psychology of procrastination podcast

People with Imposter Syndrome believe if someone knew the real them, they would never receive the same level of trust or responsibility. It has an impact on our immune system, makes us more vulnerable to catching bugs and flus and colds and all kinds of other stress-related illnesses. So for me, my system is quite tailored to my personality. A couple of names popped up, Margaret Atwood, J.K. Rowling for example, who are also highly productive. Other people have struggled with this task too. So I think that's kind of the extreme case over several decades. CURT NICKISCH: How do you know when theres a good reason for procrastinating or when its actually just being counterproductive? Willpower is like a muscle. Mindfulness is another way to help fix procrastination. That if you notice a funny mole or you notice a funny lump or something, or change in your bowel habit of it or whatever it is, that is an area where procrastination can be deadly. In immersive interviews, Adam vividly brings his observations to life, weaving together stories with social science and revealing key insights in a friendly, accessible style. Procrastination thrives in secrecy and isolation. "At its core, procrastination is about not being able to manage your moods and emotions. So the classic example thats always used in any intro psych textbook is driving: that once were not a novice driver anymore, whenever we sit in the driver seat of a car, we go through a sequence of behaviors without really even thinking about what we are doing. But again, these very much are self-regulation strategies. So if you have a consistent study habit, it becomes easier to resist distractions. In psychology, we never think of cognition, emotions and behavior as being separate. Were all prone to procrastinate. You can learn about my research at procrastination. One of the findings I really like is about ambivalent emotions. In her 30+-year career in communications, Mills has extensive media experience, including being interviewed by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and other top-tier print media. So yeah, I would say there is some evidence suggest men might procrastinate a little bit more than women, but it's not a huge difference and we may get some evidence in the coming years that that levels out because I think it is really driven also by what's going on. Be honest with yourself in your answer. ALICE BOYES: Yeah, so people will have heard a lot about habits in recent years. When we shift over and we look at adults who are now out in the workforce, they've got their degrees and they're out there just getting on with their lives, it's still fairly high in terms of the chronic procrastination. These include relationships, being assertive, struggling with guilt and/or procrastination, children and teenager's behavior, anxiety disorders, anger management, kids and divorce, self-esteem, child visitation, weight control, forgiveness, ADHD, addictions, and my latest, mood disorders. Why is it so easy to fall into this trap even when we know better? When youre doing work that has more potential to be impactful, its usually more uncertain. So actually looking at more objective measures using Smart watches to track people's behavior, their physical activity and seeing again, if in fact people who are prone to procrastination are actually being less active than others. ALICE BOYES: Yeah, often the emotional intolerance isnt really about just a task being boring or unpleasant. I've done some preliminary work looking at using self-compassion to address procrastination and it does suggest that it at least increases people's intentions to get on with the task and not procrastinate, but I want to follow up with some research to actually track that. Mills: Right. ALICE BOYES: Yeah, it absolutely is. That frustration is a sign we are trying to change, but it isnt helpful in the actual change. But it makes sense though too, because if you're stressed all the time and you're not looking after your health, these healthy behaviorsand stress and health behaviors are two key pathways to good health and when you don't engage in them, we know that they are risk factors for poor heart health. What are the sort of consequences that they experience? I'm going to write that report by Friday. And that's the other thing too, it's usually a task that held some importance. And so we know it's associated with higher rates of depression and anxiety, definitely higher rates of stress, that's one thing I found consistently, not just with students that I've done research with, but also adults out in the community. They think of it as being about daily habits. So that's one project that I'll be working on and looking at sort of existing research out there to see if the mean levels of procrastination, chronic procrastination that is, have gone up, especially in student samples over the last couple of decades. Well, I want to thank you for joining me today, Dr. Sirois. (Message automatically replaces this text). For example, there's some countries where deadlines are loose, trains and planes don't run on fixed schedules. This automatically undercuts any excuses youll have because ultimately, the task, if youve signed up for it, aligns with your values. And there's been some research on that. And things like with healthcare, that would be an example. So rather than frame it in terms of productivity, which I think feeds into a lot of our social norms about what we should and shouldn't be doing and how much we should and shouldn't be doing, I'd rather frame it around whether you're reaching your goals or not or do you have all these things you started and never finished, do you have all these unfulfilled goals that you just never got round to doing because of fear of failure or just worried it wasn't going to be good enough or worried whether you could manage maybe some of the challenges that you might face when you engage with that task? Sometimes the emotion will disguise itself as a physical sensation, such as anxiousness, nausea, or a rapid heartbeat. And uncertainty is one of those emotions that people really do avoid. The research psychologist, author and DePaul University professor sits down for a truly delightful exploration of why we procrastinate, how prevalent it is, when it becomes harmful, some myths about procrastination, why it's similar to gambling, how . They dont think, Oh, I need to reduce all these negative emotions or theyre going to cause me to go off track with my goals. They associate strong emotions with propelling them to their goals, not with them taking them away from their goals. So ambivalent emotion is when youre feeling fearful and exhilarated all at the same time or any combination of intense positive and intense negative emotions. What purpose does it serve? He doesnt do video. Some people find it easier to do things for other people than themselves. Sometimes its a much deeper seated thing than that. Welcome to Speaking of Psychology, the flagship podcast of the American Psychological Association that examines the links between psychological science and everyday life. And that's enough to keep us from actually getting started on the task. Mills: You also study perfectionism, which is a topic that we recently talked about on another episode of this podcast. We often dont start the project early enough to know how much time well actually need.Ive planned and organized how I will complete the task, its time for a break!. How does this play out interpersonally? Make the goals small and manageable, and focus only on what the very next step should be. CURT NICKISCH: One of the really fascinating things that jumped out at me in your work was this idea of emotional granularity. Adam Grant posted this interesting thing on Instagram a few weeks ago where he said, I wouldve started on Instagram a long, long time ago if I had realized I could just repost my words, if I could just post pictures of my words rather than having to post pictures and videos that we more associate with Instagram. And obviously he does these, theyre essentially like tweets, theyre just these little quotes. Identify the emotions you feel that are associated with past tasks you havent completed. And thats something that people with psychological flexibility are able to do. Sirois: Great question. But we can easily say it's all to do with mood management," Sirois says. Earlier in the morning, when your cortisol is high, when your brain is fresh, youll be able to take on the tasks youll need to be highly motivated for. What are you working on now? But also it feels like it is approaching the tasks in a way that uses my strengths. Et la procrastination on peut la trouver aussi chez les personnes qui souhaitent gurir. CURT NICKISCH: Whats your understanding of procrastination? And then back to the psychological flexibility concept of using the difficult emotions that arise. You dont have to be a member of Procrastinators Anonymous to appreciate how paralyzing procrastination can be. A common but counter-intuitive driver of procrastination is fear of failure. Sirois: The quick answer is you can't. Thank you for joining me today, Dr. Sirois. People who chronically procrastinate or procrastinate regularly don't progress through their company as well. Im Curt Nickisch. She explains the different causes of procrastination and shares three. And it sounds counterintuitive because collectively we like to think about productivity and just crack the whip and get going. Download a good meditation, or use the app Headspace, and practice it daily to develop a habit of mindfulness. We think about the immediate damage it can cause. And so what does this system look like? The other thing I do is a pre-mortem. For further reading on procrastination, check out some of Timothy Pychyls research. Were all prone to it. Our sound editor is Chris Condayan. Then you'll end up being both a procrastinator and very depressed. Make those goals realistic so you dont talk yourself out of them. Or you may just do it from time to time depending on the circumstances. I want the other person, if theyre waiting on something from me, I want them to understand that its not because theyve done anything wrong or Im angry at them, or I just want to take that uncertainty off their plate. And that might be something that is a really strong value for you that you can use as a motivator. She has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, Hannity and Colmes, CSPAN, and the BBC, to name a few of her broadcast engagements. However, we can strengthen our willpower through routine exercise. And we know that self-compassion can be a very powerful tool for regulating negative emotions, and that's another approach too, especially if we're really struggling and just sayit's not giving yourself a free pass. For the American Psychological Association, I'm Kim Mills. Its incredibly successful. And this is where some people can get caught in the trap of procrastination as almost a chronic habit or way of dealing with these unpleasant tasks. Theyre the same thing he does everywhere else, but he puts them on Instagram. We protect the self temporarily by avoiding the task that threatens it. Mills: Given that these famous alleged procrastinators maybe weren't procrastinators at all, I thought it was interesting that there weren't a lot of women on the list that I saw. Danny draws on the expertise of clinical psychologists, physicians, psychiatrists and researchers in his new podcast, and he has already taken on a variety of challenging and interesting topics. So the classic example is the student who the only time they ever clean their dorm room is when they should be studying for exams. It would be more accurate to say, "I work under pressure." Starting with thinking of different ways to approach it is probably the most important one for me. And what they have figured out through habits research is that when a behavior becomes more automatic, it starts to require less self-control to do that thing. Doer is the science -based guide to overcoming procrastination. What tasks are they most likely to avoid? ALICE BOYES: Yeah so some level of emotional education around this is good so that people do have strategies. Procrastination is a phenomenon that has plagued individuals since the dawn of time. Or you may be sitting up reading that novel or you may be knitting that sweater. How do you define procrastination in your research? Thanks for listening to the HBR IdeaCast. I mean, that being said, there has been some experimental research done where they gave students a range of tasks easy and more difficult and looked at the time on task and what things they did otherwise. And then only later maybe realize that a different way of approaching it wouldve been more useful. If you want to pursue therapy for your procrastination, cognitive behavioral therapy can help. In addition to studying procrastination, she also researches perfectionism, self-compassion, gratitude, time and loneliness. Eve. And I think, yeahI mean, I would go back to, well, were they really procrastinating or were they engaging in some other form of delay? So that's conducting some experiments now to see if maybe people prone to procrastination are over-anticipating how difficult that task is going to be.

Who Is Joel Mccrea Daughter, Articles P