Success 2021 Series: how to overcome procrastination – learn from an expert in psychology

Success 2021 Series: NOT JUST DOING IT, BUT DOING IT RIGHT NOW!

By,
Ms Yeoh Sun Wei, Lecturer & Programme Leader, School of Psychology, SEGi College Subang Jaya

 

Procrastination.  We’ve all been there.  Dragging our feet and grumbling, trying to apply ourselves to some (ostensibly dreary) task or other.  Taking out the trash, finishing (or even beginning) that assignment, getting a move on in our glorious new exercise regime, practising that piece of music for that upcoming exam, washing the dishes, writing that promising thesis, weeding the garden, doing the laundry, calling an old friend to apologise for something or other.  It doesn’t matter what the task is.  When our minds stall us and lovingly give us excuses telling us that it’s okay to do it another time – this is exactly when we know we need to do it now.  We’re all of us humans, and as such, fallible.  That’s why we at SEGi College Subang Jaya have sought out our psychology experts from our School of Psychology to teach us why our minds tell us to defer these tasks, how we can veer away from procrastination, and what we can do to get that job done right now.

You are Not Alone

Like little children, we grown-ups are just as susceptible to myriad distractions and excuses.  According to psychologists, procrastination is a common self-regulation issue. Somehow, the responsible part of us gives in to the self-indulgent part of us, and we find ourselves inclined to put off (sometimes indefinitely) what we know we’re supposed to do.  Granted, we don’t necessarily feel good not doing the thing that we don’t enjoy doing, but we’re somehow glad we found a way to not do it.  And so we tell ourselves that we’ll get round to it after another episode of our favourite series, another half hour surfing the net, another ten minutes lazing in our bed.  Anything to make us not do that thing we know we’re supposed to do.  It happens to the best of us, and it’s okay, because psychology makes it so.

Psychologists tell us that there are many areas in our lives that procrastination rears its lazy head.  Academic procrastination is perhaps the most pervasive of all because academics, by its very definition, entails hard work.  And how many of us can honestly say we’d rather be working hard when we can relax and enjoy ourselves?  Probably none of us, if we were to be completely honest.  It’s understandable that we want to put off or delay something that makes us feel worried or anxious, such as studies.  But students need to understand that in order to take control of that worry and anxiety, they have to stop putting off or delaying the inevitable studying.  It’s as simple as that.

 

Understanding Why We Procrastinate

The human mind is an amazing thing.  We’ve all been programmed to fight (what we perceive as the) difficult, and thus negative things, and to welcome (again, what we perceive to be) fun and rewarding things.  Ask any child (or adult, for that matter) if he or she would rather play a game on their phones or practise a language or musical instrument or read a chapter of a book.  No prizes for guessing which one they’d choose.  It’s no fault of theirs, though.  It’s our psychological makeup and the way our minds and bodies deal with stress.  Obviously if we’re not looking at something, we won’t know just where we’re coming up short and where we’re going wrong.  We’d just all rather look at pleasant, interesting, fun things and make ourselves stay as far away from our responsibilities (thus our problems) as we possibly can.

 

What You Probably Didn’t Know about Procrastinators

Would you believe that twenty percent of people are chronic and thus habitual procrastinators?  Because they honestly can’t think of getting right down to doing the important things, and just naturally put them off.  Their mental makeup is just such that they think they’ve got everything under control, optimists that they are by nature.  They simply have no idea of time and the limitations it imposes on us all.  Time itself is actually fair and measures itself an equal amount to us all, but chronic procrastinators seem to have a magnified sense of the amount of time they have.  Dr Joseph Ferarri, a leading expert in procrastination, believes that these chronic procrastinators have no capacity for time management at all.

 

A psychologist at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, Dr Ferrari identifies three main types of procrastinators:

1. Fans of Thrill

Thrill in this context isn’t emotional but biological.  Fans of thrill are the procrastinators who actually feel a sense of euphoria when they know they’ve reached a point when they know that they will fail to do the thing they’re supposed to do, and this sends their hearts pounding and their adrenaline pumping.  (And we think they really should get out more).

 

1. Gray Mice

Gray mice are the procrastinators who avoid doing things because of an overwhelming fear of failure, or even a fear of success. They are afraid that they will not be able to cope with the task at hand, and so they decide to just put it off, constantly looking to others for an idea of what to do and how to do it.  Their fear of failure (or success) takes a grip on them and so they choose to just not do anything.

 

1. The Irresponsible

The irresponsible procrastinators are those who delay action because of their fear of the consequences.   Actions being the precursors of consequences, their logic is such that if they don’t take any action, they won’t have to contend with any consequences. (Quite a sharp conclusion, really).

 

 

How to Stop Procrastinating and Get It Done!

One interesting way to stop procrastinating is to use the Pomodoro technique, developed by the international consultant Francesco Cirillo in the 1980’s. Instead of attempting what appears to be a daunting, impossible task, the Pomodoro technique tells us to break it down into smaller, more achievable mini-tasks.  Procrastinators are by definition people who find it hard to begin anything.  Dividing the task into portions will make the task less frightening and much easier to achieve.  In between these mini-tasks, the Pomodoro technique recommends little rewards to boost the spirit and keep that psychological engine running till the task is achieved in its entirety.

 

There are other ways to conquer procrastination, and if you’d like to know more about them, come and see us at SEGi College Subang Jaya.  We’ll tell you things you didn’t know about procrastination, about psychology, and about practically anything under the sun!  And we surely won’t wait to get it done.