Procrastination!

Procrastination! Ammera Kaing, Lucrecia Levy-Flores,, Christina Orchanian May 17, 2004 Holistic Health 382-3

Procrastination…What is it? • Psychological behavior that allows a person to postpone or delay a certain activity or task. • Source of great stress and anxiety for many people. • Time management is not directly related to procrastination.

Cycle Timeline Panic & Stress Set In Deadline is Set Time Passes False Sense of Security I II III IV “There are 2 weeks until the assignment is due.” “I have plenty of time.” “I will get started soon, I only work well under pressure.” “Oh no! The assignment is due tomorrow! ”

Negative Effects of Procrastination • Stress/Anxiety • Neglecting Your Health • Irritability/Bad Mood • Letting Yourself & Others Down • Not Achieving Your Full Potential

What do you do when you procrastinate? • I raid the refrigerator. • I read mystery novels & science fiction. • I start calling up my friends. • I work on something that’s less important. • I become obsessed with cleaning my desk. • I go out jogging. • I sit and stare. • I keep doing research. • I watch TV. • I read the newspaper. • I go to sleep. • I go shopping.

Four Simple Reasons For Procrastination • Difficult The task seems too hard to do • Time-consuming Free time is unavailable until the weekend • Lack of knowledge/skills Don’t want to make a mistake until you’re sure it’s right • Fears Everyone will know you made a mistake Procrastination ... something you can do right now.

Four Complex Reasons ForProcrastination • Perfectionism 1. “If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all” 2. May delay starting a project 3. Creates dissatisfaction & frustration • Anger/Hostility 1. Withhold best efforts out of spite 2. Getting Even • Low Frustration Tolerance 1. Feeling overwhelmed 2. Unfairness • Self-Downing 1. Minimize your skills/abilities 2. Attribute success to luck 3. Cannot accept praise for work accomplished

Steps to Cure Procrastination • Acknowledge that you are postponing a task. • List the reasons why you are postponing doing the task. • Discuss the reasons and list ways to overcome them. • Begin the task immediately!

Helpful Techniques • Write down your tasks in a visible place with their due dates • Make the tasks look easy in your mind • Have a 5 minute plan: start a task for 5 minutes, eventually you will want to complete it • Break the task into components • Tackle each component separately • Modify your environment to encourage accomplishing the task • Tell your family/friends about your goal; they will motivate you along the way • REWARD yourself for a job well done!

Do’s: Change your thoughts Engage in physical activity (exercise) Give yourself some alone time (15 – 30 min. without distractions) Increase alertness by changing your position or stretching for a few minutes (important thing is movement!) Don’ts: Criticize yourself! Anticipate catastrophe Focus on faults, inadequacies, things left undone Other tips…

Choosing a Plan ofAction • Christina chose to… - set weekly goals & write down tasks • Ammera chose to… - break tasks down • Lucrecia chose to… - apply un-schedule technique - learn to say “no”!

Christina’s Plan of Action • I procrastinate on: • School assignments • Work • House chores • I procrastinate by: • Watching TV • Eating snacks • Talking to my friends

Christina’s Plan of Action • I wrote down my weekly tasks in my schedule. • Each weekly schedule listed specific tasks to be accomplished. • I had post-it notes attached to my books and living space to remind myself of what was to be done. • I followed the 5 minute rule. I began the task believing I would work on it for 5 minutes, but continued it until it was complete. • Having lots of reminders made procrastinating (for example, watching tv) seem like a waste of much needed time. • I went through my task list on Sunday making sure I completed them. • I began the following week with a clean slate.

Ammera’s Plan of Action • I procrastinate on studying for exams. • I chose to break down the assignments I needed to complete to prepare for exams. • Next, I estimated the number of days I could spend studying before the exam. • I divided the number of pages I had to read by the number of days I had to study. • For example, if I had 150 pages to read, and 10 days before the exam, I set a goal to read 15 pages per day. • To motivate myself, I made a check off list with the pages I needed to read. After I completed a page, I checked off the page number. This allowed me to visualize my accomplishments. • I rewarded myself my scheduling breaks. • I would study in an environment conducive to studying, such as the library.

Lucrecia’s Plan of Action: “Un-schedule” & Exercising the “No” Muscle • Procrastinators’ view of time is quite unrealistic (hope to find more than there really is!). • Procrastinators often underestimate/overestimate how long a task will take. • Un-schedule is a weekly calendar of all of your committed activities, not what you “should” do • Consider all your activities (i.e. work hours; scheduled meetings and appointments.; classes & social events; time for regular exercise; time for meals including prep & clean-up; time for chores & cleaning, laundry & shopping, etc.)

Lucrecia’s Un-Schedule

Learning to Tell Time… • Look at your schedule – How do you feel? • Overwhelmed? Anxious? Depressed? • Visualize going thru this week & consider what makes you feel that way. • Un-schedule shows you the maximum amount of time you “could” use to work on a project • Reward yourself after working ½ hour towards your goal & block off the time on your un-schedule • Add up the “blocked” time to calculate how much time you spent working towards your goal that week (self-monitoring helps procrastinators be more realistic!)

Learning to say “NO” Tips to Help You Say No: • Buy yourself time to think (I’ll get back to you….) • Shift the focus back to you (This is not about you; I need to say no for me…) • Know your priorities and stick to them! • Keep it simple (don’t give long-winded explanations or make excuses…) • Tackle easy situations first (Try it with the telemarketer on the phone…..)

What I’ve learned… • To reduce stress, I need to frequently use the “I’ll get back to you…” technique and refer to my schedule before booking social get-togethers (especially during school semesters!) • I need to more realistic about time and juggling work, school and a family (sometimes you can’t do it all!) • Prioritize – I will set priorities at the beginning of the week for goal(s) to be accomplished during “free time” that week instead of trying to “squeeze-in” the time…

Other Techniques to Improve Your Timing… • Practice telling time • Learn to use little bits of time • Expect interruptions and disruptions • Delegate • Don’t spread yourself too thin • Identify your prime time • Enjoy your “free time”

Stress & Procrastination • Think back to a time when you felt a great deal of pressure. • Recall the circumstances around the incident and remember how you felt. • Were there any changes in your behavior or attitude? • Were there sensations in your body that were letting you know that you were feeling pressured?

Physical Signs: “knot,” “butterflies” or pain in your stomach Cold, clammy hands Headache Rapid breathing, hyperventilating Tightness in neck or shoulders or both Lower back pain Tendency toward illness (colds, flu) Tension in jaws (grinding or clamping) Emotional & Behavioral Signs: Irritability Fatigue, exhaustion Trouble concentrating Increased alcohol or drug use Changes in sleep or appetite Inability to relax, fidgeting Forgetfulness Inability to enjoy things that once brought you pleasure Some Signs of Stress

Exercise in Progressive Relaxation • Sit in a comfortable position • Give yourself some quiet time to begin with (10-15 min. recommended) • Close your eyes & breathe evenly • Tense the selected body area; hold the tension tightly for 5 – 10 seconds • Relax the area you just tensed for 10 – 15 seconds. • Let the muscles become soft, heavy, warm and loose. • Breathe slowly and comfortably.

Benefits of Overcoming Procrastination • Peace of Mind • Feeling strong • Taking charge of your life • Feeling competent • Experience personal freedom

Procrastination!