chap4 http//c
aps.unc.edu/Procrast.behavioral