The Perils of Procrastination: Tips for Overcoming the Habit of Putting it Off
If your personal creed is, “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by” or “One of the greatest labor-saving inventions of today is tomorrow,” then you just may be a procrastinator. And, you are not alone. Most people will admit to putting something off once in a while. But to others, the problem is more serious than an occasional postponement, resulting in serious issues that can hinder education, career and personal goals. This is not just something that affects the lazy, unmotivated population, as it can happen to the most capable and educated folks.
Dr. Mike Garr, Professor of Sociology, explains that procrastinators have problems prioritizing.
“Procrastination is often simply prioritizing what’s important and immediately gratifying from what is considered less important and less gratifying. All other things equal, the immediate is real and the distant is less real so we put less importance on the distant. Unfortunately we move closer and closer to the distant until it becomes the immediate; then we act on it,” he said.
Why We Do It
But aside from instant gratification, or lack thereof, why do people get themselves into ruts? For several reasons, says The Procrastinator’s Handbook author and motivational speaker, Rita Emmett, explaining that people are afraid. She lists several fears:
– Imperfection
– The Unknown
– Judgment (Are you afraid to pay your parking fines in person because you are afraid of what the clerk – a stranger! – will think)? – Making Mistakes
– Success
– Change
– Too Much Responsibility
– Feelings
– Making the Wrong Decision
– Rejection
Procrastination Adds Up
Procrastination can be costly. In situations where money is owed, putting it off until the last minute can be costly. But still, some simply hope that by putting off a task, it will go away. Such people as one Wilkes University junior who asked not to be named, who let some parking tickets go, hoping they’d disappear.
“I accumulated five $10 parking tickets this semester, and even when I passed the police station with money in my pocket, I let it go. I now have fines in excess of $400 with the city. I guess I thought, ‘out of sight, out of mind’ but it sure caught up with me!” she admitted.
Garr insists this is a normal thought pattern among those who’d rather do it tomorrow.
“If it is a painful act, we procrastinate with the secret hope that maybe it will go away. Of course it usually doesn’t and we are forced to deal with it anyway or it deals with us,” he said. Just like the parking tickets. Or getting teeth cleaned.
Emmet’s book says that sometimes procrastinators end up paying so much money to catch up, they can never get ahead, and mentions examples such as late fees, bounced check fees and high interest rates. She also mentions how people can miss out on grants, scholarships and more because people wait until it’s too late to apply.
As members of the academic community, students are faced with many tasks. There is, of course, schoolwork, and then athletics, clubs, work and volunteer activities. Not being able to balance these roles can lead to last minute scrambling. This can put professors in an awkward position if they know what students are up to, and get caught in a Catch-22.
Garr elaborates, “In terms of school work, it puts faculty in a ‘damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t’ situation. If an instructor gives lots of time to do an assignment, students often take the opportunity to procrastinate because of the distant reality. So a day or two before the assignment is due, or the night before, the assignment is worked on. However, if the instructor asks students to turn in an assignment with a short deadline, the instructor is being unreasonable,” he remarked.
Beating the Demon
Procrastination can be overcome. If you find yourself cleaning off your desk instead of writing a paper, sunbathing instead of mowing the yard and raiding the fridge instead of doing the dishes, you may want to listen up.
According to a book by Jane Burka and Lenora Yuen, Procrastination, Why We Do It and What to Do About It, the first step is to take a personal “procrastination inventory.” Think about when and what you postpone. Do you tend to procrastinate in one or many aspects of your life? For instance, you could always have schoolwork done ahead of time, but your dorm room is a mess and your car always runs out of gas.
Here are some tasks that are tops on the procrastination list:
– Household: chores, bills, errands, repairs, car maintenance, organizing
– Work: punctuality, paperwork, deadlines, asking for raise/promotion
– School: attending classes, reading, projects, writing papers, returning library books, applying for financial aid/admission
– Personal: diet, exercise, grooming, quitting habits, relaxing, hobbies
– Relationships: calling/writing, visiting, cards/gifts, attending social events
– Finances: tax return, paying taxes, paying bills, credit cards, balancing checkbook, paying parking ticket fines, loans, budgeting
Then, look at the consequences caused by the above actions. Did you lose money, a grade, a job, an internship, a good credit rating or did any tension develop between you and someone you work for or have a relationship with? Have you ever gotten anxious, over stressed or embarrassed? These are typical of habitual procrastinators. And, these traits are all good enough reason to make a change.
In order to overcome procrastination, Emmett offers a few tips.
– Make a list: a to-do list will give order to getting things done: motivate, help visualize goals, establish priorities and provide direction. And, best of all, crossing off items gives a tremendous feeling of accomplishment.
– Break down the job: Is it just a portion of the project you are dreading? If you genuinely love to write essays, but hate researching- get to the library first! The rest will come easier.
– Reward yourself: think of little rewards to give yourself for accomplishing a task, such as a massage or a movie with a friend! – Positive reminders: give yourself some positive self-talk, or leave yourself notes.
– Watch Your Own Excuses: keep an ear out for your trite excuses
– Say no!: if you have a test Monday, work on Sunday and no time to study on Friday because you have a meeting after school- say no to the person who asks you to help them move on Saturday! You need some free time- don’t let your niceness lead to more procrastination!
With finals just around the corner, it’s time to start the procrastination recovery process. Trust us, your professors are not going to procrastinate handing out those blue books. Now that you’ve made it to the end of this article, let’s ask a question. What were you supposed to be doing, rather than reading for leisure? Perhaps you should get back to studying!
Procrastination Resources:
The Procrastinator’s Handbook Rita Emmett
Procrastination, Why You Do it, What to Do About It Jane Burka and Lenora Yuen
Great site with links, case studies, fun quizzes and more!
www.ucalgary.ca/~steel/procrastinus/
The Procrastinator’s Club of America
www.geocities.com/procrastinators_club_of_america
