Dr. Davenport had the opportunity to appear on WFAA TV in Dallas to talk about why we procrastinate and how to stop it. His time “on-air” was fun, but it went by really fast. Here are some additional facts he would have shared if he had more time.
The Brain and Procrastination
Despite being aware of the importance of getting started on tasks, some of us forget our goals and “get busy” with other activities, regardless of how meaningless they might be. Caught in the moment, we easily forget the painful effects of past experiences with procrastination.
Procrastination becomes a problem because many of us are best able to complete tasks at the last minute. When we get stressed by the impending deadline, our brain produces a flood of dopamine in the frontal lobe, helping us to better focus and sustain the effort and attention needed to start and complete tasks. Over time, we develop the false belief that we will always be able to pull tasks off at the last minute. This serves us well until the complexity of our tasks increases, and then we can begin to fail.
What Causes You to Procrastinate?
In his book, The Procrastination Equation, international procrastination expert Piers Steel, Ph.D. identifies three main reasons people procrastinate.
-
Expecting to do poorly on the task or expecting the task to take a long time to complete.
-
Not valuing the task or not thinking it is important.
-
Impulsively finding lots of other things to do – they may be good things, but they may not be the right thing to do at the moment.
To increase self-control, each of us must first improve our self-awareness: which of these three reasons cause you to procrastinate? What situations are involved in each? For example, do you not value cleaning house? Do you expect to do poorly on writing projects so you avoid them? Do you find yourself cleaning the windows when you should be fixing dinner?
Once you have identified the reasons you procrastinate and a few situations that trigger your procrastinating, you are ready to take action to overcome procrastination.
Tips for Overcoming Procrastination
We can fight procrastination and win if you try these recommendations for addressing your needs.
Look for alternatives to poor expectations. If you’re stuck thinking that you won’t do well on a task, ask yourself some questions to overcome your negative expectations.
-
What’s the evidence you will do poorly?
-
Are you jumping to conclusions about the outcome?
-
What else could happen?
-
What has happened when you have not expected to do well before?
-
How likely is it that you will perform poorly?
-
How bad could it be?
-
What can you do to change the outcome?
Use a different value. For example, if you don’t value cleaning the house, but you value having a nice place for your family or friends to gather, invite them over for a party. That will motivate you to clean your house.
Replace low “task value” with highly valued outcomes. For example, if you are a high school senior and you are tired of doing homework, put up pictures of the college you want to attend, the branch of the military you want to join, or whatever you want to do after high school as your motivation for completing these tasks. If you are an adult and you hate doing a part of your job (who doesn’t have something they hate about their job?) put pictures of your loved ones around to remind you that you are working to meet their needs.
Set valued goals. Try the methods outlined in my previous posts in order to set meaningful goals in line with your values. State your goals in the positive as if they have already happened. Then strive to connect your daily tasks to your long-term goals.
Identify, affirm, and use your values to reach your goals. In the office, Dr. D has procrastinators complete a “values card sort” consisting of 100 values and their definitions (Miller, 2013). They then creatively use these values as motivators for taking action on valueless tasks.
Plan to complete your tasks regularly at the same time and place. Use the methods I’ve suggested in previous posts for prioritizing and completing tasks by context.
Prioritize your procrastinating. Engage in productive procrastination where you put off one task only to complete another task. Continue this process and eventually, the avoided task becomes the tangent for another task you’re avoiding.
Try a structured routine if you are distracted, tired, bored, or overwhelmed when it is time to complete tasks.
-
15 minutes: get as many easy tasks as possible completed and check them off your list.
-
30 minutes: work on more difficult tasks that require your best effort and attention.
-
15 minutes: take a break.
-
Repeat the process as needed.
Break it down. If you are struggling to get started, that means that the first step is too big: break it into smaller tasks or break it down by time.
Reward yourself. If you struggle to feel successful, you can add a little success to most tasks by giving yourself a positive reward.
Positive rewards are those that keep you moving toward your goal. For example, buying new clothes is a positive reward for achieving specific goals on your diet. In contrast, celebrating by eating a big piece of chocolate cheesecake is a negative reward. Positive rewards could be as simple as self-praise or free-time but can also include mementos you can later point to as a sign of your successes. For example, a friend of mine buys herself a fancy pen when she achieves a goal: she can point to each one and say what she did to earn them.
ACT to Overcome Procrastination
In a series of articles, Dr. Davenport details four steps to overcome procrastination by accepting the urge to procrastinate while committing to honoring your values instead of putting things off.
Assessing Your Urge to Procrastinate. The first step is figuring out why you procrastinate. This process is not to make you feel bad, but to identify the situations causing the problem so you can make the right changes. Learn More
Accepting Your Urge to Procrastinate. Accepting the urge doesn’t mean agreeing to procrastinate, but it is an important step to overcoming this problem. Learn More
Attacking Your Urge to Procrastinate. Once you have assessed and accepted your urge to procrastinate, try these suggestions to address your specific needs. Learn More
Acting on Your Values to Overcome Procrastination. Focusing on what is important to you allows you to ignore the urge to procrastinate. Learn More
Need More Help?
Contact us to make an appointment. Dr. Davenport is happy to help you strive to overcome procrastination.
(c) 2014-2019, Monte W. Davenport, Ph.D.
