Procrastination : Beat the Bad Habit

What is procrastination ?

Procrastination is the tendency of putting off tasks, and having some distraction instead. It is a habit. Ok, and what is a habit ?

A habit is something we do, almost automatically, when some conditions are met. In few words, a cue triggers a routine, which brings a reward. There is some belief that the habit is useful, efficient and so on. It easily set in, because when we think about a dauting task, the area of the brain associated with pain is activated inconsciously.

The procrastinators are more frequently " night persons, " people who think about what they are doing in specific rather than general terms. Procrastination may be linked to performance anxiety, that is, the anxiety of doing things before an audience, such as speaking, or even eating in a restaurant. If it is associated with social phobia, the only efficient way to cure it is Cognitive and Behaviorial Therapy.

Procrastination may have different causes, among them even the fear of success. Anyway, it is quite different from laziness. Trying and fixing it with the same methods : willpower, guilt, control, self-discipline… can only worsen it, what we resist persist.

Why is it bad ?

Actually, it isn’t necessary bad. There are many cases where it is adaptative. A task or a decision that has been put off may be done by another person, or no longer useful, or will benefit of new information. Some chores are not really needed, like shaving or answering letters, and are themselves distractions for more important projects.

But it is bad when it is about important tasks, when there is a deadline or some other constraint. It is also bad for tasks that require to be spaced in time. Such is the case for learning.

For high level work, it is often beneficial to periodically activate the diffuse mode of thinking, where new associations are done in a relaxed state. But that is productive only after a phase of intent work. Procrastinating and making everything at the last time gives a result of low quality.

Planing your activities is therefore important. It is best to make their list the evening before, so that the brain can begin to prepare to them, even during sleep. Here is a handy tool for that purpose. It works by dragging and dropping the tasks and the deadlines, then clicking on them to set them. It is advisable to configure the browser so that the page is loaded upon openig it. The time table will display like the previous time if the cookies are allowed.

Howto beat it ?

There is no <erase> key for a habit. There is only one way : creating another habit and deciding to use it instead. The old one, being ignored, will shrink until disappearing. It is very important to get a reward at the end of each performed task, because after some weeks the brain will associate them.

At first, observe your procrastination habit. In which conditions, which cue, does it happens ? For what type of task ? What do you think at that time ? What is your feeling afterward ? That is what has to be changed. Try to avoid the cues, and create new ones.

The way you think about it is important too. Give some flexibility. If the task is too precisely specified, for example something may be lacking at the time of carrying it out. Think about the big picture, what is the benefit in a larger project, rather than the bothersome details. Think also of some cue, for example when I’ll sit at my desk after lunch, while opening the file etc.

When ?

Well, it seems easy, and useful. I take the unshakable resolution to beat it. I don’t know when, perhaps tomorow, or the next week.