Difference between revisions of "Procrastination"

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I'm starting this topic with notes on ''[http://www.worldcat.org/title/solving-the-procrastination-puzzle-a-concise-guide-to-strategies-for-change/oclc/858799814 Solving the Procrastination Puzzle]'' by Timothy Pychyl.
I'm starting this topic with notes on ''[http://www.worldcat.org/title/solving-the-procrastination-puzzle-a-concise-guide-to-strategies-for-change/oclc/858799814 Solving the Procrastination Puzzle]'' by Timothy Pychyl. You can find more at [http://procrastination.ca Pychyl's website].


== Introduction ==
The main strategy in this book is to just get started on whatever activity you're putting off.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 53</ref> This strategy is different from the Nike slogan "Just do it" because the focus isn't on finishing but on starting, which is much less intimidating. You may have to "just start" many times as you do the work, if you find yourself repeatedly stopping.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 56</ref>


This book is based on psychological research. You can find more at [http://procrastination.ca Timothy Pychyl's website]. {xvi}
The strategy of just starting cuts through all the excuses we come up with for not starting. It cuts through our fears and the tendency to "give in [to procrastination] to feel good," which is the basic reason we procrastinate.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 20, 22, 24</ref>


== Chapter 1: What Is Procrastination? Why Does It Matter? ==
The other major strategy in the book is to plan ahead using implementation intentions. These are if-then or when-then statements that give yourself triggers for taking particular actions. For example, "When I walk in the door, I will immediately begin cooking dinner," or, "If I feel the impulse to check Twitter, I will stay put and continue working."<ref>Pychyl 2013, 24-25, 54-57</ref>


We delay some actions for good reasons, and this isn't procrastination. {2} Procrastination is a "reluctance to act when it is in our best interest to act." To change, we need to know why it happens, and we need strategies for change. {3} This book will provide both. {4}
Then there are ancillary strategies, which have the effect of increasing your motivation for getting the activity done or counteracting the thinking that enables procrastination.


The first strategy for change is to observe which of your delays are from procrastination and to notice some of your procrastination patterns.
Strategies to increase motivation:


# List activities that you delay from procrastination.
# Think through the costs of procrastinating on particular activities and the benefits of acting on them in a timely manner.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 14-16</ref>
# Next to each of these activities, list your feelings and thoughts about it.
# Realize that you'll often feel more like doing a task once you've started doing it, and you'll feel better about yourself and life too.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 51-54</ref>
# Notice any patterns in those feelings and thoughts. {5-6}
# Realize that some of our greatest strengths can come from dealing with our limitations, such as the personality traits that keep us procrastinating.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 91</ref>


== Chapter 2: Is Procrastination Really a Problem? What Are the Costs of Procrastinating? ==
Antidotes to procrastinatory thinking:


Procrastination is detrimental in a number of ways. It decreases achievement because it gives us less time to do the work well. {10} It lowers mood because it leads to feelings of guilt. {10-11} It lowers health by causing stress and because some of the activities we procrastinate on are health related. {11} And it prevents us from moving our lives forward. {13}
# Become aware of your procrastination thinking patterns. List the thoughts and feelings you have when you think about particular activities you put off, and notice any commonalities.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 5-6</ref>
# Become aware of your unpleasant feelings about a task while they happen so you can deal with them constructively and tell yourself to start or keep working.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 22-24</ref>
# Realize that you won't feel more like it tomorrow.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 28, 32-35</ref>
# Realize that you don't have to feel like doing something to get started on it.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 33</ref>
# List the ways you rationalize your procrastination, and create implementation intentions to counteract them and just get started.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 47-49</ref>
## Realize that you underestimate future rewards compared to near-term rewards.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 38</ref>
## Realize that you underestimate how long tasks will take.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 39</ref>
## Notice when you procrastinate to handicap yourself in an effort to protect your self-esteem.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 39-40</ref>
## Remember that if you keep thinking tomorrow is a better time to start than now, eventually you'll feel that now was actually the best time to start.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 41-42</ref>
## Notice when perfectionism keeps you from starting.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 42</ref>
## Notice when you reduce the inner conflict of procrastinating by distracting, forgetting, trivializing, self-affirming, denying responsibility, justifying your decisions, or making downward counterfactuals ("It could have been worse.").<ref>Pychyl 2013, 43-45</ref>
## Notice when you wait for pressure to motivate you to work, and realize that you make more mistakes in those conditions rather than working better.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 45-47</ref>
# Realize that even a small or messy start helps.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 57</ref>
# Split a complex task into subtasks, and give each subtask an order or priority so you'll know what to just get started on.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 58-60</ref>
# Realize that momentary distractions often expand into hours without our awareness.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 93-95</ref>
# Realize that few people can multitask well.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 96</ref>
# List potential distractions (especially online ones) or obstacles to continuing your work, and either remove them proactively or come up with implementation intentions to deal with them.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 62-69, 92-99</ref>
# When your willpower feels depleted, motivate yourself to continue by reminding yourself of your overall goals and motivations for this task. Know that it's more possible to keep working than you think.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 70-75, 79</ref>
# Make it easier to keep working by doing it in ways and at times that increase your willpower.
## Be aware of the kinds of work that will tire you, including social interactions.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 78-79</ref>
##Willpower increases with practice, so exercise small amounts of it on a regular basis.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 75</ref>
## Get enough sleep.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 75-76</ref>
## Do your harder work earlier in the day.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 76</ref>
## Find sources of positive emotion so your motivation overrides your fatigue.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 76</ref>
## Make implementation intentions to keep working. These make your work more automatic and overcome self-regulation depletion.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 76-78</ref>
## Blood glucose increases the energy for self-regulation, so restore it with fruit when you get tired.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 78</ref>
# Notice whether you have an impulsive personality, and make implementation intentions to delay decisions on potential distractions so you can think about them.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 89</ref>
# Notice whether you tend to be disorganized, and include organizing tasks like cleaning up your work area or dividing your tasks into subtasks. Do these as a precursor to work and not a substitute for it.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 89-90</ref>
# Notice whether you tend to worry about failure, and challenge these thoughts when they arise.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 90</ref>
# When addressing your procrastination habits, pick one or two issues to start with rather than trying to change everything at once.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 103</ref>
# Forgive yourself when you slip back into your procrastination habits. Then you'll be less likely to procrastinate in the future because you won't avoid the tasks you feel guilty about.<ref>Pychyl 2013, 103-105</ref>


To encourage change, focus your attention on the costs of procrastination and the benefits of timely action. {14, 15}
== References ==


# List the activities from the exercise in chapter 1.
Pychyl, Timothy A. 2013. ''Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change''. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin.
# For each activity, record how this procrastination has affected your health, emotions, relationships, and so on. You may want to discuss it with a loved one, who might tell you how your procrastination has affected them in ways you hadn't noticed. {14-15}
 
# For each activity, also record why this goal is important to you and how you'd benefit from acting on it now. {16}
== Footnotes ==
 
<references/>


[[Category:Productivity]]
[[Category:Productivity]]

Latest revision as of 04:04, 30 August 2014

I'm starting this topic with notes on Solving the Procrastination Puzzle by Timothy Pychyl. You can find more at Pychyl's website.

The main strategy in this book is to just get started on whatever activity you're putting off.[1] This strategy is different from the Nike slogan "Just do it" because the focus isn't on finishing but on starting, which is much less intimidating. You may have to "just start" many times as you do the work, if you find yourself repeatedly stopping.[2]

The strategy of just starting cuts through all the excuses we come up with for not starting. It cuts through our fears and the tendency to "give in [to procrastination] to feel good," which is the basic reason we procrastinate.[3]

The other major strategy in the book is to plan ahead using implementation intentions. These are if-then or when-then statements that give yourself triggers for taking particular actions. For example, "When I walk in the door, I will immediately begin cooking dinner," or, "If I feel the impulse to check Twitter, I will stay put and continue working."[4]

Then there are ancillary strategies, which have the effect of increasing your motivation for getting the activity done or counteracting the thinking that enables procrastination.

Strategies to increase motivation:

  1. Think through the costs of procrastinating on particular activities and the benefits of acting on them in a timely manner.[5]
  2. Realize that you'll often feel more like doing a task once you've started doing it, and you'll feel better about yourself and life too.[6]
  3. Realize that some of our greatest strengths can come from dealing with our limitations, such as the personality traits that keep us procrastinating.[7]

Antidotes to procrastinatory thinking:

  1. Become aware of your procrastination thinking patterns. List the thoughts and feelings you have when you think about particular activities you put off, and notice any commonalities.[8]
  2. Become aware of your unpleasant feelings about a task while they happen so you can deal with them constructively and tell yourself to start or keep working.[9]
  3. Realize that you won't feel more like it tomorrow.[10]
  4. Realize that you don't have to feel like doing something to get started on it.[11]
  5. List the ways you rationalize your procrastination, and create implementation intentions to counteract them and just get started.[12]
    1. Realize that you underestimate future rewards compared to near-term rewards.[13]
    2. Realize that you underestimate how long tasks will take.[14]
    3. Notice when you procrastinate to handicap yourself in an effort to protect your self-esteem.[15]
    4. Remember that if you keep thinking tomorrow is a better time to start than now, eventually you'll feel that now was actually the best time to start.[16]
    5. Notice when perfectionism keeps you from starting.[17]
    6. Notice when you reduce the inner conflict of procrastinating by distracting, forgetting, trivializing, self-affirming, denying responsibility, justifying your decisions, or making downward counterfactuals ("It could have been worse.").[18]
    7. Notice when you wait for pressure to motivate you to work, and realize that you make more mistakes in those conditions rather than working better.[19]
  6. Realize that even a small or messy start helps.[20]
  7. Split a complex task into subtasks, and give each subtask an order or priority so you'll know what to just get started on.[21]
  8. Realize that momentary distractions often expand into hours without our awareness.[22]
  9. Realize that few people can multitask well.[23]
  10. List potential distractions (especially online ones) or obstacles to continuing your work, and either remove them proactively or come up with implementation intentions to deal with them.[24]
  11. When your willpower feels depleted, motivate yourself to continue by reminding yourself of your overall goals and motivations for this task. Know that it's more possible to keep working than you think.[25]
  12. Make it easier to keep working by doing it in ways and at times that increase your willpower.
    1. Be aware of the kinds of work that will tire you, including social interactions.[26]
    2. Willpower increases with practice, so exercise small amounts of it on a regular basis.[27]
    3. Get enough sleep.[28]
    4. Do your harder work earlier in the day.[29]
    5. Find sources of positive emotion so your motivation overrides your fatigue.[30]
    6. Make implementation intentions to keep working. These make your work more automatic and overcome self-regulation depletion.[31]
    7. Blood glucose increases the energy for self-regulation, so restore it with fruit when you get tired.[32]
  13. Notice whether you have an impulsive personality, and make implementation intentions to delay decisions on potential distractions so you can think about them.[33]
  14. Notice whether you tend to be disorganized, and include organizing tasks like cleaning up your work area or dividing your tasks into subtasks. Do these as a precursor to work and not a substitute for it.[34]
  15. Notice whether you tend to worry about failure, and challenge these thoughts when they arise.[35]
  16. When addressing your procrastination habits, pick one or two issues to start with rather than trying to change everything at once.[36]
  17. Forgive yourself when you slip back into your procrastination habits. Then you'll be less likely to procrastinate in the future because you won't avoid the tasks you feel guilty about.[37]

References

Pychyl, Timothy A. 2013. Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 53
  2. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 56
  3. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 20, 22, 24
  4. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 24-25, 54-57
  5. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 14-16
  6. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 51-54
  7. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 91
  8. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 5-6
  9. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 22-24
  10. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 28, 32-35
  11. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 33
  12. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 47-49
  13. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 38
  14. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 39
  15. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 39-40
  16. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 41-42
  17. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 42
  18. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 43-45
  19. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 45-47
  20. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 57
  21. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 58-60
  22. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 93-95
  23. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 96
  24. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 62-69, 92-99
  25. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 70-75, 79
  26. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 78-79
  27. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 75
  28. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 75-76
  29. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 76
  30. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 76
  31. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 76-78
  32. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 78
  33. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 89
  34. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 89-90
  35. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 90
  36. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 103
  37. ↑ Pychyl 2013, 103-105
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