BREAKING THE CYCLE OF PROCRASTINATION: part 1
Most students have problems with procrastination from time to time. This is understandable; academic work can be boring or we may feel overwhelmed by the sheer unrelenting volume of work. The negative feelings (such as boredom, anxiety, or self-doubt) we experience when we sit down to do our work – or even think about doing our work – can lead to a cycle of avoidance and procrastination.
For most people, the hardest part is getting started. Once we get working and start to feel a sense of productivity and accomplishment, that momentum in itself is enough to spur us on. Therefore, the key to breaking the cycle of procrastination is to set a clear agenda in advance for each work session. This eliminates the period of time that we spend feeling uncertain and distractible.
How it’s done:
First, decide how much time you are going to commit to your study session. If your issues with procrastination are particularly longstanding or you have a lot of anxiety about your work, it may be beneficial to commit to a modest amount of time studying each day (say, 30-60 minutes) in order to ease yourself into being productive. This is the approach I used when my work on my dissertation came to a standstill. I found that it was much preferable to spend 30 minutes per day feeling productive than eight hours a day feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed.
Next, write a list of concrete goals you can reasonably achieve in that time frame. Break large tasks down into smaller parts, and make your goals specific enough that you can look at them and know exactly what you need to do. Remember, your aim is to cut out any time feeling uncertain.
Here are some examples of good concrete goals that will help get you started:
Read pages 24-46 of history text, and write 1-sentence summary of each section.
Do problems 1-6 of math homework, and review until understood.
Read draft of psychology paper, and indicate where information needs to be fleshed out.
Here are some examples of vague goals that are less likely to prevent procrastination:
Read history text.
Do some math homework.
Fix psychology paper.
Specifying good goals takes some thought, but is key to removing barriers to getting started on your work. Then, work your way through your goals until you have completed your agenda.
One final step. Before you finish your work for that session, make your agenda for your next session. That way, you’ll be ready to pick up next time.
Trouble shooting:
What if I feel overwhelmed just looking at my agenda, or I don’t feel like doing anything at all?
These are signs of overambitious agendas. Simply cut back on your agenda until you reach a point where it feels manageable. For example, if your agenda was to read 50 pages of a novel, how many pages do feel manageable? 25? 10? 2? Keep reducing your goal until you can get started. The important thing is to do something productive rather than avoid work altogether. If you avoid doing anything at all, you are likely to experience an increase in negative feelings and a corresponding increase in procrastination.
What if I don’t complete my agenda in the time alloted?
If you find that you routinely underestimate how long things take, take steps to correct this bias. Get into the habit of reducing your agenda by 25% or so until you develop a better sense of time. This will happen with practice.
What if I finish my agenda early?
Ask yourself if you have the energy to continue working. If the answer is yes, please do so and consider it a bonus. If the answer is no, that’s OK too. You completed what you set out to do that study session.
© Bronwyn Murray, PsyD, 5/1/12