By Kerri Wizner
Ever find yourself cleaning out that forgotten drawer, that has been stagnant for the last year, at midnight the night before your paper is due? Or getting lost in the world of Google because you’ve found the most interesting topic that is not the exam you are supposed to be studying for? Are you avoiding doing homework right now? Then this is the article for you (and pretty much everyone).
One author (self described as a lifetime procrastinator) navigates why we procrastinate using tongue-in-cheek humor and metaphors like “instant gratification monkey” and the “panic monster” to describe the rational behind why we sometimes choose to do everything else before getting to the important task that has an actual deadline.
You can read the full article at http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html. Blogging about the woes of a procrastinator in terms of deadlines and compared to a non-procrastinating person, the author shares how even if the task is eventually completed- it doesn’t reflect a best effort and becomes a vicious cycle as more deadlines approach.
Many authors over the years have commented on this pitfall to creativity and here are some good ones:
“You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
What mood is that? Last-minute panic.”
-Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes cartoonist
“The scholar’s greatest weakness: calling procrastination research.”
-Steven King, author
“Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.”
-Don Marquis, 1920’s New York Tribune columnist
“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.”
-Wayne Gretzky, hockey player
“Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be.”
–Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Love, Pray author
Luckily part 2 of this article (at http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/11/how-to-beat-procrastination.html) examines how to address this Achilles heel of every good intention. The two main features the author focuses on to rectify this unproductive behavior is planning and doing – easier said than done right? The solution is effective planning by breaking down each task into simpler steps that can be completed and leave the overall task less daunting. Using deadlines and measurable outcomes may help you stay on schedule and help complete the tasks that you just planned out. Eventually you want to hang out with “instant gratification monkey” without the guilt of having a looming task deadline, because it’s already done- or at least started.
There are plenty of studies out there researching why, how, and how much procrastination effects our lives with interesting titles like “College students given long-term deadlines actually have reduced performance in their courses” and “Studies on willpower have found that any use of willpower seems to reduce the amount of it left over for other tasks,” as well as articles addressing differences in how men and women procrastinate and that childhood or parenting styles maybe indicators for future procrastination (more studies at http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/01/18/14-fascinating-studies-procrastination/).
In the coming weeks, as deadlines loom, you’ll develop a healthy relationship with the instant gratification monkey. The links in this post might help you prepare for such. (Though it’s possible that your reading them is a way for you to procrastinate.)
Want more tips on focusing on the task at hand? Check out this article: http://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/overcoming-procrastination
Kerri Wizner, BS, is a student staff member of the MCHLT and is an MPH student in the Epidemiology Department at Tulane SPHTM with an interest in maternal & child health
