7 Myths About Procrastination

& Strategies for More Successful Goal Pursuit in 2014

Myth #1Procrastination can be

a good thing.

Latin roots

Latin verb procrastinare

pro - forward motion crastinus - belonging to tomorrow

“put off or postpone until another day”

That’s not so bad, it’s about belonging to tomorrow . . .

It doesn’t sound so bad :-) “I’ll feel more like it tomorrow anyway!”

Tomorrow!A mystical land where 98% of all human productivity, motivation, and achievement are stored.

4

(Unknown)

Thanks for this Jen!

How do psychologists define procrastination?

! Gap between intention and action! Voluntary, irrational, delay despite the

expectation of a potential negative outcomeMohsen Haghbin

All procrastination is delay, but not all delay is procrastination

Sirois, F., & Pychyl, T.A. (in press). Procrastination. In H. Friedman (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Mental Health, New York: Elsevier.

Explain how not every delay is procrastination and we have to differentiate these.

TRANSITION: So, if we reserve procrastination for the voluntary delay of an intended action despite the awareness of potential negative consequences, should we even be concerned? Don’t we all procrastinate? Is it really a problem per se?

Strategy #1

Identify what is really procrastination versus what is just the delay in your life (that is just a necessary part of busy lives).

Myth #2Procrastination is a time-management

problem

Procrastination – it’s not about time

The Procrastinator’s Clock?

Arron Service’s study of time estimation.

Brian Salmon

The Planning Fallacy

! Used study prediction calendars and study “logs” to explore the potential discrepancy between intention (“I’ll study early for the exam and lots!”) vs. action (“maybe next time!”).

! Expected a greater “planning fallacy” for procrastinators

Pychyl, T. A., Morin, R.W., & Salmon, B. R. (2000). Procrastination and planning fallacy: An examination of the study habits of university students. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 15, 135-150.

Together with Paul, I’ve begun to think about this as the procrastination puzzle. Here it is with a focus on our procrastinator.

What just happened here?

Together with Paul, I’ve begun to think about this as the procrastination puzzle. Here it is with a focus on our procrastinator.

12The procrastination puzzle

13

It’s that gap between intention and action. It’s weakness of will.

SELF-REGULATION FAILUREShort-term mood repair

“Giving in to feel good”

Related to over-eating, problematic gambling, compulsive shopping - one of subset of self-regulation problems.Fuschia and I presented a paper at APA in Chicago a few years ago where we presented research documenting how higher P scores were related to more drinking among undergraduates, for example.

Strategy #2

Recognize procrastination for what it is, an avoidant coping response that is meant to provide short-term mood repair. Is this the best coping strategy? What else could you do?

Myth #3It’s not a big deal,

only a few all-nighters.

The costs of procrastination

! Performance! Well-being! Health! Relationships! Regrets & bereavement

Sirois, F. M., Melia-Gordon, M.L., & Pychyl, T. A. (2003). "I'll look after my health, later": An investigation of procrastination and health. Personality and Individual Differences, 35 (5),1167-1184.

“ . . . procrastination is usually harmful, sometimes harmless, but never helpful” (Steel, 2007; p. 80).

Story about my travel to Amsterdam last year, Montreal airport waiting for the shuttle bus, met Luke. Luke said in response to my procrastination research, "they need to consider death"

Every procrastinator knows the stress associated with that needless delay. The question is, does this relate to increased illness as well? In fact, it's not just the stress associated with procrastination that may affect your health. Treatment delay and fewer wellness behaviors have been implicated in the procrastination-illness relationship.

There's little doubt about it. Procrastination is a behavioral style that may increase vulnerability to illness and various negative health outcomes. These are the conclusions of my colleague Dr. Fuschia Sirois of the University of Windsor. Dr. Sirois is a graduate of Carleton University, and given these results about treatment delay, it won't surprise you that she spent some time thinking about procrastination with me while she was completing her doctoral dissertation on the concept of health locus of control. I was very happy she did, as Dr. Sirois is another of those amazing students with whom I've had the pleasure to work. Now an associate professor of psychology, her research contributes to our understanding of health and well-being.

"I'll look after my health later" is part of the title of two of her publications. The first, done at Carleton while she was completing her doctoral studies, was based on a large student sample. The second publication replicated and extended the earlier results with a community sample of adults. This was an important replication given the differences between a relatively healthy population of young adults vs. the older community sample. In each sample, she found similar results, but the effects of stress and the role of treatment delay and wellness behaviors varied.

Based on the research on personality and health, Dr. Sirois hypothesized that the poor health of procrastinators may be explained DIRECTLY by the stress resulting from procrastination, and INDIRECTLY by the tendency to put off important health behaviors. So, the direct route by which procrastination affects health is stress and its associated psychophysiological reactivity that leads to changes in immune function that can adversely affect health. The indirect route involves our delay of health-protective behaviors (e.g., healthy eating, exercise) and the promotion of unhealthy behaviors and treatment delay (e.g., fewer check-ups, delay in making necessary appointments).

Her research methods for both studies consisted of a battery of questionnaires that included measures of procrastination, stress, health behaviors, treatment delay and health (e.g., acute physical health problems). She used different approaches to test the relations among these variables, including Structural Equation Modeling (for those of you with an interest in this sort of thing). Her findings were relatively consistent across the samples.

Procrastination was associated with higher stress, a greater number of acute health problems, the practice of fewer wellness behaviors, and less frequent dental and medical check-ups. Stress was associated with poor health and less frequent wellness and health-care behaviors, which in turn were related to poor health.

Overall with the community sample, the test of her whole model revealed that stress, but not health behaviors, fully mediated the relationship between procrastination and health. This is statistical language to say that once we take into account stress, the relation between procrastination and illness disappears. Procrastination is related to illness through stress. Only when she omitted stress in the model did health behaviors mediate the effects of procrastination on health. This is contrast to her undergraduate sample where stress only partially mediated the effects of procrastination on health. As Sirois notes, "This may be in part due to the younger and healthier students . . . who may have been less vulnerable to the negative effects of stress than the adult [sample]." She even found a relation between procrastination and fewer household safety behaviors such as checking and replacing the batteries in smoke detectors (behaviors with potentially devastating consequences). I'll leave the details of this research to another time.

Taken together, this research clearly shows that trait procrastination (our tendency to procrastinate in most areas of our lives quite chronically) is linked with poor health in adults, and that this association is best explained by the direct effects of stress. In addition, the indirect effects of health behaviors on the health of procrastinators is an important contribution to our understanding of how personality plays a role in our understanding of health.

This research demonstrates the far-reaching effects of procrastination in our lives. We don't just suffer the inconvenience or pressure of the "all-nighter" and last-minute-effort, we may actually delay engaging in health-promoting behaviors and treatment seeking, all to the detriment of our health. As Dr. Sirois concludes her paper, "By hindering health-care check-ups and the practice of wellness behaviors, procrastination may confer additional risk for increased stress and subsequently more health problems."

International Network on Personal Meaning (meaning.ca) - conference in 2008 "Living well & Dying well."

Dr. Grafton T. Eliason, co-editor of Existential and Spiritual Issues in Death Attitudes, presented a paper entitled, "Death anxiety, coping mechanisms and the tale of the grateful dead." In the course of his discussion of coping with death and counseling individuals who are grieving, Dr. Eliason noted two kinds of regrets that people express in their grief over the loss of a loved one: regrets of commission and omission. The second regret, the things we omitted doing while our loved one was alive, captured my interest. Regrets of omission are so often the result of procrastination.

I asked Dr. Eliason, "What is the nature of these regrets of omission?" adding, "Are these: 1) Things people really intended to do, but never did (i.e., procrastination)?; 2) Generalized possibilities of what they could have done?; 3) Cultural scripts of what they think they should have done, what would have been nice to do?; or 4) Internalized expectations about what the loved one might have wanted them to do?

His answer didn't surprise me. He said that all four types were part of the regrets he'd seen in his practice. So, I pushed on a little further and asked which type of regret seemed most problematic. As I expected given the guilt associated with procrastination, regret over the things these grieving people really intended to do but didn't was most problematic. The regrets of omission related to our procrastination were most troubling in the grieving process.

The chair of the paper session, Dr. Adrian Tomer (and lead editor of the volume noted above) added that, in his experience, this type of unfulfilled intended action truly was the most problematic aspect of bereavement. While it may be possible to forgive oneself for an act of commission, as we all make mistakes, realizing too late in life that you simply failed to take action when you could have, is unbearable in many instances.

Dr. Tomer nodded in agreement when I replied, "I can understand this, as the real existential dilemma in these regrets of omission is that we had failed to recognize until too late our own agency in life to act according to our values."

Strategy #3

For the tasks you identified as procrastination with #1, list the costs associated with this needless delay.

Myth #4Perfectionists are procrastinators

Unrealistic expectations

Perfectionism Dimensions

Self-OrientedPerfectionism

Socially-PrescribedPerfectionism

ProcrastinationMeasures

GP Scale PASS-FrequencyPASS-Problem

•p < .05, **p < .01•Adapted from Flett, Hewitt and Martin (1995)

-.02.07.09

.30**

.21*

.28**

Pychyl, T.A., & Flett, G.L. (2012). Procrastination and self-regulatory failure: An introduction to the special issue. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy.Rice, K.G., Richardson, C.M., & Clark D. (2012). Perfectionism, procrastination, and psychological distress. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 59, 288-302.Flett, G. L., Blankstein, K. R., Hewitt, P. L., & Koledin, S. (1992). Components of perfectionism and procrastination in college students. Social Behavior and Personality, 20, 85-94.

Gord FlettCanada Research Chair

York University

While we all desire to reach or release our full potential, we often face deep internal struggles with perfectionism, excessive self-doubt, lack of persistence, self-depreciation and procrastination. Here's a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy approach that may help.

Published earlier this year in a special issue of the Journal of Rational-Emotive Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Michael Neenan has provided a succinct guide to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) for coaches. His goal was ". . . to increase their [the coaches'] knowledge of psychological factors that interfere with as well as promote change" (p. 53). Given the assumption that coaches don't have an extensive psychological background, there's a lot here for everyone interested in self change.

REBTFounded in 1955 by Albert Ellis (pictured above), REBT focuses on our thinking, particularly our irrational beliefs, and how these shape our feelings and actions (more at the Albert Ellis Institute). Interestingly, one of the first widely cited books written about procrastination was published by Albert Ellis and Bill Knaus in 1979, "Overcoming Procrastination" (no longer in print, but more recent books by Ellis & Knaus and recent work by Bill Knaus are available) You can also access a chapter excerpt from The Procrastination Workbook (Knaus, 2002) at www.procrastination.ca

Counseling procrastinators with REBTThe paper by Neenan reflects a different psychology in many respects than what I've referenced to date. As I, and others, have noted in the Psychology Today blogs previously, there are a few "types" of psychologists, and this paper clearly reflects the helping side of psychology. The focus is on counseling, the method is REBT and almost no reference is made to any of the research that has been the focus of my blog. That said, the issues remain the same, and many of the conclusions do too. Even my favorite topic is clearly addressed in the opening pages of this article - the existential nature of procrastination. Neenan writes,

"Another view of procrastination is that you give away your time free of charge - time that you might pay anything for on your deathbed to stay alive a little longer. So much time can be wasted through procrastination that you might believe you have several lives to lead instead of only one. People who become increasingly frustrated about their procrastination habits fear that they are wasting their lives yet avoid doing what would help them to make more productive use of their time. This is what Knaus (1998, p. 7) calls the fundamental procrastination paradox: ‘When we try to buy time by procrastinating, we condemn ourselves to running out of time.'" (p. 54).

The cost of procrastination - "an extremely disabling psychological condition"Neenan's clinical perspective documents the costs of procrastination; costs that have been clearly documented in the blog to date as well. He writes,

"Chronic procrastination can have high costs: It has been associated with depression, guilt, low exam grades, anxiety, neuroticism, irrational thinking, cheating and low self-esteem. As a result, procrastination probably accounts for much of why many never realize their full potential and so it can be an extremely disabling psychological condition" (p. 55)

The ABC's of REBTNeenan notes that all procrastinators suffer one similarity - a clear-cut emotional problem. In order to release this emotion, clients need to identify the irrational beliefs that sustain it through the ABCs of REBT. In Neenan's words:

A = activating event - imagining giving a presentation to a group of colleaguesCritical A = what the client is most troubled/disturbed about e.g., ‘Not being able to answer all of the questions at a presentation.'

B = irrational beliefs: e.g., ‘I must be perfect.'

C = consequencesemotional: rising anxietybehavioural: highly agitatedcognitive: dwells on irrational beliefs about a perfect performance

"By exposing herself in imagination to giving the presentation (A), the client's critical A is located which triggers her irrational beliefs (B) which then largely determines her reactions at C. By delaying the presentation, the client remains ‘safe' from being exposed as a ‘phoney' but, at the same time, she sees herself as a ‘phoney' for avoiding doing something she knows she is good at: ‘Phoney if I do and phoney if I don't.'" (pp. 56-57, emphasis added)

The REBT point of interventionNeenan argues that it's best to treat procrastination as the "C" - the consequence of an Activating event and Belief. The key thing is to discover what the individual said to him- or herself at the time in order to justify the procrastination. In the example above, these justifying irrational thoughts were about having to give a perfect presentation.

Some Pitfalls in Tackling ProcrastinationNeenan's advice to coaches about some of the pitfalls involved in coaching a procrastinator are particularly revealing. For example, although a client might say it would feel great if he or she got going on a task, no action results. Why? The anticipated discomfort of starting the task preempts the anticipated feeling "great." In other words, emotional disturbance still blocks the way to action.

The key thing here, Neenan emphasizes, is that focusing on the practical problem before the emotional problems may result in the individual neglecting to work on the emotional issues that caused the procrastination in the first place. So, this one task may get done, but the next task may not, as the emotional disturbance continues to block the way to action.

Tackling Procrastination: Awareness, Goals, Commitment & PersistenceThe approach that Neenan summarizes is based on four stages set out by Windy Dryden in the book Overcoming Procrastination. These are: 1) becoming aware of one's procrastination, 2) developing goal-directed behavior to carry out the tasks on which one is currently procrastinating, 3) making a commitment to tolerate the anticipated short-term discomfort to achieve the longer-term goal, and 4) persisting in this anti-procrastinating outlook or approach. Using a client from his own coaching practice, Neenan discusses each in turn. I summarize key points for each briefly below.

AwarenessWhile we may not be consciously aware of how procrastination is troubling us, our emotions might provide a clue that something is wrong, particularly agitation (recall that agitation is an emotion associated with the gap between the actual and ought self). In any case, awareness is the first step. We have to acknowledge that we're procrastinating and that there may be irrational beliefs at the root of our delay.

However, Neenan reiterates the point that I made in my blog entry about wisdom, ". . . awareness does not necessarily lead to action . . ." (p. 58).

GoalsOnce we have developed the awareness for the need for change, we have to set a goal that is reasonable, concrete and manageable. Too often, our goals are expressed as distant, abstract constructs such as "I want to succeed at this task." Instead, we need to construct a concrete, specific statement of what we can do in the present to achieve our long-term goals. In short, we need to articulate an implementation intention.

CommitmentA goal statement in itself doesn't mean that you're committed to carrying out the hard work necessary to achieve your goal. As Neenan notes, self change can feel like a 24/7 proposition. "If clients want to make gains, they need to embrace the discomfort of working on their problem now in order to feel relatively comfortable later about continuing the work of change . . ." (p. 59).

This work includes disputing irrational beliefs and developing a rational alternative statement in its place. This rational statement should become the individual's mantra to keep the focus on change. What's particularly important here, Neenan argues, is that your statement is not a "I'll try to . . ." type of statement. It's not what you'll try to do, it's what you'll actually do!

I like the example he gives his own clients. He notes, "A way to teach clients the difference between trying and doing is to ask them if at the end of the session they will try to leave the room or actually leave it. Trying will keep them in the room indefinitely while doing means they will have left it in seconds" (p. 59).

PersistenceSelf change requires strong determination as well as persistent work and practice to carry out this determination. Such persistence is enabled with the development of a "maintenance message" about your responsibility to protect your progress from unconscious habits.

I like the example Neenan provides with his client. His maintenance message was "My time is precious. Don't waste it!" I think that this could apply to anyone. It's simply an existential fact of life.

Concluding thoughts . . .In his own conclusion to the paper, Neenan draws on the work of Bill Knaus writing, "To change a behavioural pattern like procrastination ‘requires work, and typically lots of it. Ironic as it may seem, the problem of avoiding work can only be solved by doing more work' (Knaus, 1993, Sect. II, p. 37)" (p. 61). This work includes the process of REBT: uncovering the irrational beliefs that initiate and sustain the procrastination, disputing these beliefs, developing goals, and persisting in the hard work of self change.

All of this is true. As my father would often tell me, "Anything worth having requires hard work." That said, it's always one step at a time, so at any given time, my mantra as you know is "just get started." It's so simple, yet so important, as each moment requires that commitment to move ahead - just get started.

Perfectionism comes in at least two flavours: adaptive and maladaptive. The maladaptive flavor seems to have social roots. (Take the self-test at the end of the blog.)

We've been discussing personality traits and procrastination in the last couple of blog entries, but these have been considered at the highest level of the personality trait taxonomy. Today, I want to consider a lower-order trait, perfectionism. It's not formally part of the Big-Five personality traits that we've discussed.

It was originally assumed, as the diagram implies, that perfectionism undermines our action; all perfectionism was seen as maladaptive. It's not that simple. Perfectionism is multi-dimensional, or there's more than one flavor.

My focus today is on a relatively recent study reported by Jeffrey Kilbert (Oklahoma State), Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling and Motoko Saito (University of South Alabama). They report on adaptive and maladaptive aspects of self-oriented versus socially-prescribed perfectionism. In doing this, they summarize key aspects of the literature. Let me begin by defining some terms.

Paul Hewitt and Gordon Flett developed a multidimensional perfectionism scale with three subscales or types of perfectionism: self-oriented, other-oriented and socially-prescribed. Here's a brief description of each:

Self-oriented perfectionists: Adhere to strict standards while maintaining strong motivation to attain perfection and avoid failure; engage in stringent self-evaluation.

Other-oriented perfectionists: set unrealistic standards for significant others (e.g., partners, children, co-workers) coupled with a stringent evaluation of others' performances.

Socially-prescribed perfectionists: believe that others hold unrealistic expectations for their behavior (and that they can't live up to this); experience external pressure to be perfect, believe others evaluate them critically.

Of the three, my focus will be on self-oriented and socially-prescribed perfectionism as these have shown different relations with measures of procrastination in past research, and they are differentially related to what has been labeled adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism. (If you're interested in other-oriented perfectionism, I'd recommend reading "The no asshole rule" by Robert Sutton as there is quite a bit of overlap here, I think).

Conceptually, perfectionism had been considered a maladaptive trait overall. It didn't matter what form it took, perfectionism was seen to be detrimental (hence the figure I chose for this blog entry). However, another multidimensional perfectionism scale developed by Randy Frost revealed two underlying dimensions for his six subscales of perfectionism: concern over mistakes, personal standards, parental expectations, parental criticism, doubting of actions and organization. These two broad dimensions of perfectionism were labeled: positive strivings and maladaptive evaluation concerns.

In terms of Hewitt and Flett's three types, Frost found that the broad "positive strivings" dimension was related to self- and other-oriented perfectionism, as well as his own subscales of high standards and organization. Frost's research also demonstrated that positive strivings was related to increased positive emotions and it was not correlated with depression.

The second broad dimension of maladaptive concerns was related to Hewitt and Flett's socially-prescribed perfectionism, as well as Frost's own subscales of concern over mistakes, parental criticism and expectations, and doubts over actions. This dimension of maladaptive concerns was found to be related to higher levels of negative affect (emotions) and depression, and other research has shown that maladaptive concerns (socially-prescribe perfectionism) is related to procrastination, depression, suicidal ideation, lower self-esteem, anxiety, loss of self-control and shame.

In sum, there is some clear evidence that perfectionism is not one maladaptive flavour, and that a key distinction is between what we can see as perfectionism set by self and perfectionism imposed, or prescribed, socially. Given this past research, Kilbert and his colleagues wanted to explore the extent to which self-oriented perfectionism might be related to other adaptive traits such as self-esteem, perceived self-control and achievement motivation. At the same time, they wished to further explore the potential negative associations with socially-prescribed perfectionism

Their ResearchKilbert and colleagues used a battery of measures with a sample of 475 students. As you might expect given the concepts listed above, they measured things like perfectionism, self-esteem, achievement tendency, depression, anxiety, shame, guilt and procrastination. In their analyses, they also distinguished "types" of perfectionists in an unique fashion. They created types by using scores for both self-oriented and socially-prescribed perfectionism in combination. This resulted in four possible types: Low-Low (low on both forms of perfectionism), Self-oriented perfectionism only, Socially-prescribed perfectionism only and finally high on both scales. You can see that this 4-type continuum basically goes from not perfectionistic at all to having high scores on both types of perfectionism.

Their ResultsGiven the variety of groupings and variables, it's not surprising that their results varied. Because the blog is about procrastination, I'll simplify things by keeping my focus on this aspect of their results. As they summarize the findings, "Regarding procrastination, results indicated that SOCIALLY Prescribed ONLY participants reported a tendency to procrastinate more than SELF Oriented ONLY and Generally Perfectionistic participants. Additionallly, Non-Perfectionistic students procrastinated more than did the SELF Oriented ONLY participants" (p. 152).

I find this very interesting, of course, as it clearly delineates socially-prescribed from self-oriented perfectionism in relation to procrastination. Not only do individuals who report higher socially-prescribed perfectionism procrastinate more, but individuals who are described as self-oriented perfectionists actually procrastinate less than non-perfectionists! Clearly, at least in terms of procrastination, there are adaptive and maladaptive forms of perfectionism.

And, just because it helps round out the story, I want to add that the results of this study also revealed that self-oriented perfectionism was associated with higher levels of self-control and achievement motivation, whereas socially-prescribed perfectionism was associated negatively with self-esteem, self-control and achievement motivation, and this maladaptive form of perfectionism was significantly related to higher levels of depression, suicide proneness, anxiety, shame and guilt. The distinction between these two types of perfectionism is very clear.

The implication of these findings for perfectionism and procrastinationHere is how Kilbert and colleagues make sense of the results overall.

Self-oriented Perfectionists". . . self-oriented perfectionists are those who derive a sense of pleasure from their labors and efforts, which in turn enhances their self-esteem and motivation to succeed and eventually helps them to develop a sense of control over their environment. Self-oriented perfectionists may then use their pleasure in their accomplishments as encouragement to continue and even improve their work" (p. 154).

Socially-prescribed perfectionists"In contrast, socially prescribed perfectionists may be compared to neurotic perfectionists [a term originally coined by Hamachek] in that they do not derive pleasure from their labors and efforts and tend to view their work as inadequate or inferior. Furthermore, they report experiencing external pressure and or coercion to accomplish tasks. Therefore, the maladaptive symptoms of the socially prescribed perfectionist emerge not from an internally felt desire to be their best, but more from a fear of failure and/or a desire to avoid embarrassment, shame and guilt" (p. 154).

So, what kind of perfectionist are you? It seems to make a big difference!

How do you know if you're a perfectionist? Check out Psychology Today tests to learn more. This 44-item test will give you personal feedback for your overall perfectionism score. If you want specific feedback for each of the three types of perfectionism discussed in this blog entry, there is a fee (Note: This is not my test, and I am not promoting its use. I'm simply making you aware of this option if you want to know more).

There's more than one type of procrastination. We can needlessly delay tasks - behavioral procrastination. We can also needlessly delay making decisions - decisional procrastination. A recent study indicates that both behavioral and decisional procrastination are related to maladaptive beliefs known as metacognitions.

Three British psychologists with psychotherapeutic training and research interests published a short report on their study of "Metacognitions, emotions and procrastination" in the Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy. Marcantonio Spada (Roehampton University), Kalliopi Hiou (London Metropolitan University) and Ana Nikcevic (Kingston University) collected data from 179 students, measuring their procrastination (behavioral and decisional), worry, anxiety, depression and metacognition. The real focus of their research was on this notion of metacognition.

"Metacognition refers to the beliefs, psychological structures, events and processes that are implicated in the control, modification, and interpretation of thinking itself" (p. 320). In short, these processes are proposed to be part of the executive functions of the brain, the control components of information processing.

Of course, if the beliefs and processes are biased towards selecting maladaptive thought patterns or control strategies, there will be a problem in functioning. According to "Self-Regulatory Executive Fucntion" theory proposed by Wells & Matthews (1994), dysfunctional metacognitions are responsible for a whole host of disorders including anxiety, phobias and obsessions, to name a few that have been studied.

The purpose of the study by Spada and colleagues was to extend this theory and approach to research with procrastination. They hypothesized that there might be maladaptive metacognitions related to procrastination, and they did find some evidence of this (Note: Their study has quite a few limitations which they note, but the preliminary findings they present are of interest in terms of thinking about procrastination).

What they found1. Beliefs about cognitive confidence (e.g., "my memory can mislead me at times") was related to behavioral procrastination.

2. Positive beliefs about worry (e.g., "worrying helps me cope") was related to decisional procrastination.

In both cases, the relation between these thoughts and procrastination were independent of depression.

What this meansIn the words of the study authors, "In the case of behavioral procrastination, it is plausible to postulate that individuals who hold negative beliefs about their cognitive efficiency (a metacognitive dimension that is closely associated with negative emotions; Wells, 2000) may doubt their task performance capabilities. This is likely to adversely impact motivation as well as task initiation and persistence, leading to behavioral procrastination." [emphasis added]

"A possible explanation of the link between positive beliefs about worry and decisional procrastination could be that when an individual experiences an emotional trigger, positive beliefs about worry lead to the activation of ‘internal reality testing' or ‘mental problem solving' routines. The latter are likely to hinder decision-making processes leading to decisional procrastination" (p. 322).

Concluding thoughts . . .This research underscores the destructive effects of doubt and worry, particularly the false belief that something like ruminative worry can be productive. These irrational beliefs sustain task delay. As Spada and colleagues write, "From a therapeutic perspective these findings indicate that the modification of beliefs about cognitive confidence and positive beliefs about worry might be helpful in the treatment of procrastinatory behavior" (p. 3322).

I couldn't agree more. As I discussed in the blog entry on a Rational Emotive Therapy approach to procrastination, the key thing is to discover what the individual said to him- or herself at the time in order to justify the procrastination. If you don't change these thoughts or beliefs, the procrastination will remain a perfectly rational reaction to these very irrational beliefs.

20

Personality

Cognitions & Beliefs

The nature of ourgoals & intentions

PersonalityPersonalityPersonalityPersonality

Self-Control & Willpower

Self-Regulation Failure

Strategy #4

Challenge the negative self-talk.

Myth #5I’ll just check my email it will only take a minute.

Distractions & Rationalizations

Lavoie, J., & Pychyl, T.A. (2001). Cyber-slacking and the procrastination super highway: A Web-based survey of on-line procrastination, attitudes and emotion. Social Science Computer Review, 19, 431-444.

Jennifer Lavoie Wilfrid Laurier University

We've truly reached a new level of technological time wasting, and it's called Facebook. Talk about a study in procrastination!

So, study it we are. Jena Roy has begun this research with me at Carleton University. She conducted 3 studies for her honours thesis project this year. The first was a study of students' use of computer labs (no surprises here, lots of procrastination with Facebook). The second was a qualitative study involving interviews with students who use Facebook (we're trying to see Facebook through the eyes and words of the users). The third study was a questionnaire-based study exploring possible personality correlates of Facebook procrastination. We're still making sense of the data from the third study.

My focus for this entry is Study 2 - the interviews. For now, all I want to do is share some quotes from the interview participants as captured in Jena's thesis. Read them and post your comments about Facebook and procrastination.

Interview Quotes Below"I think it is a really big problem for me because I set aside time for a break period and it seems to get extended because of Facebook. I'll take a break and get absorbed into it, so my 15 minute break turns into an hour gone by and that is where it becomes a problem. Time flies on the Internet and it is not a cognitive process. I don't think about it."

"At first with Facebook you can spend hours on it, but eventually you really know that you are wasting your time. It is a real problem if you don't."

"I don't really have any desire or urge to use it now, it was more fun when I was procrastinating. I don't feel a need to go on the Internet when I am not procrastinating."

"You see a lot more people on Facebook during exams since they are already at the computer and it is easy to access and procrastinate."

"Facebook definitely interferes with my school work. If I see that there is a party planned I will look who is going and who had responded. And if someone has written on my girlfriend's wall, I will go and check those people out."

"It's all about whoever has the most wall posts, some people have over 2000 wall posts. They talk about things that are not important and that doesn't need to be said on there, but it makes them look like they have a life."

"I won't give up social opportunities to use Facebook, but I will have cravings and urges to check it after a night out, like an addiction. I have even taken time away from hanging out with people to go check my account, and it is always in the back of my mind."

"I know people who have had to get their roommate to delete their profile for them because they were so addicted that they could not get any studying done. Some times I think people just say they are addicted to Facebook to seem cool and get attention, it is a ridiculous thing to be addicted to."

So . . . what's going on with Facebook and procrastination? Is it just something to use when you're procrastinating (as noted by one interviewee above), or is it a procrastination-trap, a slate of tools destined to get you addicted as reflected in the final couple of quotes? Your thoughts would be very much appreciated!

Strategy #5

Pre-empt that which tempts. Make the threshold for the desired behaviour lower than for the distracting or habitual behaviours.

Myth #6

My motivational state has to match the task at hand.

Myth #6

My motivational state has to match the task at hand.

I’ll feel more like it tomorrow.

Daniel GilbertHarvard University

Poor future self!

My kitchen!

Sirois, F. & Pychyl, T.A. (2013). Procrastination and the priority of short-term mood regulation: Consequences for future self. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7, 115-127.

Christine Tappolet (University de Montreal). Canada research chair ethics and meta-ethics

Tappolet argues that procrastination involves the voluntary infliction of a burden (perhaps even pain) on our future self. It may not be a disassociation from the future self, a break in our understanding of a continuity of self, but it does involve harming future self. She argues that putting things off for the future self despite the burden (e.g., the dried dirty dishes now stuck to the counter) clearly indicates a lack of concern for the future self.

In a sense, we're passing the buck to our future self. This might make sense if I'm passing the buck to a roommate who will face the kitchen in the morning (as long as I really don't care about this person), but how can I make sense of my procrastinating on the task when it's me, in the future, who will face it? As Tappolet writes, "The lack of concern for one's future self is particularly obvious in cases of clear-eyed procrastination" (p. 125). And, given how common procrastination is, Tappolet argues that "it is a mistake to think we usually have a special concern for our future selves" (p. 126).

Instead of lacking concern for her future self, she might have a concern for them that is overridden by some other concern, such as a stronger concern for her present self" (p. 126). However, she concludes that ". . . if the future selves regularly lose to the present self, the conclusion to draw, it would seem, is that real concern for the future selves is lacking" (p. 126).

Alternatively, it is feasible to see future self as continuous with present self but not identical to future self. For example, future self is not as tired as present self is now. Future self will have more energy to face the dishes tomorrow. More energy means more willpower, something that present self lacks now. In short, present self doesn't see this as an imposition on future self, at least certainly not as much as it is on the exhausted present self

SOURCE: http://hellogiggles.com/homer-simpson’s-top-10-best-parenting-tips

You know, some day these kids will be out of

the house and you'll regret not spending more time

with them.

That's a problem for Future Homer.

Man, I don't envy that guy.

fMRI Studies

Ersner-Hershfiled, H., Wimmer, G.E., & Knutson, B. (2009). Saving for the future self: Neural measures of future self-continuity predict temporal discounting. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 4, 85-92.Hershfield, H. (June, 2013). You Make Better Decisions If You “See” Your Senior Self. Harvard Business Review, http://hbr.org/2013/06/you-make-better-decisions-if-you-see-your-senior-self/ar/1

Hal HershfieldAssistant Professor (Marketing)

NYU

Will I save for the future or spend now?

Strategy #6

Practice time travel. How will future self really feel about your choices today? Why does that matter?

Myth #7I work better under

pressure.

In search of the “Arousal Procrastinator”

Simpson, W.K., & Pychyl, T.A. (2009). In search of the arousal procrastinator: An investigation of the relation between procrastination, arousal-based personality traits and beliefs about procrastination motivations Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 906-911.

Kyle Simpson

Charles DuhiggNew York Times

“We push against the deadline to build tension. The release of tension is a powerful reward.”

“I work better under pressure”

Text

“I only work under pressure”

On working under pressure

“The mental discipline necessary to work toward a deadline is something that you must develop. It can become habit just as letting things slide until the last minute can become habit. That pattern leads to staying up all night and writing in a blind panic. Besides ruining your health, you never can write your best. If anyone tells you, “I have to wait until the pressure is on before I can start to cook”, don’t believe it. Occasionally, you maybe able to work under pressure of a deadline, but stop kidding yourself, it won’t be your best” (Hagen, 1990, pp 123-124).

Hagen, E. (1990). Advanced Techniques for Film Scoring: A Complete Text. Van Nuys: Alfred Publishing Co.

36

Vince Gassi

! There is no feeling like being on a roll! When the juices are flowing and the ideas are coming faster than you can write them down, YOU’RE A GIANT. Ten feet tall, strong as a bull with a mind like a steel trap. “Look out, world! Here comes a composing machine! Name it! Rock, Jazz, Serial, Classic, Electronics-the whole bag. I can do it all!”

37

! Then there are those “other days.” The ones in which you get up, have breakfast, take a shower; feeling fresh as a daisy you sit down to work, turn on the idea faucet, and nothing comes out but AIR! You stare at the paper until it starts to burn and all the while your brain is slowly turning to jelly. As a good friend, Quincy Jones, described it, “I’ve been under the piano all day, rolling on the floor and chewing the rug, and this turkey is due tomorrow morning.” Well, take heart! You’re not alone. All over the world, at this very moment, there are composers just like you who are “rolling on the floor and chewing the rug.”

38

Strategy #7

Be prepared to “chew the rug!”

40

Well, he’s finally done. Did we learn anything?

Strategies

1. What’s delay, what’s procrastination?

2. How am I coping?

3. Stop, stay put, identify the costs.

4. Challenge the negative self-talk.

5. Pre-empt that which tempts.

6. Practice time travel.

7. Be prepared to “chew the carpet.”

42

Personality

Cognitions & Beliefs

The nature of ourgoals & intentions

PersonalityPersonalityPersonalityPersonality

Self-Control & Willpower

Self-Regulation Failure

Want to know more?www.procrastination.ca

• Research• Self-help• Podcasts & Carpe Diem