Understanding and Overcoming Procrastination

What is procrastination?
Procrastination is the act of putting something off that you really should be doing. Procrastination is very common! Most people procrastinate occasionally. We’ve all postponed tasks until the last minute, like writing an assignment the night before it is due. Procrastination can be annoying, but is usually fairly harmless. However, chronic procrastination can become a source of constant distress for some people. Procrastinating habitually can be a source of anxiety, low mood, stress, tension, guilt, and/ or shame.
 
Why do we procrastinate?
Often we procrastinate tasks that we expect to find boring or difficult. Doing more interesting activities (e.g., watching TV, scrolling through Instagram, online shopping) can provide a temporary relief from that discomfort we expect. However, the key word there is temporary. Often our feelings of guilt will continue to build, despite attempting to distract ourselves. Procrastination can occur because of several reasons, such as:

• Not feeling motivated to get started
• Having trouble knowing how to plan or prioritise tasks
• Difficulties with concentration
• Being surrounded by lots of distractions
• Having low self-efficacy, or not believing that you can complete a task.

 
Is procrastination treatable?
Yes! While procrastination can often feel chronic and simply a part of your personality, the research shows it is treatable. In fact, people can change their behaviours and these changes can be maintained over long periods of time. Treatment for procrastination basically aims to bridge the gap between your intent to complete a task and taking action to complete the task.
 
How is procrastination best treated?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, has shown to be the most effective treatment for procrastination. This therapy has three key approaches for procrastination.

1. Develop your self-regulation skills.: This involves developing work habits that prevent procrastination. Some examples of strategies are:

• Remove distractions from your environment. Put your phone in a different room. Turn the TV off.
• Set specific goals you would like to achieve. For example, you could develop an essay plan today, write a draft of the essay tomorrow, and spend the next day proofreading.
• Manage your time effectively. Set deadlines, set aside specific time in your day to work on the task, monitor your progress.
• When writing a ‘To Do’ list, make sure you prioritise your tasks from most to least urgent. Work out how much time each task will take to complete.
• Some people find it helpful to knock out the worst tasks first, as after that everything seems a lot easier.
• Others find it better to start with a task they enjoy. This builds your productivity momentum. Once you’ve finished the interesting task, move on quickly to a more challenging task. 
• Work during your prime times (e.g., the time of day you feel most energised) and in your prime place (e.g., away from distractions, around others that are also working).
• Plan rewards! It’s important to reward yourself after you have achieved a goal. Let yourself watch an episode of the show, go for a walk, catch up a friend. Whatever you find motivates you.

2. Build your sense of self-efficacy: Remember, self-efficacy in the sense that you feel you can achieve the task.

• Catch unhelpful thoughts, which may be negative, unproductive, and inhibiting (e.g., “Life is too short to waste on doing things that are hard or boring”)
• Check these thoughts – are they realistic or are they helping you?
• Change these thoughts to more positive, productive, and motivational thoughts (e.g., “this may seem boring now, but this will help me work towards the life I want for myself”).

3. Organise social support: One of the best ways to achieve a goal is to tell people you are working towards this goal! This helps you feel that you are not alone, and that there are lots of people who believe in you.

• Share your problems with others
• Let them help you problem solve. Often your friends, teachers, parents, or partner can have great ideas
• Encourage those around you to monitor and motivate you

 
Is this something my Psychologist could help me with?
Definitely! Procrastination is very common, but this doesn’t mean it has to stick with us for life. Your Psychologist can help you tailor these strategies to best suit your needs. Feel free to Contact Us for more information.
 
For further reading:
Rozental, A., Bennett, S., Forsström, D., Ebert, D. D., Shafran, R., Andersson, G., & Carlbring, P. (2018). Targeting Procrastination Using Psychological Treatments: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 1588. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01588
 
van Eerde, W., & Klingsieck, K.B., (2018) Overcoming Procrastination? A Meta Analysis of Intervention Studies, Educational Research Review, 25, 73-85 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.edurev.2018.09.002
 

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