What is Procrastination In presentation mode you can

What is Procrastination? In presentation mode you can click on some of the highlighted words or phases that are underlined and a hand will appear click it and it will take you to more information on that topic

What is Procrastination? • In a nutshell, you procrastinate when you put off things that you should be focusing on right now. • According to psychologist Professor Clarry Lay • “temporal gap between intended behavior and enacted behavior. ” • Procrastination is occurring when there’s a significant time period between when people intend to do a job, and when they actually do it.

Step 1: Recognize That you’re Procrastinating • Here are some useful indicators that will help you know when you’re procrastinating: • Filling your day with low priority tasks from your To Do List. • Reading e-mails several times without starting work on them or deciding what you’re going to do with them. • Sitting down to start a high-priority task, and almost immediately going off to make a cup of coffee. • Leaving an item on your To Do list for a long time, even though you know it's important. • Regularly saying "Yes" to unimportant tasks that others ask you to do, and filling your time with these instead of getting on with the important tasks already on your list. • Waiting for the “right mood” or the “right time” to tackle the important task at hand.

Putting off an unimportant task isn't necessarily procrastination: it may just be good prioritization!

Step 2: Work Out WHY You're Procrastinating

Step 2: Work Out WHY You're Procrastinating cont • feeling overwhelmed by the task. • You may also fear success as much as failure. • For example, you may think that success will lead to you being swamped with more requests to do this type of task, or that you’ll be pushed to take on things that you feel are beyond you. • Perfectionists are often procrastinators • Underdeveloped decision-making skills. If you simply can’t decide what to do, you’re likely to put off taking action in case you do the wrong thing.

Step 3: Adopt Anti-Procrastination Strategies • Procrastination is a habit! • Habits only stop being habits when you have persistently stopped practicing them! • Don’t Get Caught in the "procrastination peril”!

These general tips will help motivate you to get moving: • Make up your own rewards. • Ask someone else to check up on you. • Identify the unpleasant consequences of NOT doing the task. • Work out the cost of your time to your employer.

If you're pocrastinating because you're disorganized, here's how to get organized! • Keep a To-Do list • Use an Urgent/Important Matrix to help prioritize your to-do list • Become a master of scheduling and project planning • Set yourself time-bound goals • Focus on one task at a time.

If you're putting off starting a project because you find it overwhelming, you need to take a different approach. Here are some tips: • Break the project into a set of smaller, more manageable tasks. You may find it helpful to create an action plan. • Start with some quick, small tasks if you can, even if these aren't the logical first actions. You'll feel that you're achieving things, and so perhaps the whole project won't be so overwhelming after all.

If you’re procrastinating because you find the task unpleasant: • Many procrastinators overestimate the unpleasantness of a task. So give it a try! You may find that it’s not as bad as you thought! • Hold the unpleasant consequences of not doing the work at the front of your mind. • Reward yourself for doing the task.

Finally, • If you’re procrastinating because you can’t decide what action to take, and are putting off making a decision because you’re nervous about making the wrong choice • To have a good chance of conquering procrastination • Identify why you're procrastinating • appropriate steps to overcome the block

The Story of Christine Procrastinator • Monday was an especially hectic day for Christine and Monday night made the day seem even more hectic. Christine Monday night Psychology instructor had just given out a ten page paper, due in one month. Christine felt panicked. How could the instructor Christine thought give such a long paper? Doesn’t she realize how busy most returning students are and that they have a life outside of school.

When Christine decided • to go back to college 4 years after graduation from high school, she hadn’t realized what a juggling act it would require. First, there was her family-her husband, Don, and Christy her 3 -year old daughter. Then there was her job, which was really quite demanding for what she earned. She hoped that an associate’s degree in accounting would help her get a job as an accounting assistant and possibly even move into management ranks, where the salaries were higher. Add to that giving swimming lesson at the local Y, baking for the ladies club at church, competing in 5 k walks, and working out every day at the local gym.

Christine head began to swim • as she thought about all her upcoming obligations: her mother’s birthday next week, her dog’s vet appointment, her best friend who was coming to town to visit, the training class she was required to attend for work. Something had to go, but she couldn’t think of anything she was willing to sacrifice to make time for a ten page paper. Maybe she’d have to break down and buy one of those planners • Still, the paper was to count as 30 percent of her final grade in the course. She decided she’d try and think of a topic for the paper on her way home. But then she remembered that her husband had asked her to stop at the auto store to pick up a part that he ordered. Somewhere along the way Christine thoughts about her research paper vanished.

A whole week has gone by • Christine thought on her way back to her car after class. I have to get going! Writing had never exactly been Christine strongest subject. In fact, it was something she generally disliked doing. Through a great deal of hard work, she had managed to earn a 3. 7 GPA in high school-a record she planned to continue. A course in psychology a general education class not even in her intended major was not going to ruin things! The week had absolutely flown by, and there were plenty of good reasons why her paper was getting off to such a slow start. It was true that Christine rarely wasted time, except for occasionally watching her favorite TV shows. But the again, with such a jam-packed schedule, she really felt the need to unwind once in a while. Regardless, she rarely missed her nightly study time from 9: 30 p. m. to 11: 30 p. m. Those two hours were reserved for homework, no matter what

At the end of class two weeks later • Christine noticed that several students lined up to show the instructor the first drafts of their papers. That’s it! Christine thought to herself. The paper is due next Monday. I’ll spend Saturday night, my only free night of the week, in the library. I can get there right after taking Christy to the park and stay until closing. That’ll give me 5 hours of concentrated time. I should be able to write it then. Despite her good intentions, Christine didn’t arrive at the library until nearly closing time, and her work session wasn’t all that productive. As she sat in her library stall, she found herself obsessing about things that were bothering her at work. Her boss was being difficult, and her co-workers were fighting among themselves. Finally, when she glanced at the clock, she was shocked to see that it was already that time! The library was closing, and she’d only written two pages. Where had the time gone?

On her way out to the car her cell phone rang. It was Don, wondering where she was. The baby was running a fever, and her boss had called about an emergency meeting at 7: 00 a. m. If one more thing goes wrong……. , Christine thought to herself. Her ten page paper was due in two days.