If you’re wondering how to overcome procrastination or searching for scientific ways to stop procrastinating, we’ve got you covered. This article includes 7 ways to overcome procrastination. Whether we’re therapists or clients—a quarter of us procrastinate.
Research suggests that chronic procrastination rates could be as high as 20-25% in the general population—and certain populations, like students, experience even higher levels of procrastination. Even if you yourself don’t ever procrastinate, chances are a quarter of your clients are procrastinators….…Story continues…
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The issue can be linked to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, ADHD, and poor study habits. Procrastination is connected to negative functioning and risks to mental health. People who procrastinate tend to have high levels of anxiety as well as poor impulse control. Procrastination is even linked to physical illness. Procrastination and laziness are two different concepts: procrastination involves delaying unnecessarily, whereas laziness involves being reluctant to exert necessary effort.
Accordingly, procrastination is not laziness, and it’s possible to procrastinate even if you aren’t lazy, or to be lazy but not procrastinate. Procrastination is the act of unnecessarily postponing decisions or actions. For example, a person is procrastinating when they delay working on an assignment until right before its deadline for no reason, even though they know that it would be better for them to start earlier.
The best decision you can make towards avoiding procrastination is to plan your days in advance. Rather than frantically figuring out what you’ll do on any given day, a better way to approach your day would be to take a few minutes at the end of each day to quickly map out the following day. The two-minute rule is a concept from David Allen’s workflow management method called Getting Things Done (GTD).
In a nutshell, this rule states that if you face a task that can be completed in two minutes or less, you should do it immediately rather than postponing it or adding it to your to-do list. Psychologists have identified various drivers of procrastination, from low self-confidence to anxiety, a lack of structure, and, simply, an inability to motivate oneself to complete unpleasant tasks. Research has also shown that procrastination is closely linked to rumination, or becoming fixated on negative thoughts.
Procrastination is not an officially acknowledged ADHD behavior. But traits associated with ADHD can make procrastination more likely to occur, especially if the task at hand isn’t particularly interesting to you. ADHD-associated behaviors that can lead to procrastination include: having a short attention span. Procrastination isn’t one of the formal symptoms of depression. But it could be related to some of them. “Procrastination is a behavior, whereas depression is a clinical diagnosis,” says Lauren Debiec, a therapist in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.
In other words, “People procrastinate because of a lack of value [associated with the task]; because they expect that they’re not going to achieve the value they’re trying to achieve; because the value is too far from you in terms of time; or because you’re very impulsive as a person,” Rozental says. Fatigue is both a symptom of and a cause of procrastination. Procrastination causes you to continuously put off crucial duties, which makes you tired. Between being weary and being exhausted, there is a significant distinction.
Unlike tiredness, which is mostly physical, fatigue is emotional and mental. A big part of overcoming procrastination is setting realistic goals. Instead of beating yourself up about not being able to read 100 pages in a day and then not reading at all, decide to read 50 pages in a day. For example, procrastination can lead to mental health issues such as stress, which in turn can lead to issues such as reduced wellbeing, worse physical health, and worse academic and job performance.
There isn’t a specific medical treatment for chronic procrastination, but psychotherapy can help you understand the root cause of your procrastinating. A therapist or other mental health professional can also teach you coping mechanisms to help combat procrastination. Procrastination was highest in the youngest cohort (14–29 years). We have not found a consistent sex effect, however, only in the youngest (and most strongly procrastinating group) from 14–29 years, men procrastinated more than women.
Anxiety can contribute to procrastination for a variety of reasons. Perfectionism often plays a role, but sometimes, people feel overwhelmed by the task before them. Fear and poor self-esteem can also contribute to procrastination. While not an official diagnosis, high functioning ADHD may describe individuals with ADHD symptoms that do not affect their daily activities. Symptoms may include difficulties with focus, time management, impulsivity, and more. These individuals may develop strategies to manage their symptoms.
Procrastination can stem from various sources, including anxiety, fear of failure, or even sensory overload. For those with autism or ADHD, it might be a response to challenges beyond simple avoidance. Autistic Inertia: Imagine a train at a standstill. Cross-sectional studies suggest that procrastination is associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress as well as loneliness and reduced life satisfaction.
Procrastination is also associated with prevalent general physical health problems,cardiovascular disease, and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. Starting with the most important, focus on only one job at a time. Break the task down into smaller pieces. This is one of the most important ways to combat procrastination. Write down all the steps involved in your project and see each step as a manageable job that can get done with a reasonable amount of effort.
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