How about just a highly successful tactic? Anything to get me off my ass and start writing 8 pages of boring crap with more than six hours till it’s due. The problem, I think, for many academic procrastinators is getting back a good grade for long-term assignments that you only spent a few hours on. It’s a justification that what your doing really isn’t a problem. But…
Sure, you enjoyed two weeks of keggers and picking lint out of your navel, but the guilt sucks. Life would be so much nicer if I could just spend six hours at the start, and then make time for my navel.
Johnny used the joke I would have, so I suppose I’m forced to give a serious answer.
Sometimes, I found what was helpful was to write down the times for one assignment, and think of the next.
xx hours of sitting around, coming up with excuses not to do it xx hours of sitting in front of the computer, working half-heartedly xx hours of goofing off, but not enjoying it xx hours of getting started on the assignment (actually, rereading sources, sharpening pencils) yy hours of actually doing it
Then I would split the difference. Okay, yy hours to do it. I’m going to do <blah> for this many hours, start the assignment at <time>, finish yy hours later, have the rest of the day free from guilt as well as work.
Of course, sometimes you just put off making this list, too.
Ask yourself what it is that you are avoiding and run right at it. At that point, it may become obvious to you why you were avoiding it. That may give you a plan to start working with. I have this problem. Sometimes it is pretty unbelievable. I begin to not do things because, I haven’t done them. For instance, I won’t call someone because it has been so long sice I called them. Insanity I tell ya.
Good luck.
treat it like AA treats alcohol. Give in to the notion that you are a procrastinator, and that any little bit of procrastination isn’t healthy. You cannot afford a little bit of procrastination because you will take it too far.
There, now you have an excuse, the decision is already made, so you don’t have to take time to debate whether or not to procrastinate (which is a waste of time in itself).
David Burns (I think that’s the right name) wrote “the feel good handbook” cheesy name, but a good book, said something like this:
Don’t wait for the motivation to come, it never will.
There is no cure for procrastination except activity.
The beauty of something like procrastination is that if you are a procrastinator, you can pretend not to be, and no one can tell the difference.
I have read that we don’t procrastinate (or do anything else, for that matter) unless there’s a payoff. A big start is to figure out what the payoff is for you. Is it having time to drink beer and deal with your navel? Is it not having to face the fear of not being able to do the task at hand? What? Once you figure out what your exact problem is, maybe you can solve it.
One trick I use that works pretty well is the “10 minute” trick. I’ll force myself to work on the task for 10 minutes, with an internal promise that if I don’t want to continue after that, I won’t. Most of the time, two things happen: One, I’m amazed at how much I can get done in 10 minutes; Two, I realize that what I’m doing isn’t so bad, and keep at it. If these things don’t happen, at least I’ve made 10 minutes worth of progress.
You have to set goals. Set a timeline for the assignment the day you receive it, with goals for each day, or each portion of a day if you have to.
Once you have goals, there’s only one thing left to do: meet them. This requires a decision on your part. Either you do it or you don’t. Decide which it will be; it’s as easy as that.
Only cures for procrastination: deadlines, or failure. Stick to deadlines, and you’ll be golden. But the first time you really fail because of your procrastination, that will also be one hell of a kick in the pants not to do it again. My experience as a procrastinator has led to me somehow succeed in spite of my sloth; but I’m sure that if I ever blow it on something then I’d learn my lesson. Here’s to hoping I don’t have to learn it that way.
A variation on norinew’s advice is one I often gave my students. Try working or studying for a short amount of time. When that time’s up, ask yourself if you want to continue for that amount of time again. If you choose to continue, you continue. If you choose to stop, you may stop, but only if you work for that amount of time again.
Some students find that once they’ve sat down to work for that long, they’re engrossed in it and aren’t as willing to get up and abandon things. Even if that doesn’t happen to you, if you’ve followed the conditions, you’ve got in at least twice the study time you originally planned.
I don’t think that’ll be enough to fight your procrastination, though. I think what you also need to do is minimize your distractions and to remind yourself of your goals. A good way to start is to identify your main distractors. What keeps you from getting things done? Once you’ve identified what keeps you from studying and working, do what you can to avoid them (or keep them to a minimum). If it gets difficult, remind yourself what you’re trying to do: to get work done, and to not fall (back) into bad study and work habits.
Perhaps you could enlist a roommate or friend to keep you honest? Few people can rely on their own discipline to keep them on track, so maybe if others knew your improvement goals, they could help you stay focused when you get tempted to party all weekend.
I subscribe to what I call the Bandaid method, or perhaps the swimming pool method. When removing a Bandaid, it’s best to just rip it off all at once and be done with it. Same thing goes for getting into a swimming pool of cold water. Just take a deep breath, hold your nose and jump in all at once with both feet. In other words, just quit thinking about what you need to do and do it, already. The penalty for not doing it at all is probably worse than the penalty for doing it poorly.
I never understood my own tendency to procrastinate. In some way I think I enjoyed the position of “OK, now I am totally screwed, time to get to work.” I also hated the process of editing my own work, so I left myself almost no time for review.
Eventally I did get it through my head that goofing off to avoid work was not really that much fun. I had a much better time having a beer and playing nintendo when my work was done and my roommates were struggling.
jacksen9, I’m glad to see I’m not the only one that does the not-call-because-I-haven’t-called thing. I think the only thing to do, other than put off the procrastination, is wait so long that you cannot possibly complete the assignment, but not be so apathetic that you don’t try. Then, you bust ass, do a piss-poor job, and actually get a bad grade on the thing (I using academic example as I’m still in school, so most of my experience is with it). Then you fail the class, and realize the error of your ways. Only problem with that is I’ve been doing it for something like 10 years now, doesn’t seem to have made beans for difference. Example: English essay is assigned, due in two weeks. I wait until the night before to write it, and haven’t read the essay I’m to write about. Get an ‘A’ with the comment that I showed “good analysis and understanding.” Never did read the original essay.
I’d say, if it’s not a problem for you, don’t worry about it.
Both myself and my father are HORRIBLE procrastinators (or should I say we are very good procrastinators). He’s got several boxes of Anthony Robbins tapes and books in our garage that he’s planning on listning to someday!
From my Therapist…
“One of the effects of Effexor is a reduction in the tendancies to procrastinate”. And I have found this to be true for myself. It is I think due to the combination of more available energy, and more focussed thinking caused by the Effexor, as it counteracts my depression.
So if you procrastinate due to depression, then anti-depressants may well cure or improve your procrastination.
