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What is procrastination?

Not all delays are procrastination.  For example, you can decide not to decide, which can itself be a decisive act.  Or you might decide that a certain task is not a priority.  In some cases, your priorities may be at odds with someone else’s, like your spouse, for example.  The way I think of it, there are four distinct criteria for procrastination.  First you make a decision to do something, then despite your decision, you delay.  There is also some disadvantage or cost of postponing action.  The final condition is that there are disturbed emotions both before and after the act of delaying.  The emotions that come before the delay are usually anxiety, frustration, and/or anger.  The act of procrastinating temporarily avoids these unpleasant feelings.  After the procrastination, there is usually guilt, shame or self-downing, which rarely keeps us from committing further acts of postponement.  In other words, procrastination involves inner conflict where we act at odds with our stated, conscious intentions.

What causes procrastination?

Usually, when people procrastination, and we all do at times, it is because it serves to avoid unpleasant feelings.  This may not be obvious, because often the procrastination is successful in keeping us from feeling the emotion.  The way to check this out is to ask yourself what emotion you would have if you didn’t procrastinate.  Usually, we put off tasks that are either anxiety provoking, unpleasant or uncomfortable, or angering.   Another way to check this out is to observe yourself carefully about what kinds of things you put off and what kinds of things you don’t.  You probably don’t put off easy fun things you want to do, do you?  So, what kinds of things do you put off?

Can you give me some examples?

Sure.  How about postponing studying for a test or doing a big assignment at work?  Often, such tasks might occasion feelings of anxiety or stress.  By blowing them off, the anxiety is reduced immediately.  The catch, of course, is that the relief is only temporary and there is typically a price to pay, like having to rush through a task or not doing it well.  Other tasks people avoid might just be unpleasant, like paying bills, doing taxes, housework, and the like.  By avoiding them, we not only will not feel the frustration, but we will probably do something else that is a lot more fun.  What about if you are angry at someone?  You may feel uncomfortable about coming right out with your anger, so what do you do?  Often in this kind of situation, you may express your anger indirectly, or “passive-aggressively”, such as in not doing what the person wants you to do, or doing it poorly.

But I work better under pressure?

Do you know the technical name for this kind of thought?  It’s called Bull S***!  No, actually it is called rationalization, but the former term is what it means.  What this is about is that people often feel guilty about their procrastination, so they try to explain it to themselves and others in a way that seems to make sense.  The catch in this is that it really doesn’t make all that much sense.  For example, the probably isn’t that you work better under pressure.  Rather, you only work when there is enough pressure to overcome the resistance cause by your desire to escape unpleasant feelings.  In other words, there is anxiety about doing it and anxiety about not doing it.  The anxiety about not doing it gets worse as you get closer to a deadline, so eventually the anxiety about not doing it gets stronger than your anxiety about doing it, so you finally get to work.  Actually, you would probably do a lot better job if you didn’t have to rush through it.

So how to I stop procrastinating?

One of the most important ways to permanently eliminate or reduce procrastination is to learn how to manage your emotions.  If you weren’t uptight or frustrated or angry about doing something, you probably wouldn’t procrastinate.  That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t have any emotions, just that you would mostly have healthy emotions.  For example, if you had an important task to do, you would feel concerned, but not anxious or uptight.  For more on how to learn emotional management skills (EMS), check out other areas of my web site, like the sections on anxiety and depression.

Are there any specific techniques or tools that can help?

Sure.  Here are some tools that can help:

q       Costs/Benefits – Write down a list of the costs or bad consequences of procrastination and the benefits or positive consequences of going ahead and doing whatever you are postponing.  You will notice that these are mostly long term consequences.  In the short term, it feels better to procrastinate because you avoid immediate unpleasantness.  However, as you can see in this exercise, you pay a long term price.  Procrastination, like many other avoidance behaviors including addictions, is the “buy no, pay later” plan of life.  By writing down the plusses and minus, and reviewing them daily and whenever you feel like procrastinating, you will become a long term pleasure seeker, not an instant gratification junkie.

q       The Five Minute Plan – When you find yourself procrastinating on a task, tell yourself you will do it for five minutes.  If you need to, you can do another five minutes, but usually once you get going, you will keep going.

q       Do the Worst First – if you have several things to do, pick the one that you least want to do and knock it off.  Everything else will be downhill.  Ask people who don’t procrastinate what they do first and most will tell you they use this strategy.

q       Bits and Pieces or Slice the Salami – When you procrastinate, a task seems to become overwhelming, like trying to eat a whole salami in one sitting.  To make it more palatable, slice up the task in smaller bits and pieces, then knock each piece off one at a time.  For example, one night you can get together your tax information, the next make the calculations, then the following night, fill out the forms.

q       Time vs. Priorities – To avoid doing a lot of busywork that gives you an excuse to procrastinate, set a time and date to do unpleasant tasks.  You will find that everything else flows around this schedule.  An example might be going to the gym Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 p.m. rather than just trying to go when you have time.

q       Arrange Consequences – When you finish an unpleasant or difficult task, give yourself a positive consequence.  Often this can be a simple pleasure, like reading a book, having a desert, or watching your favorite television show.   You can also arrange a negative consequence when you procrastinate, usually by making yourself do something else you put off, like cleaning your toilet or closet.

q       Mental Rehearsal and Replay – You can rehearse doing an unpleasant task by running a videotape in your head where you see yourself doing the task even though it is somewhat uncomfortable and imagining how you will feel when it is done.  You can also “replay” a situation where you did procrastinate and see yourself doing it rather than blowing it off.

q       Stimulus Control – Arrange for a place where you do difficult tasks and only do them in this place.  With practice, just going to this place will help you get it done.  For example, don’t do homework on the couch, in the bed, the bathroom and so on.  Set up a desk and only do studying at the desk.

 What else can I do?

 For one, you can practice, practice, practice.   You have probably been procrastinating for years, so it may take some time, effort and repetition to get over this bad habit.  You might also want to check out the suggested readings, particularly, “Overcoming Procrastination”, by Albert Ellis.  If self-help isn’t enough, it might be useful to see a cognitive-behavioral therapist.  Often, a few sessions of such help can speed up your progress in getting over procrastination.   Good luck and get to work!

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