Procrastination
Contents
To
avoid feeling lonely \abandoned
To
avoid doing demeaning tasks
What
maintains procrastination
What
gets in the way of tackling procrastination
How
procrastination can be helpful
Rejuvenating\Rewarding
activity
Reasons to procrastinate
To avoid failure
If you didn’t try then you can never fail
To avoid success
Success might be unpleasant, from increased responsibility
or how you fear other people could treat you by rejecting you or insulting you
. The process of success might also be unpleasant, i.e. competition where you
fear you could alienate people.
To avoid the imperfect
There can be a desire to do things perfectly and because
that is hard therefore the task is put off
To avoid losing your identity
If you do something for someone else it can diminish your
sense of yourself and can lead to what
it means to be you wont be respected, so you avoid doing the task and feel more
yourself.
To avoid losing control
Not doing a task you don’t want to do asserts your
control\power in the world
To avoid feeling lonely \abandoned
You always have things to do, as procrastination means tasks
take longer
To avoid doing demeaning tasks
If you have a powerful belief in your specialness, and
ability you might then want to procrastinate
tasks that don’t accord with that belief. This could be because the
feelings of dong things that are less that you think you should be doing, or
feeling a failure are very powerful for you maybe because you haven’t often
felt them.
To avoid distress
·
Pleasurable tasks feel timeless and it feels
very painful to do things that aren’t like this
·
Any of the above reasons produce distress that
can then want to be avoided
What maintains procrastination
The task to be done produces distress (for some reason), a
history of procrastination produces extra distress associating the task with
the distress of procrastinating about it.
Now being stressed, and the threat part of your brain is activated it
becomes harder to do the task. So the procrastination is maintained by the
negative reinforcement of avoiding the unpleasant feelings of distress , and by
the strengthening of the beliefs about the task e.g. “I cant do it” supported
by the decrease in ability due to the stress. Given the avoidance of the
distress then procrastination is also maintained as the skills of managing
distress aren’t developed.
In turn tasks can be associated with all the unpleasant
thoughts\feelings and behaviours. So as the similar task\situation is faced
then there can be all the memory of previous similar tasks coming back and a
priming of way of paying attention\thinking\feeling as there is an expectation
of what the task will be like. The brain through repeition wires neural
pathways, so when I see x, then I think y, then I feel z.
What can help reduce the maintenance of procrastination is
to start to break the neural pathways. So when you get stuck in procrastination
take a break (mind\body) which can then give other experiences related to the
task. Likewise starting small and
getting some success in terms of doing the task and concentrating can also
rewire as it reassociates the task with non procrstinatory experience.
What gets in the way of tackling procrastination
If you stop procrastinating, what new problems or situations
would you have to face that you don’t have to contend with now?
My illusions could be shattered . . .
What if I finally do my best, but I’m mediocre?
I might not be able to achieve what I always thought I
could.
I couldn’t feel
superior if I found I was in the same boat as others.
There’s always more to do . . .
I’ll turn into a workaholic.
I’ll take on more and more responsibilities and put my own
needs last.
I’ll find there’s
even more to do than I thought.
It will never end.
My relationships would change and not for the better . .
.
It’s lonely at the
top; I’d lose my friends.
People will compete
with me and try to cut me down.
My flaws will be obvious and no one will like me.
Everyone will be envious of me.
I’ll be too different from my family.
I’d lose control over my life . . .
I’d have to accept a lot of other people’s routines and
expectations.
I’d have to learn new things and be a novice again.
I’d rather be the expert.
I’ll be taken over by
this new culture.
People will demand more and more of me—and I can’t say “No.”
Life would seem boring . . .
I would miss the
excitement and challenge of “cutting it close.”
I wouldn’t be inspired and I’d be less creative.
Things done early will seem too easy.
That’s no fun!
I’d be completely responsible for myself . . .
I couldn’t blame
other people or circumstances for what I do or don’t do.
What would it be like to be completely on my own without
getting everyone to help me at the last minute?
I’d have to make a
lot of difficult decisions about how to spend my time.
I wouldn’t be a
nice person anymore . . .
If I’m successful, I might turn into a pompous ass.
I’d become self-righteous and disdainful of those who still
procrastinate.
I might be dull, less fun, no longer a unique person.
I’d start to feel competitive with everyone else.
Maybe I don’t deserve this . . .
I’d have to acknowledge that I’m worth something.
I haven’t punished myself enough for procrastinating.
I’d be even more disappointed in myself if I started to
procrastinate again.
Your identity
There can be things you see as your identity that make it
harder to let go of procrastination
1.
The loveable clown
2.
The saint: always looking after others but
putting my needs off
3.
The renaissance man: knows about everything but
never can attend to one thing
4.
The miracle worker: can pull it out of the bag
in the last 5 mins (but I created the problem)
5.
The blank slate: I don’t know what I want in
life, so cant direct my energy
How procrastination can be helpful
·
It can show that you don’t want to do what you
are doing and there could be good reasons for this that procrastination is
pointing to you acting against your values.
Steps to Change
Preparing to change
Understanding
Establish procrastination areas:
Establish procrastination patterns and themes.
Establish procrastination style: what do you do
Motivating
Evaluate Procrastination
External costs: e.g. problems at work
Internal costs: e.g. LSE
Troubleshooting
As you set yourself tasks to help you change you will hit
resistance and procrastination. When you do use this to understand more about
procrastination.
Changing procrastination
Approach
Aim build confidence, by getting some success.
Break tasks into small achievable steps
Use an energising activity at start of tasks and a
pleasurable\meaningful activity at end of tasks to energise and stimulate the
work.
Aim to increase your understanding of yourself, your
procrastination and achievement whatever happens
Plan Preparation
Write down why you procrastinate (Write 5 parts of it, e.g.
fear of failure, fear of being controlled)
Write down the emotions that encourage you to procrastinate
(I feel x when I need to do y)
Write down what keeps you procrastinating: Fears if you
didn’t procrastinate (see above)
Write down 5 costs (internal and external) of
procrastination
Write down 5 benefits of reducing procrastination
Write a plan for tackling procrastination (general
energiser, specific procrastination reducer with rewards, general
pleasure\meaning enhancer, this wrapped in a learning\feedback mechanism )
Learn emotional acceptance technique
Have a log book\learning journal
Plan Implementation
Start of day: Run
Plan:
Break task into small time chunks
Think about how you can distract yourself and if you need to
make some time for those things later in the day.
Establish rejuvenating\rewarding activity around it
Write or say what is important about doing this task
(internal motives, external incentives)
Write or say how I can make this task more
interesting\motivating (how quickly I can do it, what I can learn etc?)
Task implementation
Do task, if successful take a rejuvenating break/get a
reward (Exercise? Movement? Music? Change of scene?)
If having difficulty with task then write or say the meaning
of the difficulty (e.g. fear of failure), notice the emotion that goes with
this. Do some emotional management or compassion excercisea then return to
task.
End of day: Pleasurable\Meaningful activity
Feedback\Learning
Have three sections
Understanding procrastination, thoughts and emotions
Helpers and hinderers
Troubleshooting
Either at end of day, end of task or during difficulty write
down any increase of wisdom in any of the areas
Rejuvenating\Rewarding activity
Mindful: A sacred pause: connecting to the moment, what it
feels like in your body, emotions, feelings, sensations what sounds you notice,
Exercise: Some exercise: walking outside, moving around the
house, doing a yoga pose, doing an exercise
Relaxation: Progressive muscle relaxation, Soothing imagery,
Soothing breathing
Compassion: Notice whats gone well to encourage and support,
and offer compassion to any difficulties or struggles.
Social: Message a friend
Helpers
Organising
Set a timer for the task on your phone
Write a plan for the day at the start of the day
Create a regular time during the day to do certain things, e.g.
look for houses, socialise etc
Break things into very small bits, use one minute time
allocations
Well being: ensure you are getting enough sleep\eating
well\socialising\having pleasure and meaning
Create an “Unschedule” a weekly plan of all the things you
are going to do, notice what you feel about that and then see what time you
have for what you should do or if you need to adjust the schedule
Managing
What can you delegate?
What can you say no to?
What can be good enough rather than perfect?
What do you love doing: do more of it!
How can you schedule your day to maximum effect (hard tasks
first, small task firsts get some motivation?)
