Procrastination is a state that anyone has experienced in some way or another, but for some people, this condition becomes habitual and continues to drag on every day, if a person does not resist it. Creative individuals and perfectionists are most prone to procrastination.
Procrastination - what is it?
What is procrastination - the definition of a phenomenon in the English translation of "procrastination" literally means "delay", "postponing" - the propensity of the individual to postpone urgent and important cases. Procrastination often turns into a chronic form, giving rise to psychological problems in the form of constant stresses, anxiety, which complicates a person's life.
Procrastination in psychology
Conscious procrastination is the removal of less significant cases to the background, in order to pay attention to what is significant in the current regime. In reality, it happens more often on the contrary, and psychologists see this as a huge problem of modern society. The person creates the illusion that if he remakes all the small things at the very beginning, he "clears" his space for the accomplishment of an important matter, but somehow small things start to fall in a geometric progression, and the concentration on the important one is postponed "for tomorrow ".
Signs of procrastination
Detect the syndrome of procrastination in your home, you need to watch for yourself during the day. Signs of a procrastinator:
- planned cases are postponed for an indefinite period of time;
- execution time is constantly broken;
- there are always justifications, why the task was not made, the decision is not made;
- Aggravated over time, a sense of guilt, anger at themselves and irritation produced by others;
- the realization that the problem of procrastination exists;
- being in constant stress due to the accumulation of uninitiated or unfinished business;
- low energy level.
The reasons for procrastination
The fight against procrastination will not be successful unless the causes of this phenomenon are identified, they can be the following:
- low motivation or complete absence of it;
- fear of failure;
- perfectionism;
- a matter or task that needs to be accomplished is caused by rejection, rejection and even hostility;
- inability to switch in time;
- lack of choice and free creative approach to the solution;
- external pressure;
- a clear timeframe;
- unwillingness to take responsibility;
- inability to plan time.
Types of procrastination
How to overcome procrastination - at the initial stage it is necessary to classify this phenomenon. Foreign experts, social psychologists: N. Milgram D. Moorer, D. Bathory in their studies of procrastination, identified 5 types:
- Household (daily) - inability to control time, delaying as a vital strategy.
- Procrastination in decision-making consists in the difficulty of deciding in a clearly defined time period, this applies even to small, insignificant decisions.
- Compulsive procrastination is a chronic phenomenon of procrastination, deferral concerning any activity.
- Neurotic procrastination - postponing in making decisions on important cases, at certain life and age stages, may be associated with fears.
- Academic procrastination - characteristic for people of scientific, educational spheres, students, teachers, manifests itself in postponing, postponing the time periods for the development of projects, the implementation of educational, practical tasks.
Laziness and procrastination
Such phenomena as procrastination and laziness are far from identical. If laziness can be designated as idle existence and lack of desire for work, then procrastination is expressed in a habit developed to postpone business the next day. The initial motivation can be strong, the person sits down for work, but starts distracting to some trifles, remembers that you need to wash the window, make dinner and as a snowball organize other numerous cases that require your attention and they are done, you can get to work , but there are already no forces and resources.
How to overcome procrastination, masquerading as laziness? Work should be commensurate, it is important to allocate fixed breaks for rest and relaxation. Sometimes procrastination is a way of the organism to broadcast a signal about a respite necessary for it from routine, exhausting actions. Procrastinators, unlike lazy people, do a lot of things, "spinning like a squirrel in a wheel" their main problems: inability to plan time and prioritize tasks.
Perfectionism and procrastination
The problem of procrastination can sometimes be covered in the syndrome of perfectionism , when a person has a fear of doing something that is not perfect, because a perfectionist should do everything "Cool!", So it's better that he does not do it completely than the shortcomings and shortcomings, will have to blush. Perfectionism and procrastination, often intertwined phenomena. The perfectionist reacts very painfully to criticism, and this is the main problem of procrastination and low productivity, so here one needs to "treat" the main symptom - perfectionism.
Initial help for perfectionists:
- take responsibility for your life;
- to cease to depend on someone else's opinion;
- start doing what you like without fear, that it will be criticized;
- if there is no knowledge of "how to start correctly", you just need to start "at least somehow" to gain experience and productivity;
- remember that everyone once started small.
Procrastination - how to get rid?
Lovers of postponing business for "tomorrow" inevitably face reality in the form of various unpleasant consequences, but even this does not make everyone value time as a resource, only a small part of people realize the insidiousness of procrastination and is ready to change their lives. How to deal with procrastination - the recommendations of psychologists:
- learn how to plan your day;
- Priority important matters to try to do in the morning, when the concentration is high;
- between affairs to make small breaks for relaxation, or a little physical exertion;
- record in the diary of their small progress and victories;
- after the completion of the task should be followed by encouragement.
The fight against procrastination - exercises
So, the problem is realized, at this stage it is important to start using working techniques that will launch the mechanism of changes and it is necessary to understand that a certain amount of time should be allocated to the ordering of life and current tasks. How to cope with procrastination, exercises:
- Letters from the future . A letter is written to itself, where messages are sent in a polite, motivating form, for example, "I hope that you have already advanced / advanced in studying English, writing 10 pages of the book." When sending a message, use the function "deferred sending". This simple technique helps to move along the planned path.
- " Eat the elephant ." The task is difficult and unreal, but if you try to "break" the whole elephant, so small portions will be more correct process, not causing rejection and panic . The process is a breakdown of the task into stages, setting deadlines for each stage and summarizing, correcting the goal or task, if required.
- " Why should I do this ?". The case must be done, the mind understands it, and the subconscious resists and does not see any important reasons to start doing it right now and any prescriptions such as "It is necessary!", "You must!" It does not hear. What to do in this case? Ask yourself the question "Why personally do I need to do this?" And to be extremely honest in answering. If the answer reveals motivating factors: money, fame, recognition, respect - this will help to concentrate and start to do, if they are not, it is better to give up the pursuit of this goal, because it is imposed by someone, but perceived as one's own.
Procrastination - treatment
Procrastination is a disease or a special inclination of a person, his state of debauchery, which, if desired, can be corrected? Postponement of cases for later is not a disease in the literal sense, and the cure for procrastination in the metaphorical sense is a series of actions, the formation of new habits and the consolidation of results. Sometimes, procrastination can indirectly indicate a syndrome of chronic fatigue, when there is no strength to perform even ordinary daily actions, phobias, in this case, it will be superfluous to consult a therapist to differentiate these states.
Procrastination - book
You can organize your work day so that everything is time-consuming and all the important projects have been completed on time, if you do not have enough skills and you want to streamline your life, the well-known bestseller "Win Procrastination" by P. Ludwig of the European coach for personal development, his the book, how to defeat procrastination, contains a unique method of getting rid of the "ailment" of postponing deeds and life for an indefinite time. P. Ludwig on his own example examined this "insidious" phenomenon and developed effective steps to overcome.
After reading the book and following the procedure, the following important changes occur:
- reveals the creative potential of man;
- the day is as efficient and full as possible;
- returns the joy of life and self-respect;
- all cases are implemented on time.