Procrastination

Causes

• Disorganization. Lack of planning and organization usually means we have to put in the same planning time (plus some extra) at the end.
• Confusion. If you aren't clear on why you're doing these studies, or where you stand in relation to them, you may not make them a priority.
• Feelings of Inadequacy. "I'll never get this done." "This is too hard." or even "My work just isn't good." Thinking like this often makes us avoid the task out of fear or shame, or a "why bother" kind of helpless feeling.
• Perfectionism. The task is prolonged again and again by standards of excellence that are impractical or downright impossible. Each "final draft" is rejected because it can be "better."
• Shame. Sometimes we avoid turning something in or even working on it because we're ashamed of its being so late in the first place.
• Discomfort. Work is hard. Doing anything else becomes easy, especially when you're tired or disoriented.
• Pride. "I'm in charge of my own life. I can do whatever I want."
• Hostility. We may not always get along with our advisor, or with someone involved in our projects, so we may avoid them, or try to hurt them by ignoring them.
• Habit. A body in motion tends to stay in motion. A body at rest tends to stay at rest.
• "Deadline High." Many of us find that we "do our best work" under lots of pressure. This is partly because the thrill of pushing up against a looming deadline creates adrenaline in our bodies, which gives us a kind of (natural) chemical high. The trouble is that, like any kind of high (or anything else pleasureable), we can become dependent on this stimulation, and end up procrastinating just to feel more alive. Sooner or later, we push hard enough that we don't meet the deadlines.

Characteristics

• Vicious cycles. Many of the factors described above turn into cyclical patterns: Avoidance because of shame or self-criticism, for example, may result in late work, which in turn may increase that shame. Fear of negative feedback to your work may increase as your work gets later and later.
• Unrealistic sense of time. Many studies have shown that people who are procrastinating overestimate the amount of time they have remaining to complete the task, and that they underestimate the amount of time that the task will take to complete. The plans and schedules that they make, therefore, are often unrealistic, and not very useful for getting their work done.
• Dependence on Inspiration. It is easy to put something off saying "tomorrow I will be in a better mood." (or more inspired, or less confused, etc.) There are two fallacies here: The first is the idea that you have to be inspired in order to work well, or to work at all. You can work whenever you make yourself work. The second fallacy is the idea that you will be more inspired tomorrow. Mental/emotional states like inspiration are hard to figure out; philosophers, artists, and psychologists have been trying for centuries to predict when inspiration happens. It is just possible that tomorrow you might be as burned out as before, but the work will still need to be done.

Solutions

• Set Up a Basis for a Plan.
  • Make a task list. If you don't know what it is that needs to be done, it might never get done.
  • Make an intention statement. This suggestion is a little like the learning plan, but on a very short time scale. It is a desccription of your commitment to yourself.
  • Set Realistic Goals. You cannot catalog all 8000+ Portfolios by subject onto a custom-built computer database in one semester. It's just too big a task.
• Prioritize your tasks. Procrastination is often defined as doing low-priority tasks instead of high-priority ones. (see PRIORITIZATION (G.3))
  • Start with the easiest. That way, the number of tasks will decrease quickly.
  • Start with the most important. That way, the tasks left at the end will worry you less.
  • Start with the most convenient. However you cut it, your prioritization must be practical. If the easiest and the most important of your projects depend on material that is not accessible to you at the moment, start with what is lying in front of you on your desk, because that way, you are doing something instead of nothing.
• Manage your time. (see TIME MANAGEMENT (H.8) for explanations)
  • Set time limits on work and play. If you reserve time to relax, then you will be able to go back to work with renewed energy. It is often tempting to skip over play time when you are anxious about work, but it isn't healthy. It obviously easy to prolong play time at the expense of work time, becuase it is (usually) more fun. Stick to your schedule.
  • Learn to use tiny bits of time. Don't think, "oh, I won't be able to get anything done in fifteen minutes anyway." There is always something that you can accomplish. See "Rigorous Training."
  • Break the job down into small bits. Little tasks are easier than big tasks. They are less frightening. You get a feeling of accomplishment more often, which boosts your morale.
  • Double your time estimates. See the description above about the procrastinator's sense of time. Get to know your own sense of time. Some people need to compensate more than others. See "Rigorous Training."
  • Carry around a planner book. Part of staying organized. You will be less likely to miss appointments and deadlines if you can refer to them easily.
  • Do a little every day. This not only breaks up the task into smaller segments, but also helps develop a discpline of regular work.
  • Take interruptions into account. Many of us forget, when making a schedule, to include time for eating, sleeping, and other necessities of life. You should also take into account the possibility of unplanned activites: How likely is it that you will get a phone call? How often do you daydream without wanting to? Are you going to need to go shopping for groceries today? etc. This is part of realistic scheduling. If these unexpected things never happen, then fine, you'll be ahead of schedule. But if they do happen, then you'll be able to deal with them without extra anxiety.
  • Set intermediary goals. Here is another way of saying "break tasks into smaller tasks." If you set up specific small goals that are part of your large goal, you will be better able to keep track of where you are. This is also useful in fighting the temptation of the "Deadline High," because you get lots of little thrills to diminish the desire for one huge one at the last minute.
• Organize your materials. The less hassle to get to the task, the more likely it is that the task will get done. Set up your living space or other work space so that work is less of an ordeal. Create some sort of filing system (even neat stacks on the floor) to organize all your papers. Separate your completed work from your incomplete work. Don't let your materials become scattered around in four different buildings, or five different towns, or....
• Make your tasks relevant/meaningful. If a task is irrelevant or meaningless to you, chances are that you will (quite naturally) be unmotivated to do it. If you catch this happening early enough, you may be able to revise your projects to better reflect your goals. Otherwise, it might help to review what the original point was when you first started this task. (See next point.)
• Review your goals/context. Sometimes it helps to step back and take another look at the context of what you are doing. What was the big picture that you lack now after so much focusing on details? What was it that inspired you to take on this project or seminar or topic of inquiry in the fist place? Why were you inspired enough to choose an education like Friends World? Hopefully, some of this is in the GOALS STATEMENT part of your LEARNING PLAN (sections A.2.a and A.2, respectively). Now, how can you connect that original context and sense of purpose to the work that seems tedious to you?
• Be aware of "Deadline High." Do you consider yourself to work better "under pressure?" You may just want adrenaline. A life based on personal extremity makes for inconsistent success in meeting deadines and in the long run can increase your risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. Set intermediary goals, as described above.
• Be aware of the other psychological factors involved. Are you a perfectionist? Are you usually very critical of yourself? Are you ashamed to have an advising session because you are already late? Awareness of these kinds of issues is usually a big step towards getting around them. You can't deal with what you're feeling unless you know what that feeling is.
• Be aware of your own favorite escapes. Sleeping, drinking (or other drugs), telephones, movies, daydreaming... When reality is a lot of work that isn't getting done, what are your favorite ways to escape that reality?
• Isolate yourself from distractions. Learn to say no when friends ask you out for dinner, or come to visit, or play around loudly in your work area. Stay away from the television.
• Stay healthy. You won't be able to keep to any kind of schedule if you are sick in bed, unable to move. Keep in mind that huge levels of stress can make you sick, as can lack of sleep. See HEALTH (section H.6).
• Don't panic. This is not the same as "feeling pressure." When you panic, you can't think straight. Better to cool off and get half the job done than to get hysterical and get nothing done. See STRESS (section H.3).
• Reward yourself. Be imaginative and delightful. Give yourself little rewards for meeting small, intermediate goals, and big ones for finishing the whole shebang.
• Work in study teams. Sometimes you can work a lot better if you are around other people who are also working. It's kind of positive peer pressure. Of course, this strategy only works if the members of a work group are actually working!
• Write yourself reminders. In your car, on the bathroom mirror, on the refrigerator, on the door, on your hand if you're out of paper. Consider getting some kind of planner/organizer notebook.
• Don't wait to be inspired. Inspiration, whatever his/her gender may be, is a fickle Muse. You are perfectly able to do good work even when doing it doesn't feel like rainbows and lightning.
• Play hard. If you spend your recreation time worrying about your work, you are wasting time. If you are really itching to work, go work. Otherwise, enjoy whatever else you are doing, and you be able to work better after you've relaxed.
• Be compassionate. It is far too easy to be cruel to yourself after you realize you've been procrastinating. Remember that self-criticism seems to be one of those cyclical patterns of procrastination. Forgive yourself, and work hard (but not so hard that it's punishment).

• ?

• Organize study groups to help people work. Be serious about it, but not oppressive.

• Discipline takes practice; set aside a specific time of day for work, even ten minutes a day, and grow from there.
• Practice telling time. With small, non-critical tasks, estimate how long it will take you to finish. Then, after you're done, see how long it really took. As you become more aware of how time works in your head, you will be better able to judge the time necessary for a task, and you be able to make better plans and schedules.
• Practice using tiny bits of time. Take a tiny bit of your large task, that will take you about five minutes. Then do that bit. After you've finished, if you need a break, take a break. Otherwise, carve out another five-minute micro-task. If one of your five-minute-tasks takes you an hour instead, or a day, learn from the experience and be more realistic when choosing the next tiny task. Five-minute segments add up quickly, and sometimes you may need to be able to slip in small bits of work between other commitments.

• Okay, yes, most of the points above have to do with prevention of a problem, not treatment, as it were. The decision that faces you is probably one of finding a point of balance. If you don't work hard enough, the task won't be done to your expectations. If you work too hard, you will burn out and the work still won't be done to your expectations. If you use caffeine or some other stimulant, use it carefully. If you plan to stay up all night, ask yourself if you're really going to be able to get up tomorrow morning after the "quick nap," and whether you're going to wear yourself too thin and get sick.
• Whatever you do, don't forget to be compassionate to yourself. Self-criticism is not a productive use of time, and you deserve better treatment than self-criticism, anyway.

• TIME MANAGEMENT (H.8)
• STRESS (H.3)
• LEARNING PLAN: GOALS STATEMENT (A.2.a)
• LEARNING PLAN: TIMETABLE (A.2.f)
• PRIORITIZATION (G.3)
• WORK SPACE (H.1)
• HEALTH (H.6)
• ADVISING (I.3)
• FINANCIAL AID AND ROOM/BOARD MONEY (J.1)

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