Addressing procrastination

All humans procrastinate. However, some neurological differences, mental health issues, and stressors can increase our tendency to procrastinate. Knowing how to address procrastination when it becomes problematic is essential to academic success. In this section, we’ve got a three-step strategy to increase your procrastination management skills.

1) Notice that you are procrastinating

This sounds simple but it can be deceptively challenging. Sometimes we’re very aware that we’re procrastinating but other times we’ve done such a good job at justifying our procrastination that we don’t realize we are doing it.

Have a plan that tells you when things need to get done

Procrastination is much easier without a plan. If you’re using a quarter plan and a daily/weekly plan, then it will be easier to notice when you’re putting something off that needs to get done. Therefore, the first step in addressing procrastination is to make sure you have a solid plan in place that tells you when you need to be doing which task.

Listen for justifications

Once you have your plan in place, listen for moments when you are convincing yourself that you will do your task later.

Examples:

“I’ll do it Saturday afternoon instead of going to the game.”

“I’ll get out of bed early tomorrow morning instead of hitting snooze.”

“It will only take a few minutes, so I’ll do it right after class.”

If you’re prone to doing this often, you’ll need to practice catching yourself in the act so you can interrupt the cycle.

Identify areas where you regularly procrastinate

We don’t all procrastinate in the same areas. Use our domains of procrastination worksheet to help you identify where you tend to procrastinate the most. Then come up with a plan specific to these areas.

2) Identify and address reasons for procrastinating

Often, there are good reasons why we procrastinate. Addressing these reasons can make it much easier to manage procrastination.

Common reasons people procrastinate (more than one can apply)

We often have a hard time getting going when we don’t know exactly what we’re supposed to do. A lack of know-how can result from:

Not understanding exactly what’s expected of you
Lack of knowledge/understanding of the course material
Underdeveloped skills (i.e. not knowing how to write a research paper)

When you find yourself procrastinating, ask yourself if you know how to do the task. If not, get the information you need. Reach out to a professor, TA, academic coach or tutor, mentor, advisor, or another knowledgeable person. Sometimes you can get the information yourself by doing your own research on the topic or asking peers.

Avoiding unpleasant emotions is one of the most common reasons that people procrastinate. Some examples of emotions that people commonly try to avoid:

Boredom: “Ugh, this is so tedious.”
Annoyance: “I can’t believe I have to do this.”
Fear of failing: “What if I’m not good enough?”
Frustration: “It’s just not working!”
Disappointment: “I thought I would be able to do better.”

It helps to label your emotion. Moving forward generally involves finding a way to tolerate this emotion. Grounding techniques can reduce the intensity of many emotions. You may also find the REST method useful.

Sometimes the reason why we can’t get started has nothing to do with the task at hand and everything to do with being burned out or exhausted. People have different capacities for sustained effort and stress. Additionally, everyone has different life circumstances that influence their performance. Things like having a long commute to school, financial stress, or marginalized identities can impact your well-being and deplete your reserves.

Addressing depletion often involves improving sleep, engaging in self-care, increasing supportive resources, taking effective breaks, and/or shifting responsibilities.

3) Get going

Both the task and your motivation level matter when it comes to getting going. You can help yourself get going by either decreasing the difficulty of the task in front of you or increasing your motivation.

Decrease the difficulty of the task to match your current level of motivation

Try this simple trick:

1. Break down the first step in your work to the smallest achievable task. For example, set a goal of reading one paragraph. You can also break things down according to time. Agree to work for ten minutes (or five minutes if ten feels too long). It doesn’t matter how small the task is. What matters is that you’re able to complete it.
2. Take a moment to notice that you achieved your small goal. DO NOT skip this step. If you tend to be self-critical at this moment, practice interrupting those conditioned ways of thinking and replacing them with more encouraging language (i.e. “This is hard for me but I’ve taken the first step.”)
3. Then repeat the process with the next step. Even if you don’t finish everything you set out to do, you’ll still have gotten more done by taking these small steps than you would have by avoiding things completely.

Increase your motivation level

Values alignment

Values are your fundamental beliefs about what is worthwhile, good, and desirable. Values help us determine what is important and they help guide us. You can increase your motivation by connecting what you’re doing with one of your values.

Rewards

Some people find that they can increase their motivation by providing rewards if they accomplish their goals. Rewards work best if they are immediate, so as soon as you finish your assignment, you reward yourself! (eat the ice cream, go for a walk, etc)

Accountability

Systems of accountability help us create consequences for not following through with the steps of our plan. Holding ourselves accountable is a crucial component of sticking with a plan; we highly recommend you review tips on increasing accountability.

Few of us procrastinate by doing nothing. Generally, we find something to do (anything really!) other than what we have planned. Here are some tips for managing common procrastination behaviors.

Tips for Managing Common Procrastination Behaviors

	The productive activity Some procrastination activities can feel productive—even necessary—like cleaning, organizing, paying bills, or creating to-do lists. While these tasks are important, they can distract you from what you really need to focus on. To recognize procrastination, stick to your plan. To stay on track, jot down other tasks in a notebook or on a whiteboard so you won’t forget them. Once you’ve finished the priority task, you can schedule time for everything else.
	The mindless activity If you find yourself zoning out instead of getting to work, it may be a sign that you’re either exhausted or under-stimulated. You may have more luck getting started if you take five minutes to get your heart rate up. Try moving your body. Make sure you have a target time to resume work so that your break doesn’t become a drawn-out activity. Sleep is essential to concentration so if you are not getting enough of it or your sleep is bad quality, it can really impact your performance. Visit our sleep page for more information.
	The emotionally wrought activity Our brains naturally focus on emotionally charged topics. These emotions can easily overshadow less engaging tasks, like a dense academic assignment. To stay focused, set boundaries with distractions like news, texting, and social media. If your mind still wanders, use this grounding technique: name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. It’ll help refocus your attention.
	The just-one-more activity This is the YouTube, Instagram, or Google blackhole: “Just one more,” you tell yourself, until one becomes fifteen. Our brains reward this behavior chemically, making it tough to stop. If switching to work feels impossible, focus on stepping away. Close the browser, put your phone aside, and move around for a couple of minutes before attempting to dive in. The downside of this procrastination is that it leaves you drained instead of recharged. To counter this, try physical movement to re-energize.
	The social activity College and graduate school provide endless opportunities for doing things other than academic work so your success will hinge on being able to balance these opportunities with fulfilling your responsibilities. Sometimes the social activity can masquerade as a productive activity if you’re meeting up with friends to study. It’s natural and even beneficial to spend some of the time chatting but make sure that your participation in the group is doing more to increase your productivity than it is serving as a great distraction.