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Procrastination: later is not always betterReasons why people procrastinate and
preventative strategies for those who like to put off doing tasks.
Many of us like at some point or another like to
put off a task until later, a task that simply could be done today. Avoiding a medical appointment,
not writing an essay, or stalling on a bill payment are just a few examples. Procrastination has become so routine that it is not a new phenomenon nor is it surprising. What is surprising about procrastination is the reasons why it happens. Why don't some people learn that short-term gain is almost always followed by long-term pain? The answer is simple: procrastination is part of the human condition, York University professor Gordon Flett tells CBC News. "It's natural for people when a task is particularly aversive to want to put it off," he said. When a task is too difficult, too unclear, or too boring we dodge, delay or defer, said Flett. "It's certainly the case that a majority of people admit that they are procrastinators — at least some of the time," agreed Sanford DeVoe, a professor of organizational behaviour at the Rotman School of Management in Toronto. Laziness or incompetence are not reasons why people put things off, Flett said. Often, they stall because they are expecting the worst. "Usually these are people who can demonstrate action and behaviour when called upon — when they absolutely have to," he said. Dread leads to delay "They put things off because they dread doing them," he said. "In the worst-case scenarios, procrastination could become a matter of life and death," Flett said. For example, whether it's avoiding the doctor or the dentist, or not putting on sunscreen, people's health can suffer. "They put themselves at risk," he said. Some people believe that procrastination is a good thing and that it work for them because they do their best work under pressure. Flett doesn't buy it. "There is not a lot of evidence to support that line of thinking, he said. "It's a very stressful way to be," he said, "and we know that stress can have a damaging effect on one's body in a variety of ways," he said. "People think that deadlines help creativity, but they don't," DeVoe agreed. Avoiding that deadline crunch is the better way to go, he said. "When you are not constrained, the work you are going to do is going to be enhanced. You are able to really focus on the end goal and have a larger sense of the project at hand," he said. Best way: evenly spaced deadlines "In general, procrastinators perform worse. They actually perform better when there are evenly spaced deadlines offered up to them." When students put off writing a paper "initially, they feel really good, they feel healthier than their non-procrastinating counterparts," DeVoe said. "But as their deadline approaches, they get much more stressed out" than the non-procrastinators, he said. Flett has stated the reason some people put off doing tasks is not because they do not care, but because they care too much. "I've seen many students over the years who have been crippled by this combination where they want to have things just absolutely right," he said. "They beat themselves up a lot along the way by saying things like 'It has to be just right, but why am I not getting it to that point? Other people must be getting there ahead of me.'" Of course, procrastination exists in the workplace. Flett said, especially when it comes to internet addiction and what he calls cyberslacking. Three pointers "There are cases of people who have lost their jobs because they use the internet as [a] form of distraction, as part of their procrastination," he said. Carleton University professor Timothy Pychyl, who specializes in the study of procrastination, offers three tips to combat procrastination: 1.Just get started. "Don't waste more time planning and thinking about the task," he says on his website. "Usually, that's just another way to avoid the task," he writes on his website blog. Often, once you get started on a task, it can be better than you expected. 2.Keep focused on your goal — don't give up. "You should not try to make yourself feel better. You should get to work," Pychyl writes. 3.Be honest with yourself. Do not engage in self- deception. If you find it hard to resist checking emails or surfing the web, DeVoe suggests trying to set limits at the start of each day. "You want to say at the start of the day, 'I need to spend X amount of time focusing on this project,'" he said. "Once you are in the heat of the moment, that temptation can be too strong. Make those decisions ahead of time." Read more here Posted by: suhujitha on 2009-08-06 11:04:04 Next post: Offering support is the best medicine for a stressed worker 2012-02-07 09:29:21 Other posts tagged procrastination, stress, performance:
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