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Avoid Procrastination and Do It Now!
By Dr. Raymond J. Huntington
We've all been plagued by procrastination at one time or another. For some, it's a chronic problem. Others find it hits only some areas of their lives. The net results, though, are usually the same: wasted time, missed opportunities, poor performance, low self-esteem or increased stress.
Procrastination is letting the low-priority tasks get in the way of high-priority ones. It's socializing with friends when your teen knows that important paper is due soon or watching TV instead of doing household chores.
We all seem to do fine with things we want to do or enjoy doing for fun. But when we perceive tasks as difficult, inconvenient or scary, we may shift into out procrastination mode. We have very clever ways of fooling ourselves. See how many of the following excuses hit home for your teen – and you:
- I'll wait until I'm in the mood to do it.
- It's OK to celebrate – besides, I'll start my diet tomorrow.
- There's plenty of time to get it done.
- Why does the teacher give us so much to do? It's not fair.
- It's too hard to do. I don't know where to begin.
- I work better under pressure, so I don't need to do it right now.
- I've got too many other things to do first.
Once exposed, these self-defeating statements don't sound so convincing, but when we privately tell ourselves these excuses, they seem quite believable. Don't be fooled by how innocent they sound. They get us to postpone important tasks and duties.
Procrastination is a bad habit. Like other habits, there are two general causes. The first is the bad thinking we employ to justify our behavior. The second source is our behavioral patterns.
A closer look at our bad thinking reveals three major issues in delaying tactics: perfectionism, inadequacy and discomfort. Teens who believe they must turn in the perfect report may wait until all available resources have been reviewed or endlessly rewrite draft after draft. Worry over producing the perfect project prevents them from finishing on time. Feelings of inadequacy can also cause delays. Teens who "know for a fact" that they are incompetent often believe they will fail and will avoid the unpleasantness of having their skills put to the test. Fear of discomfort is another way of putting a stop to what needs to be done. Yet the more we delay, the worse the discomforting problem (like a toothache) becomes.
Our behavioral patterns are the second cause. Getting started on an unpleasant or difficult task may seem impossible. Procrastination is likened to the physics concept of inertia – a mass at rest tends to stay at rest. Greater forces are required to start change than to sustain change. Another way of viewing it is that avoiding tasks reinforces procrastination, which makes it harder to get things going. A person may be stuck, too, not by the lack of desire, but by not knowing what to do.
Here are some things that will help your teen – and you – break the habit: