Procrastinators can change behavior

In last week’s column, I discussed the tendency toward procrastination and some of its root causes. All of us tend to procrastinate to some degree, but when carried to extremes it can lead to inefficiency and poor performance in executing daily tasks in the workforce or in our personal lives.

Some techniques that may help procrastinators to change their behavior are:

• In approaching a difficult task, avoid the tendency toward being overwhelmed by its perceived enormity. Break the task into small parts. Set a goal for each component. Accomplishing the deadline for some of the easier or smaller parts provides a sense of reward and accomplishment, thus encouraging and reinforcing the willingness to move forward with the next part. Since setting a deadline is difficult for most procrastinators, writing down the task and writing down the deadline often helps.

• Study the task. Accept that parts of the task are more vital than others and must be accomplished first. Don’t put the roof on until you have dug the basement. Learn to prioritize and stick with the priorities.

• Utilize help. A procrastinator who is also a perfectionist may be unwilling to delegate duties for fear that it will not be done perfectly, which would result in having to do it over again. Accept the fact that others can perform in a satisfactory manner. Build trust.

• Avoid interruptions. Work in a setting free from distractions and other commitments as broken concentration detracts from completion of the project.

• Structure periodic rewards for yourself. Stretch, take a break, do something you enjoy. Return as quickly as you can to do the task at hand.

• Make the difficult parts a challenge. Recognize the value of broadening capabilities, developing new skills, seeking new horizons.

• Switch to another task at the moment you realize you are bogged down. Simmering your task on the back burner may not always be procrastination, but may be a time for creativity or intuition to begin. Click back in when you have a new idea and plunge ahead.

• Choose your time of day. Your internal clock tells you when your energy and creativity are at peak times.

• Don’t put off attempting to change. If self-help techniques don’t work, consider seeking professional help.

• If you can’t seem to get started at all, try using visualization. Find a quiet place, close your eyes and relax. Visualize yourself starting the unwanted task and beginning to work through it will less effort than you had previously though necessary. Many people find this can “jump-start” them into enough inertia to get started.

Copyright c 1991 Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D.