With HUGE delight we welcome our guest blogger, Sonya Kaiser. Sonya was a high school classmate of my son and has now graduated from University of Pennsylvania in Biological Basis of Behavior with a minor in Psychology. Sonya is bi-cultural, with a French father and American mother, and has lived on several continents. She currently teaches in a bilingual pre-school in Seattle, Washington, USA.
It’s a treat to benefit from her scientific knowledge of the brain and its impact on behavior. It’s also an honor to feature a young woman whom I knew as a teen and is now a colleague. She’s keeping me on my toes!
Please do let Sonya know what you think of her article! Which of the Procrastination Traps catches you most off guard?! How do you overcome it? Share your questions about neurology and time management in the comments.
We’ve all done it, thought “I’ll do it tomorrow”, left an assignment to the last minute, procrastinated a task for so long that eventually we just forgot we wanted to do it in the first place.
Procrastination is an enemy to many and the best way to handle it is to know your enemy.
Did you know that procrastination can be caused by a few psychological patterns? Which one of these speaks to you?
Procrastination Causes
Fear of Failure
The reason that is most commonly brought up is a fear of failure.
The feelings of anxiety or self-doubt that come over you when you’re unsure whether you can complete a task successfully can quickly become crippling and prevent you from getting started.
Even worse, as time goes by, you can start overthinking and building the task so much in your mind that it becomes harder and harder to overcome that fear.
Self-Defense
Another possible cause of procrastination is a sort of self-defense mechanism, to maintain a positive view of yourself.
Your sense of self-worth is often determined by your ability to successfully complete tasks. This is why it’s often easier to check easy tasks off your to-do list than more challenging ones, why you might tend to avoid anything with a higher likelihood of failure.
Procrastination can also be a convenient defense if you do end up failing.
If you don’t give yourself enough time to complete the task, you can blame the failure on the lack of time rather than your own lack of ability, which in turn enables you to maintain your confidence in your abilities.
Problem for the “Future Me”
Another common reason to procrastinate is the idea that your future self will be better equipped to handle the task. You might think you’ll be in a better mood, less tired, or more emotionally prepared in a few hours or a few days and you leave the burden of your task to a future you.
Which of the above have tempted you the most?!  Fear of Failure – Self-Defense – Delegate to “Future Me”
Want help setting up your Pro-Doing-It-Now plan? Ask your question here.
Strategies to Turn Procrastination Around
Divide tasks into smaller pieces
This will make them seem more manageable. It’s always less daunting to start a task when you can picture the end of it.
Tips for parents
Instead of writing “clean the house” on your to-do list, try “tidy living room, do laundry, mop floors, vacuum floors, fold clothes”
Tips for students
Instead of writing “write 10-page essay” on your to-do list, try “find topic for essay, research for 2 hours, write an essay plan, flesh out essay”.
Set tangible deadlines
If a deadline isn’t imposed by someone else, try giving yourself one. Self-imposed deadlines are generally less effective than external ones, but they’re better than nothing!
Tips for parents
If you do give your kids a deadline, try using “when” rather than “if”. For instance, try saying “When you’re done cleaning your room, we can play a board game” instead of “If you clean your room, we can play together”
Tips for students
Try setting a timer to encourage yourself to work for a specific amount of time without stopping or getting distracted.
Block access to distractions
It’s so easy to let your attention wander. As an adult, the main culprits are often distracting websites like social media or streaming services. But kids can be distracted by anything that moves, anything that makes a noise or even by their own exciting inner lives.
Tips for parents
Try keeping your kids’ attention focused on boring tasks, like putting on shoes and coats, with a little song that you can all sing together.
Tips for students
There are a few great apps that can help you block websites in a more effective manner than just self-monitoring, like SelfControl and StayFocusd.
Find joy in the task itself
It always helps productivity and mood to think of tasks as things that you want to do or get to do, rather than things you have to do. Try to make tasks either positive, worthwhile or entertaining in some way.
Tips for parents
Add a sense of competition to dull tasks like getting ready for school. The first person who’s completely ready gets to ring a little bell! Ready, set, go!
Tips for students
Instead of sitting down or pacing while studying some flashcards, put on some music and have a little dance party!