Procrastinatio

n!
Ammera Kaing, Lucrecia Levy-Flores,,
Christina Orchanian
May 17, 2004
Holistic Health 382-3

ProcrastinationWhat is
it?
Psychological behavior that allows a
person to postpone or delay a certain
activity or task.
Source of great stress and anxiety for
many people.
Time management is not directly
related to procrastination.

Cycle Timeline
Panic & Stress Set In
Deadline is Set

There are 2
weeks until the
assignment is
due.

Time Passes
False Sense of Security

II

III

IV

I have plenty I will get started soon, Oh no! The

of time.
I only work well under assignment is
pressure.
due tomorrow!

Negative Effects of
Procrastination
Stress/Anxiety
Neglecting Your Health
Irritability/Bad Mood
Letting Yourself & Others Down
Not Achieving Your Full Potential

What do you do when

you procrastinate?

I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I

raid the refrigerator.

read mystery novels & science fiction.
start calling up my friends.
work on something thats less important.
become obsessed with cleaning my desk.
go out jogging.
sit and stare.
keep doing research.
watch TV.
read the newspaper.
go to sleep.
go shopping.

Four Simple Reasons For

Procrastination

Difficult The task seems too hard to do

Time-consuming Free time is unavailable until the
weekend
Lack of knowledge/skills Dont want to make a mistake
until youre sure its right
Fears Everyone will know you made a mistake

Procrastination ...
something you can do right now.

Four Complex Reasons For

Procrastination

Perfectionism

1. If you cant do it right, dont do i

at all
2. May delay starting a project
3. Creates dissatisfaction & frustration

Anger/Hostility

1. Withhold best efforts out of spite

2. Getting Even

Low Frustration Tolerance

1. Feeling

overwhelmed
2. Unfairness

Self-Downing

1. Minimize your skills/abilities

2. Attribute success to luck

3. Cannot accept praise for work accomplished

Steps to Cure
Procrastination

1.Acknowledge that you are postponing a task.

2.List the reasons why you are postponing doing
the task.
3.Discuss the reasons and list ways to overcome
them.
4.Begin the task immediately!

Helpful Techniques

Write down your tasks in a visible place with their due

dates

Make the tasks look easy in your mind

Have a 5 minute plan: start a task for 5 minutes,

eventually you will want to complete it

Break the task into components

Tackle each component separately

Modify your environment to encourage accomplishing

the task

Tell your family/friends about your goal; they will

motivate you along the way

REWARD yourself for a job well done!

Other tips
Dos:
Change your thoughts
Engage in physical
activity (exercise)
Give yourself some alone
time (15 30 min. without
distractions)
Increase alertness by
changing your position or
stretching for a few
minutes (important thing
is movement!)

Donts:
Criticize yourself!
Anticipate catastrophe
Focus on faults,
inadequacies, things
left undone

Choosing a Plan of
Action
Christina chose to
- set weekly goals & write down tasks
Ammera chose to
- break tasks down
Lucrecia chose to
- apply un-schedule technique
- learn to say no!

Christinas Plan of Action

I procrastinate on:
School assignments
Work
House chores
I procrastinate by:
Watching TV
Eating snacks
Talking to my friends

Christinas Plan of Action

I wrote down my weekly tasks in my schedule.

Each weekly schedule listed specific tasks to be
accomplished.
I had post-it notes attached to my books and living
space to remind myself of what was to be done.
I followed the 5 minute rule. I began the task
believing I would work on it for 5 minutes, but
continued it until it was complete.
Having lots of reminders made procrastinating (for
example, watching tv) seem like a waste of much
needed time.
I went through my task list on Sunday making sure
I completed them.
I began the following week with a clean slate.

Ammeras Plan of Action

I procrastinate on studying for exams.

I chose to break down the assignments I needed to complete to prepare for
exams.
Next, I estimated the number of days I could spend studying before the
exam.
I divided the number of pages I had to read by the number of days I had to
study.
For example, if I had 150 pages to read, and 10 days before the exam, I set
a goal to read 15 pages per day.
To motivate myself, I made a check off list with the pages I needed to read.
After I completed a page, I checked off the page number. This allowed me
to visualize my accomplishments.
I rewarded myself my scheduling breaks.
I would study in an environment conducive to studying, such as the library.

Lucrecias Plan of Action:

Un-schedule & Exercising

the No Muscle

Procrastinators view of time is quite unrealistic

(hope to find more than there really is!).
Procrastinators often underestimate/overestimate
how long a task will take.
Un-schedule is a weekly calendar of all of your
committed activities, not what you should do
Consider all your activities (i.e. work hours;
scheduled meetings and appointments.; classes &
social events; time for regular exercise; time for
meals including prep & clean-up; time for chores &
cleaning, laundry & shopping, etc.)

Lucrecias Un-Schedule

Learning to Tell Time

Look at your schedule How do you feel?

Overwhelmed? Anxious? Depressed?
Visualize going thru this week & consider what
makes you feel that way.
Un-schedule shows you the maximum amount of
time you could use to work on a project
Reward yourself after working hour towards your
goal & block off the time on your un-schedule
Add up the blocked time to calculate how much
time you spent working towards your goal that week
(self-monitoring helps procrastinators be more
realistic!)

Learning to say NO
Tips to Help You Say No:
Buy yourself time to think (Ill get back to you.)
Shift the focus back to you (This is not about you;
I need to say no for me)
Know your priorities and stick to them!
Keep it simple (dont give long-winded
explanations or make excuses)
Tackle easy situations first (Try it with the
telemarketer on the phone..)

What Ive learned

To reduce stress, I need to frequently use the Ill

get back to you technique and refer to my
schedule before booking social get-togethers
(especially during school semesters!)
I need to more realistic about time and juggling
work, school and a family (sometimes you cant
do it all!)
Prioritize I will set priorities at the beginning of
the week for goal(s) to be accomplished during
free time that week instead of trying to
squeeze-in the time

Other Techniques to
Improve Your Timing
Practice telling time
Learn to use little bits of time
Expect interruptions and disruptions
Delegate
Dont spread yourself too thin
Identify your prime time
Enjoy your free time

Stress & Procrastination

Think back to a time when you felt a great

deal of pressure.
Recall the circumstances around the
incident and remember how you felt.
Were there any changes in your behavior
or attitude?
Were there sensations in your body that
were letting you know that you were
feeling pressured?

Some Signs of Stress

Physical Signs:

knot, butterflies or pain in

your stomach
Cold, clammy hands
Headache
Rapid breathing, hyperventilating
Tightness in neck or shoulders or
both
Lower back pain
Tendency toward illness (colds, flu)
Tension in jaws (grinding or
clamping)

Emotional & Behavioral

Signs:
Irritability
Fatigue, exhaustion
Trouble concentrating
Increased alcohol or drug
use
Changes in sleep or
appetite
Inability to relax, fidgeting
Forgetfulness
Inability to enjoy things that
once brought you pleasure

Exercise in Progressive
Relaxation

Sit in a comfortable position

Give yourself some quiet time to begin with (10-15
min. recommended)
Close your eyes & breathe evenly
Tense the selected body area; hold the tension
tightly for 5 10 seconds
Relax the area you just tensed for 10 15 seconds.
Let the muscles become soft, heavy, warm and
loose.
Breathe slowly and comfortably.

Benefits of Overcoming
Procrastination
Peace of Mind
Feeling strong
Taking charge of your life
Feeling competent
Experience personal freedom