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These 3 Steps Can Help You Overcome Procrastination and Get Motivated: Tips from Psychology and Neur



Large projects can be overwhelming. Breaking down a project into written and manageable steps makes it easier to begin. Doing a smaller piece of a larger project is not so intimidating. Doing even one small actionable step will help you feel like you are accomplishing something, which, in turn, will provide you motivation to keep going.




These 3 Steps Can Help You Overcome Procrastination and Get Motivated



Learning to regulate emotions better can help you avoid procrastination, primarily by improving your ability to cope with the presence of negative emotions and the absence of positive ones. This generally involves using beneficial (or adaptive) emotion-regulation techniques, like addressing your fears, rather than detrimental (or maladaptive) techniques, like ruminating over concerns.


As suggested above, some say they procrastinate because they are lazy. Others claim they "do better" when they procrastinate and "work best" under pressure. I encourage you to be critical and reflective of these explanations. Virtually everyone who says this habitually procrastinates and has not completed an important academic task in which they made a plan, implemented it, had time to review, etc. before their deadline. So, in reality, they can't make a comparison about the circumstances they work best under. If you pretty much always procrastinate, and never really approach your tasks systematically, then you can't accurately say that you know you "do better" under pressure. Still other people say they like the "rush" of leaving things to the end and meeting a deadline. But they usually say this when they are NOT working under that deadline. They say this works before or after cramming when they have forgotten the negative consequences of procrastinating such as feelings of anxiety and stress, fatigue, and disappointment from falling below their own standards and having to put their life on hold for chunks of time. Not to mention, leaving things to the end dramatically increases the chances something will go wrong - like getting sick or a computer problem - and you not being able to pull off the desired grade. So, procrastination can be hard on us and actually increase our chances of failing, but we do it anyway. How come?


Procrastination is not a matter, solely, of having poor time management skills, either, but rather can be traced to underlying and more complex psychological reasons. These dynamics are often made worse by schools where students are constantly being evaluated, and especially in college where the pressure for grades is high and a lot can be riding on students' performance. In reality, procrastination is often a self-protection strategy for students. For example, if you procrastinate, then you always have the excuse of "not having enough" time in the event that you fail, so your sense of your ability is never threatened. When there is so much pressure on getting a good grade on, say, a paper, it's no wonder that students want to avoid it and so put off their work. For the most part, our reasons for delaying and avoiding are rooted in fear and anxiety-about doing poorly, of doing too well, of losing control, of looking stupid, of having one's sense of self or self-concept challenged. We avoid doing work to avoid our abilities being judged. And, if we happened to succeed, we feel that much "smarter." So, what can we do to overcome our tendencies to procrastinate?


First, to overcome procrastination you need to have an understanding of the REASONS WHY you procrastinate and the function procrastination serves in your life. You can't come up with an effective solution if you don't really understand the root of the problem. As with most problems, awareness and self-knowledge are the keys to figuring out how to stop procrastinating. For a lot of people acquiring this insight about how procrastination protects them from feeling like they are not able enough, and keeping it in mind when they are tempted to fall into familiar, unproductive, procrastinating habits goes a long way to solving the problem. For instance, two psychologists, Jane Burka and Lenora Yuen, who have helped many people overcome procrastination, report in their article, "Mind Games Procrastinators Play" (Psychology Today, January, 1982), that for many students "understanding the hidden roots of procrastination often seems to weaken them" (p.33). Just knowing our true reasons for procrastinating makes it easier to stop.


To overcome procrastination time management techniques and tools are indispensable, but they are not enough by themselves. And, not all methods of managing time are equally helpful in dealing with procrastination. There are some time management techniques that are well suited to overcoming procrastination and others that can make it worse. Those that reduce anxiety and fear and emphasize the satisfaction and rewards of completing tasks work best. Those that arc inflexible, emphasize the magnitude of tasks and increase anxiety can actually increase procrastination and are thus counter-productive. For instance, making a huge list of "things to do" or scheduling every minute of your day may INCREASE your stress and thus procrastination. Instead, set reasonable goals (e.g. a manageable list of things to do), break big tasks down, and give yourself flexibility and allot time to things you enjoy as rewards for work completed.


To overcome procrastination it's critical that you stay motivated for PRODUCTIVE REASONS. By productive reasons I mean reasons for learning and achieving that lead to positive, productive, satisfying feelings and actions. These reasons are in contrast to engaging in a task out of fear of failing, or not making your parents angry, or not looking stupid, or doing better than other people to "show off." While these are all reasons - often very powerful ones - for doing something, they are not productive since they evoke maladaptive, often negative feelings and actions. For example, if you are concerned with not looking dumb you may not ask questions, delve into new areas, try new methods, or take the risks necessary to learn new things and reach new heights. A good way to put positive motives in motion is to set and focus on your goals. Identify and write down your own personal reasons for enrolling in a course and monitor your progress toward your goals using a goal-setting chart. Remember to focus on your reasons and your goals. Other people's goals for you are not goals at all, but obligations.


There are quite a lot of things that you need to do in order to come out with flying colors while studying in a university away from your homeland. Procrastinating on homework is one of the major mistakes committed by students and these tips will help you to avoid them all and make yourself more efficient during your student life.


I have always stood first in my class. But procrastination has always been a very bad habit of mine which is why I lost marks for late submission .As an excuse for finding motivation for studying I would spend hours on the phone and I would eventually procrastinate. So I tried your tips and tricks today and they really worked.i am so glad and thankful for your help.??Love from India??


Similarly, you can reduce the likelihood of mindless channel surfing by hiding your TV in a closet and only taking it out on big game days. You can voluntarily ask to be added to the banned list at casinos and online gambling sites to prevent future gambling sprees. You can build an emergency fund by setting up an automatic transfer of funds to your savings account. These are all examples of commitment devices that help reduce the odds of procrastination.


Two of my favorite strategies that use visual cues are The Paper Clip Strategy, which is helpful for beating procrastination day-after-day, and The Seinfeld Strategy, which is great for maintaining consistency over longer periods of time.


People who are perfectionists tend to have low self-esteem because they take criticisms personally. However, constructive criticism that can help us learn and grow is important. Try to recognize that healthy criticism can be helpful and is normal because it can allow us to do better. Mistakes or missteps are perfectly normal along the way.


The solution to procrastination is not to take away all potential distractions, but it can help with "symptoms." Be honest with yourself and get clear around how your procrastination manifests: Social media? Buzzfeed? Netflix? Peanut butter? Pulling out the oven and scrubbing the baseboards behind it?


Shame is rarely a helpful emotion, yet it's something we feel far often as a result of our inner critics. We shame ourselves more frequently than we're aware, judging our behavior, our work, our interactions, our appearances, and so on. We have good intentions, thinking beating ourselves up for whatever we've done or not done is an avenue toward changing that behavior. But psych! It actually does the opposite: because shame is an extremely difficult emotion to sit with, we tend to beat ourselves up, momentarily feel that unbearable shame, then avoid or distract to alleviate the discomfort. When we're procrastinating and beating ourselves up for it in the moment, the cycle is exacerbated as we can't be gentle and honest with ourselves and change our behavior. When we're thinking of past instances of procrastination, shame prevents us from really understanding what was going on at the time.


Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) may be particularly helpful for procrastination. CBT explores the connections between thoughts and feelings. By changing the thoughts you have about an activity, you can change your attitude about it.


Certain medications, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for depression and anxiety or stimulants for ADHD can alleviate the symptoms of these conditions, including procrastination.


Lori, that was my A to your Q, and I really do hope it helps. Now I would love to hear from all of you. Were any of these insights that could help you get unstuck and stay motivated as you move ahead? If so, let me know. 2ff7e9595c


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