9/30/14

POTENTIAL PD BARRIER: PROCRASTINATION SRJ EXERCISE: PROCRASTINATION PROBLEMSUNDERSTANDING WHY WE PROCRASTINATE- THE PROCRASTINATION EQUATIONSTRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING PROCRASTINATIONIN-CLASS ACTIVITY: ZEROING IN ON STRATEGIES

PSY 101: The Psychology of Personal Development

Check in

Reminders for Personal Development Project:• Be sure to do both parts of the project (at least one page

each)• Be sure to include your references (website links are fine)• Proofread before submitting!• Ideally, double space (not points taken off if not double

spaced, but it makes it easier on us to grade)• Remember to upload your file as either a word document

or a rich text format

SRJ Exercise: What’s the problem with procrastination?

We know some of the general issues with procrastination:• Short-term benefits, long-term costs• Poor quality work or missed deadlines• Missed opportunities for spontaneity

Take a few minutes to answer two questions in your SRJ:

1. When are you most likely to procrastinate?

2. What problems does procrastination create for you?

Why do we procrastinate?

Fear of failure

Inability to accurately

estimate how long it takes to do

things

Feeling like life is too short to worry about seemingly

unimportant tasks

Perfectionism

Low levels of self-control

Thinking of projects as a whole rather

than breaking them down into parts

Procrastination EquationTheory by Piers Steel, Ph.D.

• Expectancy: Perceived odds of getting a reward and whether we expect success or failure

• Value: Pleasantness of doing a task and size of reward

• Impulsiveness: Tendency to get distracted or lose focus

• Delay: Time between present task and its future reward or completion

Equation in Action

Scenario 1:

You are trying to work on a history paper but you find it mind-numbingly dull. You feel so unmotivated. You alternate between staring at a blank screen with taking breaks to check Facebook.

Problem is low value. We don’t like doing things we don’t enjoy!

VALUE to beat procrastination

Equation in Action

Scenario 2:

You were super excited about the assigned project. The topic is interesting to you and you know you can produce a high quality paper. You have done all the background research and outlined the paper; all you have left to do is fill in some text. However, you just keep putting it off. You keep getting distracted by other things that interest you.

Problem is HIGH IMPULSIVENESS. You have the tools and motivation, but you just can’t avoid distractions.

IMPULSIVENESS to beat procrastination

Equation in Action

Scenario 3:

You have been studying to take the GRE for several months. You took a class, you studied hard, and you are as prepared as you’ll ever be. However, you’re just so afraid of what your score will be. You keep putting off scheduling a test date.

Problem is LOW EXPECTANCY. You doubt your own abilities. You have learned to be helpless.

EXPECTANCY to beat procrastination

Summary for getting motivated

Increase EXPECTANCY of success and possibility of being rewarded.

Increase VALUE and pleasantness of the task.

Decrease our IMPULSIVENSS and potential for getting sidetracked by removing distractions and maintaining focus.

Decrease the DELAY of the reward by incorporating immediate, meaningful deadlines and rewards along the way.

Preview of this week’s assignment• For this week’s assignment, you will be choosing one of

the following strategies and applying it to your week.

Strategies for Reducing Impulsiveness

Race the Clock

Set a timer for 10 minutes. Work in a focused, perhaps even frantic manner for those 10 minutes, and see what you can do. Then decide whether or not to continue. Often, you will get absorbed in the task and keep going.

Strategies for Reducing Impulsiveness

• Have meaningful goals and make them visible• Remove temptations (especially technology distractions)

• Use competition; Make a game out of your task• Incorporate into a routine or habit

Strategies for Reducing Impulsiveness

• Create your own unsavory consequences for NOT meeting your goals

• Use websites like stickK.com to hold you accountable

• Use software like Freedom or Anti-Social that allow you to block Internet or social websites for period of time

• Use apps like Readability to block adds and links to other websites

Reducing Impulsiveness - Schedule distractions

• Switching among tasks is very taxing on the brain

• Do not respond to texts or emails as they arrive

• Schedule a period in which you will do all the little, distracting tasks (respond to emails and texts, clean out your DVR queue, pay bills, etc.)

• Write down tasks as you think of them… to do later

Increasing Expectancy - Chunking

• Break a big project down into a set of smaller, more manageable tasks to make it less overwhelming.

• Do something to highlight or celebrate completion of each smaller task (e.g., checking it off a list with a bright pen, tell someone you did it).

Why?• Increases expectancy – makes the task less daunting,

increases your confidence that you can do it!• Decreases delay – provides little deadlines along the way

Increasing Expectancy – Just start!

• Allot just a few minutes to simply just begin whatever it is you need to do. Ratey (2008) recommends doing the setup separate from the task in order to make it less daunting to start.

Why?• Increases expectancy – makes the task less daunting,

increases your confidence that you can do it!

Increasing Value?• What are your ideas for increasing the value of a project?

• Remember, you can increase value by…• Adding rewards• Making it more enjoyable or intrinsically rewarding• Adding meaning or relevance

More Strategies That Use Time• Match peak performance with priority projects. In other

words, work on your most important projects during the time of day you are most energetic and alert.

• Take advantage of your mental state by doing creative tasks when you first wake up

More Strategies That Use Time• Start your day over at 2 p.m. Assess where you are and

re-prioritize if necessary. Don’t give up if you didn’t finish everything you wanted to in the first part of the day!

More Strategies That Use Time• Create false deadlines: Set mini deadlines for completing

and turning in parts of the work. • When possible, have others set and impose deadlines for

you

What Research Tells Us

• Mental contrasting – Wish vs the present reality (potential obstacles)

• If-then planning – anticipating what kind of temptation might disrupt your goal.

• Keeping goal objects and objects related to temptations spatially apart from each other.

Strategies that utilize other people• Create accountability partners: Tell someone about your

goals for the day, what you plan to get done. Ask them to check in and crack the whip at an appointed time.

• Co-coaching: Find someone who has similar goals and work out a co-coaching relationship.

• Use a witness: Have a friend come over for company and “moral support” while you do a dreaded project (e.g., closet reorganization).

• Create “good stress.” Make a plan with a friend but tell them you can’t go out unless you finish X hours of work on your project first.

“Reverse Order” Strategy• Choose a day or afternoon that you can devote to being

productive.• Make a list of all major tasks to complete in that week and

start working on tasks in reverse chronological order (farthest due date to nearest)

• By the time you get to the tasks due the next morning, the looming deadline will provide enough motivation to complete them that night

More Strategies (See also this week’s assignment)• Maybe you’ve simply never experienced the good feeling

of being early?• Create a routine of success. Pick ONE task you frequently

procrastinate and break the habit once. • Observe how this makes you feel. Did you feel less

stressed? Do you prefer this feeling to that of being stressed and late? Does this provide more motivation for future responsibility?

In-Class Activity: In small groups, discuss Ratey’s strategies and identify at least three that you’ve used or think might work for you

Ratey(2008) The Disorganized Mind. Coaching Your ADHD Brain to Take Control of Your Time, Tasks, & Talents.

Keep the goal in mind

Co-coach your way forward

Separate the setup from the task

Establish and meet the minimal goal

Limit time spent on making plans

Use rewards as good stress

Create false deadlines

Use a witness

Use a model

Beware productive procrastination

Match peak performance with priority projects

Do the most important thing first thing in the morning

Remember the pain of the past; Consider risks of procrastinating

Make actions concrete

Always have a backup plan

Share your goals

Create “safe” high stakes for yourself

Each day write down your primary goal, & at the end of the day list what you did and mark off what was connected to your goal