Tuesday Talks: Procrastination

The information provided here should never be used as an alternative to professional care. This post is merely intended as an informational guide. If you would like to speak with one of our counsellors, please call 222-7692 and we will be glad to assist you.

Hey there! It's been a while since we've done a post! Deepest apologies; our blog writer was sick for a few weeks and then came Carnival and then came post-Carnival and well, you know...excuses. In light of this, we've decided to focus today's Tuesday Talks post on Procrastination.

What is it?

Procrastination is the delay doing of important or urgent tasks in favour of less urgent or more pleasurable ones. For example, without calling names*, let's say you write a blog that is supposed to be updated once a week, but other things keep popping up and the post never gets written. Then suddenly, it's the deadline day and all you have is a blank webpage without a title. Where did all the hours go? You can't really think of anything overwhelming or important that would have prevented you from writing the post, but it still feels like you never had time to.

*We're definitely talking about ourselves here. Oops! 

More than likely, procrastination is the culprit. It commonly sounds like "Sure, I'll get started as soon as this show is finished," or "It's not due until Wednesday, I'll start it later." Sometimes it sounds like "I already thought it through in my head, it won't take long to write it down after I come back!"

Procrastination is all about postponing the things you don't really feel like doing so that you can do other things that you find more enjoyable.


What happens?

There are a few theories about why human beings procrastinate. The first relates to Sigmund Freud's pleasure principle, where people naturally seek out things that they enjoy over the things that they dislike to avoid unwanted feelings like boredom, frustration or even pain. By choosing to do something else, like play a video game or take a nap instead of what one is supposed to do, like housework or homework, people seek (even without knowing that they are) to avoid a backache from sweeping, or a headache from studying.

Another theory is that people feel like they work better under pressure. If a professor assigns a paper in September that is due in March, many people will leave it until the last minute with the excuse that 'crunch time' helps them to think better and gets the ideas flowing. While this might be true, it could likely be a result of the fact that the brain works harder to perform in the limited time before the deadline and therefore it feels like ideas come better because they are coming quicker.

Procrastination is also common in people who are easily distracted. They bounce around from task to task, finding their attention drawn away by a phone call, an advertisement or even a memory or thought.

"If I had just started working earlier I could have been in all
 these beach pictures I'm liking on Facebook."
Image from here.

Procrastination tends to cause unnecessary stress however. The looming deadlines, an expectant boss and a pile-up of unfinished work can turn that stress into anxiety which can sometimes turn into panic attacks. Procrastination can also become a habit that interferes with organisation and other aspects of daily life. For example, if your boss notices that you're a big procrastinator he might pass you over for promotion, hurting your career progress.


How can we help?

Procrastination is a habit that is hard to break. It's easy to put things off and off and off until the time when it's absolutely necessary to get it out of the way. Still, with a few steps it can be easy to get the upper hand on procrastination, instead of the other way around.

1. Take notice!
Did you tell yourself you would start at 5:00, but now it's 8:30 and you still haven't accomplished what it is you need to do? Maybe you've been procrastinating! What have you spent your time doing? Stalking your ex via social media for the past 3 and a half hours? Close the web browser, take some deep breaths to focus yourself and try to do what is needed of you.

2. Figure out why!
Are you putting things off because you really dislike the task at hand? Is there something weighing on your mind? Are you waiting to hear the new mix from your favourite DJ? Find a way to make whatever it is you're doing appeal to you. Listen to music, or involve a friend in whatever it is you're doing. Ask them to keep you on track or even to help with whatever you're doing, and you might be surprised at how well good company makes the time fly while still getting the job done.

3. Come up with personal anti-procrastination strategies.
Reward yourself with a ten or fifteen minute break for ever solid hour of work you do. If you can bear the thought, turn your phone off, or put it in another room so that you won't be distracted by it. Pull up a 12-hour video of white noise, plug in your headphones and eliminate distractions.

Sometimes it's okay to relax and do nothing, but be careful of
relaxation turning into an excuse to not do the things that need doing.
Image from here.

Each person is different, so methods for decreasing procrastination will vary from person to person, of course. The important thing is to find the strategies that work best for you. While it's hard to expect that procrastination will be entirely eliminated, reducing its occurrence can have a huge positive impact on daily functioning.


Further information:
Trinidad Guardian: 3 Fears that Fuel Procrastination
Psychology Today: Articles about Procrastination
Forbes: How A Tiny Bit Of Procrastination Can Help You Make Better Decisions