October 28, 200912:00 – 1:00 P.M.

Room 2-334Green Room

Procrastination 102COPE Workshop

Patrick Fleming, Student Leadership DevelopmentAnthony Webb, Counseling Services

Plan for the WorkshopOctober 28, 2009 – Wednesday

AGENDA ITEM:• Look at Procrastination

• Reasons for Procrastination• Fear of Success?• Cost of Procrastination

• Success – Personal Leadership Skills – Emotional Intelligence

• Initiative • Insights – People – Action Plan Ideas

• Procrastination 102 Exercise• What Causes YOU to Procrastinate

Look at Procrastination

Four Simple Reasons for Procrastination

1. Difficult• Task seems to hard to do.• Avoid difficult things in favor of those which seem easy to

us.

2. Time-consuming• Task will take large blocks of time.• Large blocks of time are unavailable until the weekend.

3. Lack of knowledge or skills• No one wants to make a mistake.• Wait until you learn how before you start.

4. Fears• Everyone will know how you messed up.• I can never be successful.

Four Complex Reasons for Procrastination

1. Perfectionism• Everything must go completely right.• Long on criticism and short on praise.

2. Anger/Hostility• Unhappy with someone, we’ll often withhold our best

efforts.• Delay a project as a way of “getting even.”

3. Low Frustration Tolerance• You find situations radically intolerable and terribly unfair. • Characterized by whining and complaining.

4. Self-Downing• Minimize your own skills and abilities.• Express doubt about your ability to succeed.

Fear of Success

“Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate

because they are afraid of the success that they know will

result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the ‘someday I’ll’ philosophy.”

Denis Waitley, author

Waitley Institute

Fear of Success

• Being afraid to achieve the very things that we want.

• Self-defeating thinking, such as:– “I don’t deserve it”– “If I achieve what I set out to do, everyone will know that I

don’t really deserve it”– “If I get it I won’t be able to sustain it. Why try?”– “If I am successful, someone will come along who is better

than me. Then, what will happen to me?”– “If I am successful, my relationships will change and I’ll

have to make new friends. My current friends would never accept a more successful me.”

Fear of Success

• Self-defeating thinking leads to self-defeating actions

– Doing the wrong thing even when you know the right thing to do

• That way, one can avoid having to deal with success.

– Minimizing your accomplishments so they are ultimately negated

• Then, you don’t have to live up to being all that you really are.

– Feeling guilty when you have a success.• Creates a slowdown in momentum, hesitancy to act, and a self-

fulfilling inability to move on to another success.

• What to do differently– Act in a way that will help build a sense of self

• Find ways to encourage and acknowledge accomplishments of those around you

– Seek people who have your permission to provide feedback – positive and negative – about your progress.

– When someone compliments you, respond with a firm “Thank You!”

Fear of Success

Cost of Procrastination

• Your health– Evidence of compromised immune systems

• More colds, flu, and gastrointestinal problems

– Insomnia

• Shifts the burden of responsibilities onto others, who become resentful

• Destroys teamwork in the workplace and private relationships

• Other costs?

Procrastination –

NOW!!

Procrastination can affect your success. Overcome

procrastination by enhancing your personalleadership skills and understanding

theimportance emotional

intelligenceplays in the process.

“Waiting is a trap. There will always be reasons to wait. The truth is, there are only two things in life, reasons and results, and reasons simply don't count.”

Dr. Robert Anthony www.drrobertanthony.com

Procrastination 102 Quotes(Handout)

“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results."

Art Turock www.turock.com

Procrastination 102 Quotes(Handout)

“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do when it ought to be done whether you like it or not."

Thomas Huxley Educator (1825-1898)

Procrastination 102 Quotes(Handout)

“Waiting is a trap. There will always be reasons to wait. The truth is, there are only two things in life, reasons and results, and reasons simply don't count.”

Dr. Robert Anthony www.drrobertanthony.com

“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do when it ought to be done whether you like it or not."

Thomas Huxley Educator (1825-1898)

“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results."

Art Turock www.turock.com

Procrastination 102 Quotes(Handout)

“Success is the progressive realization of a predetermined

worthwhile goal”

Definition of SuccessJohn C. Maxwell – “Talent is Never Enough”

Success is not an event; it is a process

When you engage in a process that takes time, focus is essential

Only people capable of remaining focused can expect to direct their talent and achieve a level of success

(Handout)

DWYSYWD:

DoWhatYouSayYouWillDoSay – Clear about your beliefs, know what you stand forDo – Put what you say into practice, must

act on your beliefs, and “do”“The Leadership Challenge”, 4th EditionAuthors: Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner

(Handout)

Time Management Tips for College Students

1. Acknowledge Your Priorities

2. Plan ahead

3. Multi-Task…Very Selectively

4. Know Your Limits

5. Be Responsible

(Handout)

Twelve Principles of Personal Leadership

1. The Right Visionary Goals2. Continuous Education3. Maintaining Your Health4. Driving Forward5. Utilizing Your Resources6. Dealing with the Disappointments7. A Life in Balance8. Simple Diversions9. Meaningful Relationships10. Know Thyself11. Passionately Positive12. Embracing Spirituality

PersonalLeadership

Development

1. Emotional Self-Perception

2. Honest Self-Understanding

3. Healthy Self-Esteem

4. Emotional Self-Control

5. Authenticity

6. Flexibility

7. Achievement

8. Optimism

9. Initiative

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

Habit 6: Synergize

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Seven Habits – Stephen Covey

Emotional Intelligence – Consciousness of Self (9)

Lead

ersh

ip Sinclair

CEO

Leadership Sinclair, CEO

Student Leadership DevelopmentBuilding 8 – Lower Level – Room 8025

(937) 512-2509 “Developing Student Leadership Potential”

(Handout)

Personal Leadership Development

“Principles only work….if you work the principles.”

Jack Canfield

emotional intelligence – the ability to comprehend one’s emotions, empathize with the feelings of others, and interact with people in ways that promote congenial and nourishing relationships.

(Handout)

Emotional Intelligence – Competencies (21)

1. Emotional Self-Perception2. Honest Self-Understanding3. Healthy Self-Esteem4. Emotional Self-Control5. Authenticity6. Flexibility7. Achievement8. Optimism9. Initiative

1. Empathy2. Citizenship3. Inspiration4. Influence5. Coaching6. Change Agent7. Conflict Management8. Developing Relationships9. Teamwork10. Capitalizing on

Difference

Consciousness of Others (10)

Consciousness of Self (9)

1. Environmental Awareness2. Group Savvy

Consciousness of Context (2)

(Handout)

Insights on Initiative

People Who Lack Initiative

Initiative Action Plan

1. Initiative is the first step to anywhere you want to go– Where you finish in life isn’t determined so much by where

you start as by whether you start– Successful people initiate – and they follow through

2. Initiative closes the door to fear– If you want to close the door on fear, get moving– Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence.– Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear

3. Initiative opens the door to opportunity

– Anyone who doesn’t take initiative is almost guaranteed to fail

– Can’t wait until everything is perfect to act and expect to be successful

Initiative Activates Your TalentInsights on Initiative

4. Initiative eases life’s difficulties– “Nothing is so fatiguing as the hanging on of an

uncompleted task.”- William James

– The only way to get rid of a difficult task is to do it. That takes initiative

5. Initiative is often the difference between success

and failure– Without it, true potential is never reached– Goals are not achieved

Initiative Activates Your TalentInsights on Initiative

1. People who lack initiative fail to see the consequences of inaction

– “It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.” – Sir Josiah Stamp

– Whatever we do - or fail to do – will catch up with us in the end

2. People who lack initiative want someone else to motivate them

– Motivation comes from within.– If we wait for others to motivate us, what happens when a

coach, a boss, or other inspirational person doesn’t show up

Initiative Activates Your TalentPeople Who Lack Initiative

3. People who lack initiative look for the perfect time to act

– “He who deliberates fully before taking a step will spend his entire life on one leg.” – Chinese proverb

– For many people, the tragedy isn’t that life ends to soon; it’s that they wait too long to begin it

4. People who lack initiative like tomorrow better than today

– Focus your attention on today instead of tomorrow– “Tomorrow is the only day in the year that appeals to a lazy

man.” - Jimmy Lyons

– For people who never start, their difficulties never stop

Initiative Activates Your TalentPeople Who Lack Initiative

InitiativeWanting and Seeking Opportunities

The Characteristics of Initiative

• Those who seek people and resources to assist themalong their journey or with their project or ideas

• Individuals who always seem to be ahead of the curve

• Have a passion for what they are doing

• Laser-like focus

1. Accept responsibility for your life– “To move the world we must first move ourselves.” –

Socrates– Responsibility and initiative are inseparable– You cannot wish your way to success– You need to take responsibility and act

2. Examine your reasons for not initiating– Separate legitimate reasons from excuses– An excuse puts the blame on someone or something outside

you– Easier to move from failure to success than from excuses to

success– Eliminate excuses

Initiative Activates Your TalentInitiative Action Plan

(Handout)

3. Focus on the benefits of completing a task– Procrastination is the fertilizer that makes difficulties grow– If you procrastinate about a task – it is a necessary one

• If it’s not, don’t put it off; eliminate it

– Focus on what you’ll get out of it if you get it done• Will completing the task bring a financial benefit?• Will it clear the way for something else you would like to do?• Does it represent a milestone in you personal growth and

development?• At the very least, does it help to clear the decks for you

emotionally?

4. Share your goal with a friend who will help you– No one achieves success alone– Share your goals and dreams with people who care about

you and will encourage and assist you in accomplishing them

Initiative Activates Your TalentInitiative Action Plan

5. Breaking large tasks down into smaller ones– Divide it by categories– Prioritize it by importance– Order it by sequence– Assign it by abilities– Accomplish it by teamwork

6. Allocate specific times to tasks you might procrastinate

– “The greatest time wasted is the time getting started.”- Dawson

Trotman– The hardest part of writing a letter is penning the first line– Schedule a specific time for something you don’t like doing

Initiative Activates Your TalentInitiative Action Plan

7. Remember, preparation includes doing– “The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”

- Louis L’Amour– Desire isn’t enough. – Good intentions aren’t enough.– Talent isn’t enough.– Success requires initiative– Plans are nothing…unless they are followed with action. Do

it now!

Initiative Activates Your TalentInitiative Action Plan

Success flows from Doing, not from planning

The 3 F’s• Faith

• Overcome doubts

• Focus• Single mindedly work on the task at hand• Concentrate• Directs your efforts and energy

• Follow-through• Take responsibility and act• Carry-out task, event, etc. to completion• Execute on your plan

• Other ideas• Education is FREEDOM!• Raises your level of expectations

Ethel Washington-HarrisSinclair Graduate, DP&L Official, andFormer Sinclair Board of Trustees MemberSinclair CommencementJune 12, 2009