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Well, well! Funny you should ask!  I happen to be procrastinating right now! By writing this response, I am procrastinating the work I should have done on Tuesday, and then should have done on Thursday, and now should do today, but if I don't do it today, I can always do it tomorrow, right?  I fully admit I procrastinate all the time. Which is kind of funny because I am also a habitual list-maker (the kind that writes things I've already done just so I can cross them out), so it seems like procrastination shouldn't be such a constant in my life. But I even use my list-making as a tool to further my procrastination, meaning that I'll rewrite my list instead of using that time to cross something off it. Let's jump into these questions, shall we?  What types of tasks do you procrastinate the most on? It is so bad, but I definitely procrastinate most on things for work. When I was in school, it was things for school, but now it is legit work-related stuff. Right now I'm procrastinating on practicing for a lesson I'm giving on Thursday, on making a brochure for a partner organization, and on building a display model for a tabling event. Thinking individually about these things, they are all things that I like to do! I enjoy studying and being creative, but as none of them are started, it's taking that first step that really stops me in my tracks. Looking at all of the listed causes of procrastination in the article, which ones do you see as being a problem for yourself? Which have you experienced most frequently? Allow me to list the ways ... The causes of procrastination that affect me the most are: Distant Goals, Overestimating Future Abilities, Feeling Overwhelmed, and Task Aversion. Reading the list, I was surprised I didn't relate with most of them - I was expecting my list to be much longer! I was also able to eliminate some, like Lack of Motivation, because I found they were explained by other things. Distant Goals: In my work, I need to plan two years ahead. This means I have a LOT on my plate, but I know there is time to do them. This is both comforting and terrifying and a real challenge for my procrastination. I consciously know that if I don't start working on things with a distant deadline now, I will not have time to complete them. I also do this thing where I will always do tasks that are easier/faster first just so I can cross them off my list, even if there are more time-sensitive tasks that should be completed first. For example: big presentation due tomorrow, and quick email needed by next week - I will do the email first. Overestimating Future Abilities: I often run into the scenario in the afternoons where I am mentally motivated to work, but prevent myself from working because I feel physically tired or something else that I know will be better in the morning. Of course, by the morning, I am no longer mentally motivated to work even though I am physically ready. I subconsciously think I can afford to put off doing something now because I won't give it my best effort, and it would be better for everyone if I waited until I was fully ready to tackle the task. Feeling Overwhelmed: The example in the article of "cleaning the whole house" is exactly right. I have a goal of "building a model," or "developing a brochure" but those are such big goals that they are too overwhelming to even start. I know to help this, I should break the big task into smaller tasks with more immediate, attainable, and short term goals. Steps to take that will eventually lead to the completion of the whole task. This would help me get started, which is the hardest part. After the task is started, my perfectionism takes over and my motivation to do the task well overcomes the procrastination. I also hate leaving something half done, so the fear of the amount of work I will want to put into the task after I start it might also lead to the aversion of beginning it in the first place. Task Aversion: Of course there are things I have to do that I just don't like doing. Like the article example of calling someone, something I seriously dislike, I will instead find every excuse to avoid it or get the answer in a much more tedious and lengthy way that wastes even more time.Taking your list of procrastination causes, what are some things you can think of to overcome procrastination issues? I thought about this a while, and found that the causes of my procrastination can be further grouped into two categories rather than the four above. Distant Goals and Feeling Overwhelmed can be grouped as "Daunting/Distant" and Overestimating Future Abilities and Task Aversion can be grouped as "Just DO it." Allow me to explain:  For tasks in the "Daunting/Distant" category, I need to focus on setting more short term, attainable goals. I need to lay out the steps beforehand so I can get pleasure from my progress. The short term goals should be attainable in one hour or less of work. This will give me measurable milestones, and help me start working on daunting tasks or those with a distant deadline. For tasks in the "Just DO it" category, they are generally easy, but I make an excuse for why I can't do them. To overcome them, I need to go through the motions of doing them, and they will get done. Perfect example: this morning (6am), I did not want to go to the store, but I made myself stand up, put on pants, put on my coat, and get in the car. At that point, it wasn't as big a leap to turn the car on and back out of the driveway, so I did, and I went to the store. Then when I got home, I knew I had to shovel, so instead of waiting or going inside where I would lose momentum, I just did it. And now, those to things are off my plate for the day, and I was back inside before 7am. These tasks are easier to just get out of the way so I can stop worrying about doing them. Thanks for this question, Char! I enjoyed thinking about my procrastination habits, and it was very timely for me too. Maybe I'll try to take my own advice  -Emily  
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TotW: Procrastination · 02-22-19 4:47pm
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