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Help
for Chronic (and acute) Procrastinators
Some great
things can occur through procrastination: your room will
miraculously turn spotless, you finally will write that thank-you
note to your Grandma...
Why do we
procrastinate? We see what we have to do as hard,
inconvenient, boring, or frightening. Identifying what is negative
about the task or why it is unpleasant may help to get on to doing
it. We may also procrastinate because of perfectionism, feelings of
inadequacy or discomfort, or worrying.
Commonly
used procrastinator phrases
Tricks
to deal with procrastination
Top
10 Reasons not to Procrastinate
Play
the Procrastination Game
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Common
signals that you are procrastinating, and what to do about
them:
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"I work better under pressure anyway!" If this is truly
the case, establish early deadlines for yourself. Agree with
your professor that you will give a rough draft of your paper to
them a week before it is due. Tell your roommate that you are
going to study for your Thursday test as if it was going to be
Tuesday. The keys to this technique are:
1.
Establish specific goals (for example, a test, a paper, a project).
2.
Identify when they actually need to be met.
3. Make
an early deadline for yourself.
4. Tell
someone (your roommate, mom, professor, coach, ...) about that
deadline, and agree with them to meet it.
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"I just don't know how to do it!"
Don't let this stop you from getting your work done! The point
of college is to LEARN HOW TO do it! Talk with your professor,
e-mail them, or go talk to others in your class.
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Tricks
to deal with procrastination:
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- Take
advantage of impulsiveness. When you get the urge to start
working on that project, start right then. Don't put it off.
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- Figure out
what you need to do first. Then do it. What needs to
come next will probably fall into place as you're doing the first
step.
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- Use your imagination. If something seems terribly hard to
do, go over it in your mind, imagine doing it, or talk about it out
loud with a friend.
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- Be your own
best friend: be positive, not critical, of yourself.
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- Use your
friends. Talk about it
with someone, let all your frustrations out in an e-mail to a friend
(not your professor!), etc. This may help get a block out of
the way. (Don't spend too much time and let this turn into
another procrastination technique, though!)
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- Remember that
nobody's
perfect. Don't expect your work to be either.
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- Rewards:
give yourself rewards when you complete a task--and really earn it,
don't just let yourself have it if you haven't accomplished your
goal
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- Tell people
what you're going to do. Be affirmative, direct, and
clear. Say "I will ..." (not "I'm going
to try to ..." or " I think maybe I'll ..." or ...)
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- Get off the phone. Yes, you.
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- Delegate when
possible. If you're the president of the ScubaSurfing club,
you don't have to do ALL the minor tasks involved in running the
organization. Ask others to help you.
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- Avoid
busy-work rationalizations: Your room can in fact be messy.
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- Relax before
you start. This will help deal with fears and perfectionism,
which you can handle better when you're relaxed.
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- "The
Secret to conquering procrastination": Start now. Just begin.
Don't agonize, do. It will be much easier to work on it once you've
begun.
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- Ask yourself if this is a piano. A what? A
piano. Is what you're working on a piano or a barn frame
(picture?)? Everything you do doesn't have to be
perfect. You can spend less time on the little things and when
a piano (or a term paper) comes around, you can spend extra time on
the minor details.
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- Study on the
phone with a friend. Arrange a time to call, say
"hi", but don't get started on a conversation. Put
the phone down on a table and start to work. Check in at a
pre-set time. Note: Don't try this if you share a phone
line or if your friend lives a long-distance call away!
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| Think
you've got these tips down? |
Top
10 reasons not to procrastinate:
- wasted time
- missed
opportunities
- too much
attention given to low priorities
- poor
performance
- low
self-esteem
- increased stress
- being
swamped at the end of the semester
- angry
parents
- lack of
sleep
- having to
do a paper while your friends are having fun
Play the
Procrastination Game:
Give yourself point rewards.
1 pt = 5 minutes of reading
1 pt = an easy part of a project
3 pts = a medium part of a project
5 pts = the most difficult parts of a project
Take a break when you reach 10 points.
Give yourself a big reward when you reach 100 points.
Play this game with your roommate or significant other. See
who can reach 10, or 100, points, first. Encourage each other
to reach the goals together, and then reward yourselves together by
going to the park, etc.
Reward ideas:
Take a walk
Get a sitter for the kids
Fly a kite
Read the comics
Drink a Coke or a cup of coffee
Play Racquetball
Rollerblade
Watch a soap opera
Have coffee/snack with a friend
Spend $5 too much on a luxury
Go dancing
Play with one of your gadgets
Plan your Spring Break
Buy a CD
Take a (bubble) bath
Call an old friend
Rent a movie
Play Basketball
Go on a picnic
Forget about your diet for a meal
Go to a concert
Dye your hair
Play music or sing
Play with your kid's toys (or someone else's) when
they're not
looking
Can be as simple as just doing something--anything--else, simply
allowing yourself to
procrastinate
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