Somewhere in the gap between intention and action lies procrastination.
It’s a problem even the most successful of us face. You get home late after a long day, and there’s still one or two things you should take care off. It could be anything: washing the dishes, preparing for a meeting the next day, or working on that novel that’s been brewing in your head for some time now.
You don’t really want to do it. So you make an excuse – any excuse will do – and you put it off until tomorrow.
The short term effects are fantastic! They always are. Laziness pays off every time.
But now when you get to that meeting tomorrow, you’re stressed. If only you’d spent that little bit of time last night making sure everything was in order!
So how do we stop it from happening in the future?
Dr Tim Pychyl is the Director of the Centre for Initiatives in Education and faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. He attained his doctorate through his research on goal pursuit, so his understanding of procrastination is among the best in the world.
Back in 2012, he lectured a group of teachers and teacher’s assistants on how not just to keep students motivated, but how to keep them from procrastinating in an era where the learner is increasingly detached from the educational environment, thanks to online course materials.
The talk is especially effective in ensuring your procrastination does not trickle down to the people closest to you, by managing emotions and examining methods on how to make sure your intentions are carried out.
What’s key is approaching tasks through strategic thinking and intention implementation, especially if it will take more than one session to complete.
For instance, say you’ve been asked to write a report on the results a client achieved over a year. Telling yourself “tonight, I’m going to work on that report” is just too vague. That could mean designing a title page at 11PM at night or putting in a marathon effort to complete it by the time the sun has risen. It means nothing.
So here’s how you need to think of it: In situation X, I will do behaviour Y to achieve subgoal Z.
“As soon as I finish dinner, I am going into my office and compiling my findings on month #1 for my report.”
Don’t just tell yourself. Tell the person next to you. Write it down, if you need to. Make yourself accountable. You’ve given yourself a specific task, now complete it!
It’s simple, but it works. Pretty soon, steady progress will be all the motivation you need to keep setting goals on the path to success.
The full video is worth a watch, as Dr Pychyl touches on a range of inspiring notions that are sure to keep you on track.
Don’t delay; watch it now!