Six ways to overcome procrastination

Procrastination is one of those things that even the punctual and most well-organized fall victim to at some point or another. Think about the last time you found yourself watching television when you really should have been doing homework. While common, procrastination can have a detrimental impact on your life, including your grades. So what can students and other people do to overcome procrastination and avoid the stress, anxiety and poor performance that stems from completing assignments at the last second? Researchers suggest that developing a schedule, carefully planning academic tasks, and improving time-management skills are all effective ways to cope with procrastination.

A. Fear is one of the factors that contribute to procrastination. This can involve a fear of failure, a fear of making mistakes, or even a fear of success. Psychologist Susan Krauss Whitbourne suggests that challenging your faulty beliefs is important. If you are afraid of success because you believe that you don't deserve it, it is important to realize that your self-handicapping might be keeping you from achieving your goals. By addressing your fear, you can begin to overcome your procrastination habit.

B.Start by creating a to-do list with things that you would like to accomplish. If necessary, put a date next to each item if there is a deadline that you need to meet. Estimate how long each task will take to complete, and then double that number so that you don't fall into the cognitive trap of underestimating how long each project will take.

С. When you are faced with a big project, you might feel hopeless when you look at the amount of work involved. At this point, take individual items on your list and break them down into a series of steps. If you need to write a paper for class, what steps do you need to follow? If you are planning a big family event, what are the things you need to do? Once you have created a list detailing the process you need to go through in order to accomplish the task, you can start working on individual baby steps.

D. As you start to tackle items on your list, pay attention to when thoughts of procrastination start to creep into your mind. If you find yourself thinking “I don't feel like doing this now”, then you need to recognize that you are about to procrastinate. Instead of giving into the urge, force yourself to spend at least a few minutes working on the task. In many cases, you might find that it is easier to complete once you get started.

E.It's hard to get any real work done when you keep turning your attention to what's on television or you keep checking your friends Facebook status updates. Assign yourself a period of time during which you turn off all distractions - such as music, television, and social networking sites - and use that time to focus your attention on the task at hand.

F.Once you have completed a task, it is important to reward yourself for your efforts. Give yourself the opportunity to indulge in something that you find enjoyable, whether it's attending a sporting event, playing a video game, or watching your favourite TV show.

G. Breaking the procrastination habit isn't easy. After all, if it was simple there wouldn't be so many students engaging in procrastination on a regular basis. The urge to put things off can be strong, especially when there are so many things around us to provide entertaining distractions. While procrastination might not be something you can avoid entirely, being aware of the reasons why you procrastinate and how to overcome those tendencies can help. By implementing these strategies, you might find that it is easier to put your nose to grindstone and get started on those important tasks.

Ex. 4. Read paragraphs A-F of the text and answer questions a) – f) given below. Choose no more than 3-5 words from the passage for each answer.

a) What contributes to procrastination?

b) What should one start with?

c) If you have a big project, what are you recommended to do?

d) When do thoughts of procrastination start to creep into your mind?

e) Why is it difficult to concentrate?

f) What is necessary to do after completing a task?

Ex. 5. Look at the following list of pieces of advice on how to avoid procrastinating. Match each piece of advice with a suitable paragraph.

a) If you have completed a task, indulge in something that you find enjoyable.

b) Force yourself to work on the task even if you don’t feel like doing it now.

c) If you are aware of the reasons for procrastinating, it can help you to break the procrastination habit.

d) If the task is too difficult to fulfill, divide it into several steps.