time management and procrastination

ABC analysis

A - Most important or urgent B - Important but not urgent C - Meaningful - but not of much importance or urgent can take it a step further and assign A1, A2, A3 ranking system

fear of failure

A fear of failure is a common reason people procrastinate. For some people, this fear of failure elicits feelings like frustration, sadness, disappointment, anger, shame, and regret.

imposter phenomenon

Another way the fear of success impacts procrastination is via the imposter phenomenon,a feeling of inadequacy that persists despite evidence to the contrary perfectionist suffer from this as well

fear of success

People who struggle with a might be afraid they won't be able to continue performing at the expected level to continue to be successful

Self compassion

Practicing self-kindness means resisting being overly self-critical and being kind to ourselves through self-soothing and positive self-talk instead. By recognizing common humanity, we see that imperfection is a universal human experience and realize our connections to others instead of feeling isolated. Mindfulness means experiencing uncomfortable or painful thoughts by neither exaggerating them nor avoiding them. By taking a more balanced approach to our emotions, we can prevent negative self-talk from perpetuating procrastination. Mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindful self-compassion strategies have been shown to be effective when it comes to fostering self-compassion (Birnie, Speca, & Carlson, 2010; Lee & Bang, 2010; Neff & Germer, 2012; Rimes & Wingrove, 2011).

5 minute strategy

This strategy is a cognitive behavior therapy technique in which a person commits to working on a task they would otherwise avoid, but only for five minutes.

Passive procrastinators

are people who procrastinate in the traditional sense of the word and are often paralyzed by their indecision to act.

Active procrastinators

are those who prefer to work under pressure and thus deliberately decide to procrastinate. It has been suggested that active procrastinators are intentionally raising their level of challenge, which many find enjoyable and can lead to increased feelings of motivation

Negative self-talk

can be a common side-effect of cognitive distortions or perfectionism.

Procrastination

can be thought of as the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished or that is deemed as necessary for a particular outcome. It is often described as postponing, delaying, putting off, or waiting until the last minute before addressing the task, whether it be writing a paper, cleaning the bathroom, having a difficult conversation with a friend, or taking action around changing a health behavior like sleep, physical activity, or eating habits.

finding other means of improving mood

his means that finding other means of improving mood—like through humor, physical activity, rest, or talking with a friend—might help combat the cyclical patterns between procrastination and negative mood.

Good options for breaks

stretching calling a friend or family member take a fast shower do something creative run a quick errand

effort regulation

—the tendency to maintain the focus and effort toward goals, despite potential distractions—was linked to active procrastination (Kim and Seo, 2013). In other words, active procrastinators might be meeting deadlines with acceptable results due to effort regulation.

Selfe efficacy

Self-efficacy is defined as: people's judgment of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performance. It is not concerned with the skills that one has, but with the judgments of what one can do with whatever skills one possesses. (Bandura, 1986, p. 391)

strategies for building d]self efficacy

Experience successes or master the ability to overcome obstacles. When it comes to building self-efficacy, direct experiences are the most important sources of information. In other words, trying new activities or approaches to a task can help build self-efficacy. This also provides an opportunity to try out coping strategies and problem-solving techniques. The more successes one experiences, the more their self-efficacy will grow in that area. Imagine experiences of both success and failure. By imagining ourselves or others in hypothetical situations, we can actually learn a lot about what we hope to achieve and how we might get there. This might be an imagined response to something that actually happened, hasn't happened yet, or may never happen. For example, if a student imagines they have successfully presented a project in class, this may influence their self-efficacy around public speaking. Social modeling: Seeing others succeed in our everyday lives helps lead us to believe we are capable of succeeding, too. For example, an individual sees that a friend learned how to prepare easy, nutritious lunches at the beginning of each week and brings one with her to class each day, leading the individual to have a heightened sense of self-efficacy around making a similar change. Social persuasion: Hearing from others, particularly those we admire or look up to, that we are capable and resourceful helps us believe that we are. Our family members, supervisors, instructors, and coaches can make an impact on our self-efficacy by simply believing we are capable. Similarly, you can be this person for others; how can you persuade someone you know that they have what it takes to achieve their goals, even if they aren't successful 100% of the time? Pay attention to and take care of your physical and mental health needs. Being mindful of our physiological and psychological state can provide important information regarding what we might need or how we feel, but know that how we feel physically and mentally can negatively influence self-efficacy; it informs how capable we think we are. Simply feeling tired or mentally drained can impact self-efficacy. Consider experimenting with new self-care strategies and coping techniques, identifying your stress triggers and patterns, and asking for help when you need it (Maddux, 2009) to build your skills. Clarify the criteria around a success. How one defines success matters a great deal when it comes to self-efficacy. One strategy for combating maladaptive perfectionism—and boosting self-efficacy—is to better define or broaden the definition of success. If one's definition begins to include learning from missteps or lapses, effectively adapting to an unexpected change of plans, or trying a new approach to a task even if it ends up not being a good fit, then the number of successes on which self-efficacy is built inherently grows. For example, a student tries a dance class as a new form of physical activity. They don't feel especially coordinated doing the movements in the class and are undecided about whether or not they'll participate in the class again; however, they did try something new and got 45 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, so they consider it a success.

Strategies for combating the fear of the unkown

Focus on what could be. Ask yourself, what are good things that could come from this situation? It can help to get insights from other people who have been through similar situations or experiences who might find other positive benefits that might not naturally occur to you. Understand the root of the fear. Complete this sentence: "I am afraid of *blank* because *blank*." Examine your past; does the fear come from certain situations or memories in your past? How did you or others handle the situation, and how did that impact your feelings about taking action? If you find it difficult to do this alone, consider talking with a close friend or another supportive person to help you identify connections or patterns in your thoughts. Make a pros/cons list. Consider possible outcomes of the action, and then make a pro/con list for each of those potential outcomes. Just the act of creating the list and writing out the pros and cons can provide feelings of control, which, as a result, can help mitigate the stress of the unknown. Practice mindfulness. Experiment with various mindfulness techniques, such as meditation, yoga, or keeping a journal. Being present in the moment allows for more space to be aware of your thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations, and can help you come up with strategies for addressing the fear.

Calendar Tips

-Account for travel or prep time for each activity. -Schedule your activities for peak efficiency -Use the time you've set aside for each item for that task alone -Be strategic in overlapping tasks -Keep a list of non-priority tasks. -Reflect at the end of each day or week.

to combat distraction

-go offline -change your environment -declutter you environment -use momentum -do the worst first

strategies for combating the fear of success

Ask yourself, "What will happen if I succeed?" Give this question your conscious attention and consider what underlying fears are getting in the way. You might discover that you don't want to achieve a particular outcome after all; perhaps the negative side effects outweigh the positives. If that's the case, feel proud that you authentically considered what matters most to you and made your decision based on your needs and desires. Keep an attitude of learning and growth. Remember that success is not a destination; it is a journey that is defined by you. Consider how you define success and challenge yourself to recognize all the ways you are successful. For example, a student decides to reframe their societal success—like landing a specific job in a specific career, for example—to a success of being significant— by recognizing and believing that who they are in the world is significant and makes a positive impact on others. Frame success within the dimensions of the wellbeing model. Ask yourself how you're defining success in this moment. Then, consider how your definition fits within the dimensions of wellbeing model of health, relationships, security, purpose, community, and environment. You'll likely find that you have many other areas of life that are important to you, such as spending time with loved ones or enjoying hobbies, and that true success is defined by many ways of doing or being.

cognitive distortions

Automatic thoughts known as cognitive distortion are biased ways of thinking about the world or ourselves; cognitive distortions are often inaccurate, exaggerated, or otherwise dysfunctional. They might help us justify our less healthy behaviors or contribute to procrastination. Many different types of cognitive distortions exist.

strategies for combating fear of failure

Reframe your goals. If you've set a specific goal, consider a range goal instead. Or, take time to rethink your objectives and reframe your goal to be around how you want to feel, rather than what you want to accomplish. Visualize yourself overcoming obstacles. Envision yourself achieving your goals by creating a mental image of the process it would take to reach your desired outcome, using all of your senses. This strategy is commonly used by athletes and performers and has been shown to have a positive effect on performance (Thelwell & Greenless, 2003). While visualization does not guarantee success, our minds are powerful. These visualization exercises and mental rehearsals are interpreted as real by our brains. Consider what has been learned. Think about other times you've struggled with fear or didn't feel good about the outcomes of the action. Then ask yourself: What did I learn from the experience? How can I grow as a person from this experience? What are three positive things about this experience? Allow yourself to feel the fear. Give yourself space to really experience and deeply feel the emotion for a certain amount of time, such as five minutes. Then, pay attention to how the emotion is manifested in the body. Where do you feel tension or tightness? Use breathing techniques or progressive muscle relaxation to release tension from the body.

cognitive distortion examples

Selective Abstraction: Focusing on the negative and filtering out the positive. Fear of negative or critical feedback one might receive while attempting to make a change or complete a task could lead an individual to resist getting started. Additionally, knowing that parts of a task or project might be unpleasant could prevent them from also seeing the positive aspects or outcomes associated with following through. Fortune Telling: Reacting based on expectations of future events as if the outcome is already known. One example would be avoiding setting a goal around sleep during the middle of the academic term and saying to one's self, "This is impossible to maintain considering how much school work I have right now." Emotional Reasoning: Interpreting an emotional response as truth. For example, instead of just feeling unsure or worried about approaching a task, the person thinks, "I feel really anxious about this task, so I'd better not tackle it now" or "I'd better save this for a time I'm not feeling so overwhelmed." Comparison with Others: Comparing one's self and feeling inferior to others. For example, an individual feels their peers are much more qualified than they are and puts off getting started on grad school applications. Another example might be saying to one's self, "Why even try to fit more physical activity into my day? My roommate runs every morning and I'll never be that active." Should Statements: Feeling pressured that we should behave in a certain way or do certain things regardless of current abilities or how realistic the should actually is. Should statements may also be based on inauthentic motivation or may not be fully thought through yet, which can lead individuals to put off actually acting on them. Dichotomous Thinking: Making a quick judgement about whether something fits in one category or another, usually positive or negative. This can lead to procrastination if someone believes they must fully complete a task and execute it perfectly or it isn't worth their time. For example, they might say to themselves, "Making small improvements to my nutritional habits is ineffective, and I can't really spend the time and energy to do it right." Control Fallacy: The belief that we either a) have no control over our lives, or b) we are in complete control of ourselves and our surroundings. Both can be unhelpful and equally inaccurate. No one is in complete control of what happens to them; at the same time, everyone has at least some control over their situations. Those who feel out of control may have a hard time initiating tasks or taking on large or high-stakes projects and those who feel they have complete control may get frustrated when unexpected barriers arise.

Self regulation

Self-regulation can be defined as our ways of knowing when to initiate, maintain, or terminate actions around a goal. Much research has been done around procrastination being a "failure to self-regulate" during times of stress or high cognitive load

fear of the unknown

Sometimes, we procrastinate due to fears of the unknown. When we experience a fear of the unknown, procrastination occurs because the current status, belief system, or our current knowledge about the issue is less frightening than learning the truth.