I found this article on Psyblog about Procrastination. I thought this article was so fitting since lately, I have been struggling with this particular problem. I have never really had this problem before until this year. So I thought I would read and blog about this article in case anyone else is currently struggling with this dilemma as well.
The article talks about the history of procrastination and how it has been around since the time of the industrial revolution. The article also mentions that while some people procrastinate once in awhile; there are others that have "chronic procrastination". You may be wondering how big is the scope of this problem. Well, for starters approximately 50 percent of college students have cited their procrastination habits to problematic. This is not just a problem for college students, approximately 15-20 percent of adults also identify themselves as having problematic or chronic procrastination.
Now that we have identified the problem: procrastination, let's look at the ways to help avoid or solve the problem psychologically. The article cites a study that was performed to see how much procrastination was affected by how we construe it. The study looked at two aspects; abstract (imaginary, fanatical) construal and concrete (realistic) construal. In the study participants are split up into two groups. Each group looks at painting involving pointilism. One group sees the full painting and told it was neo-impressionism (example of abstract construal). The group sees a section of the painting; seeing the techinque of pointilism (example of concrete construal). Both groups are then told to fill out a questionaire. The answers on the questionaire are irrelevant, because the purpose is to see how long the participants take in completing the questionaire. The results showed that participants were more likely to return their questionaire in sooner when it was a concrete construal example verses that of an abstract construal.
Now that we know what types of things in life cause procrastination how do we avoid them. Here are some tips the article gives. First of all use self-imposed deadlines and focus on details. Second stick to a task, once it has been started, while still keeping the abstract goal in mind. Third evaluate your progress on hard tasks, and stay focused even if the chance or likely hood of failure is high. Finally, once you have focused and the end of the task is in sight, it makes it easier to focus again on the "psychological choice to choose".
Some simplier ways I found to somewhat cope with my procrasination; is to make to-do lists, use a planner to keep dates straight, and to avoid all possible distractions. I would like to know if anyone else has any tips with how they cope with their procrasination (if they have a problem that is).
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I do have a major problem with procrastination, which is obvious being that it is Sunday night and I am just starting my Psychology blogs. I do make to-do lists and use a planner. What I have a hard time doing is, when I sit down, keeping my mind from wondering. I almost have to have the fear of failure in order to actually stay on task. I am learning and getting better, it just takes time.
ReplyDeleteBefore I never wrote down the things that I needed to do and always got my homework done. Now as it is my senior year I have been fighting the urge to procrastinate. When school started I started writing down what I had to do each week and set a goal to get it all done by thursday night. For about a year my family lived without a tv and it really helped me stay concentrated on my work. Now though with the distraction of a tv playing in the background I find it harder to concentrate on my homework and the things I need to get done. I suggest if you want to do your work and get it done on time, get rid of the distrations.
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