What is Procrastination? Why can't I just do it? When we fail to do something that we wished to do but did not, we ask ourself the question "Why can't I just get on and DO it?" I had a friend in school who hated studying Shakespeare - he never progressed beyond the prologue. "How can I read and understand the rest of the book, unless I have mastered the prologue?" he said. In his anxiety to avoid the main text, he was always stuck with the prologue -and never progressed beyond it, except to skip the text and master the epilogue!
A common problem, usually explained as putting off doing something important. Most of us procrastinate sometime or the other. What are other signs of procrastination besides waiting until the last minute to do something? Try these on for size: being reluctant to take risks or try something new, staying at home or in the same old job, getting sick when faced with an unpleasant job, avoiding confrontations or decisions, blaming others or the situation ("it's boring") for your unhappiness or to avoid doing something, making big plans but never carrying them out, and/or having such a busy social-recreational calendar that it is hard to get important work done.
This list of symptoms suggests that procrastination, which at first sounds like a simple behavior, is, in fact, quite complex. It involves emotions, skills, thoughts or attitudes, and factors we are unaware of. Furthermore, the causes and dynamics of putting off an important but unpleasant task vary from person to person and from task to task for the same person. For instance, you may delay doing your math assignment but fill out an application for school immediately. Hopefully, understanding how and why we procrastinate will help us change it.
Procrastination is a strange phenomenon. Its purpose seems to be to make our life more pleasant but instead it almost always adds stress, disorganization, and frequently failure. The process goes something like this; (1) You want to achieve some outcome, usually something you and others value and respect--"I've got to start." (2) You delay, briefly thinking of real and imagined advantages of starting to change later--"I'll do it tomorrow when I don't have much to do." (3) You delay more, becoming self-critical--"I should have started sooner"--and/or self-excusing-- You may hide or pretend to be busy; you may even lie about having other obligations. (4) You delay still more, until finally the task has to be done, usually hastily--"Just get it done any old way" --or you just don't have time--"I can't do this!" (5) You berate yourself--"There is something wrong with me" --and swear never to procrastinate again and/or you discount the importance of the task--"It doesn't matter." (6) You repeat the process almost immediately on other important tasks, as if it were an addiction or compulsion.
The wisest course of action, most of the time, would be to simply do the unpleasant task as soon as practical, while we have enough time to do the job right and get it over with, not prolonging our agony. But we put it off. Why? There are many possible reasons: (1) we feel good about setting goals and declaring that we are going to change or succeed "sometime," (2) by procrastinating we shorten the time we actually have to work on the task, and (3) much of the time we avoid the unpleasant task altogether. Research has shown that 70% of New Year's resolutions are abandoned by February 1.
Procrastinating can best be understood by identifying the emotions associated with or underlying the behavior. Actually, procrastination is an attempt to cope with our emotional reactions. What are these emotions? Fear of failure or success is the most likely emotion Anger - this includes rebellion against control. Dislike of the work that needs to be done is another. Depression can slow us down (and failing due to procrastination can depress us). Seeking pleasure is another disruptive motive. So the task for the procrastinator becomes (1) correctly identifying your form(s) of procrastination and (2) finding a solution for your specific emotional reaction.
Types of procrastinators
Fundamentally, there are two kinds of procrastinators: one tense and the other relaxed. The tense type often feels both an intense pressure to succeed and a fear of failure; the relaxed type often feels negatively toward work and blows it off--forgets it--by playing. The denial-based type of procrastinator avoids as much stress as possible by dismissing work or disregarding more challenging tasks and concentrating on "having fun" or some other distracting activity. The tense-afraid type of procrastinator is described as feeling overwhelmed by pressures, unrealistic about time, uncertain about goals, dissatisfied with accomplishments, indecisive, blaming others or circumstances for failures, lacking in confidence and, sometimes, perfectionistic. Thus, the underlying fears are of failing, lacking ability, being imperfect, and falling short of overly demanding goals. This type thinks his/her worth is determined by what he/she does, which reflects his/her level of ability. He/she is afraid of being judged and found wanting. Thus, this kind of procrastinator will get over-stressed and over-worked until he/she escapes the pressure temporarily by trying to relax but any enjoyment gives rise to guilt and more apprehension.
Thus procrastinators are classified as: perfectionists - dread doing anything that is less than perfect dreamers - who have great ideas but hate doing the details worriers - who don't think things are right but fear that changes will make them worse, defiers - resist doing anything expected by someone else crisis-makers - who manage to find or make a big problem in any project (often by starting too late) over-doers - who take on way too many tasks.
How to stop procrastinating?
1. Focus on the real problems--underlying fears, attitudes and irrational ideas. 2. Next, figure out what the underlying problem is. Start by asking, "Am I a relaxed or a tense procrastinator?" Tense procrastinators suffer from strong, sometimes mean, internal critics. Relaxed procrastinators deny reality.
Below are some self-help procedures that should be of help to relaxed and tense procrastinators. For most procrastinators, a To-Be-Done List, a daily schedule, and a simple record-keeping and reward procedure will do wonders. Changes may occur immediately, but backsliding is common. Most people have to overcome procrastination gradually. Breaking big jobs down into manageable tasks and working on "getting started," perhaps by tricking yourself by saying "I'll just do five minutes" and then finding out you don't mind working longer than five minutes. This is called the "five minute plan." The key is to learn the habit of getting started on a task early, i.e. the procrastinator needs to learn to initiate well in advance studying and preparing for papers and exams.
Many procrastinators, however, resist these methods. As one client told me, "I can easily ignore schedules and reminders. Rewards and penalties are the worst of all--I just take the reward without doing the work and I forget to punish myself." A truly dedicated "relaxed" procrastinator will need more internal motivation, maybe a new philosophy of life or simply more worry and tension, i.e. a much stronger self-critic.
Relaxed procrastinators usually use three kinds of common diversions to avoid doing something; 1. Action cop-outs. This is doing something that isn't a priority. Examples: Watching TV, eating, playing, sleeping, or even cleaning. Once we are engrossed in the diversion, we block out the anxiety, self-doubts, anger, or boredom associated with the work we are putting off but should be doing. 2. Mental excuses. There are three main types: (a) "I'll do it tomorrow" or "I do my best work late at night, I'll do it then." Since you have promised yourself that you will be good, you can escape work and enjoy guilt-free play. (b) "I'll go shopping now so I can study all evening" or "I'll call them just as soon as I think of something clever to say" or "I'll fix up my apartment, then I'll make friends." Some unimportant activity takes priority over the main but unpleasant or scary event. (c) "I want an 'A' in statistics but Dr. Mean would never give me one". 3. Emotional diversions. Taking drugs, listening to music, reading novels, and even getting involved in friendships, love, flirtations, or religion could, at times, serve as an escape from unpleasant but important tasks.
In summary, what can the pleasure-seeking procrastinator do? (1) Stop turning little inconvenient mole hills (like having to do something unpleasant) into giant "ain't-it-awful" mountains, (2) be on the look out for any self-con or cop out by which we deny the need to work right now, (3) start to think more rationally--you don't have to go to every party, you can get interested in a doing the project, (4) make detailed, realistic plans for achieving your long-range goals, and (5) don't avoid work, DO IT NOW!
If you are an anxiety based procrastinator the following is recommended
1. Reduce your fear of failing 2. Keep a record of your avoidance of important tasks: What excuses were used? What thoughts and feelings did you have? What was done instead of the work? What was the outcome? 3. Change procrastinating ways of thinking to productive ways: 4. Take responsibility instead of blaming. 5. For the over-achiever, the workaholic, the ambitious perfectionist, avoid the tendency to live entirely in the future. Productive people need to take vacations and play (without guilt)! Insist on your fun. 6. Turn worries and self-doubts into assets by asking (a) What is the worst possible outcome? (b) What would I do if the worst happened? How would I carry on? (c) What strengths and skills do I have that would help me cope? How will I forgive myself for messing up? (d) What alternative plans could I develop for having a good life? (e) Can I do things now to help avoid this awful outcome I fear? (f) Having prepared for the worst, how can I use my worries to prepare to become stronger and more capable? This kind of planning helps us face the inevitable risks that lurk ahead for all of us. 7. Schedule your fixed hours and your fun time. That's all, no work! Make the playing mandatory, not the work. Work becomes more enjoyable when it isn't seen as hard, boring, endless chores that have to be done. 8. Other methods are prescribed: a calendar based on when projects are due, a set of realistic goals, an approach to work in a relaxed state of concentration, and a quick, optimistic response to setbacks.
While most procrastination issues can be sorted out by following the self help methods enlisted above - the major problem is consistency and back tracking.
