psychology of procrastination podcast

Sirois: So yeah, I mean there's a lot of myths out there about why people procrastinate and the common wisdom out there is that, oh, teach somebody to manage their time better and they'll stop procrastinating, or give them better self-control or tell them they're lazy and crack the whip and get them going and that'll reduce it. My podcast guest this week, Dr. Jackson Brammer, says he used to be an expert procrastinator. Sirois: There is indeed a difference. In psychology, we never think of cognition, emotions and behavior as being separate. And there might be some generational influences there too. Solving the Procrastination Puzzle A Concise Guide to - Studocu This podcast is for those who have creativity bursting within but work hard on other people's dreams they fail to pursue their own. So they could come in, engage in this program over a few weeks, it would help reduce their procrastination. What's the difference between procrastinating and simply deferring something for another time? And the general gist of it is that habits make behaviors more automatic. Distractions from electronic notifications and office visitors can contribute significantly to our tendency to avoid. You can find her article, How to Stop Procrastinating in the May/June, 2022 issue of Harvard Business Review and at hbr.org. Putting aside whether these lists are historically accurate, they raise the question, is it possible to be a chronic procrastinator but also extremely productive? Hidden Brain : NPR Sirois: It has a huge impact on it and I think this is a thing a lot of people don't think about when they think about procrastination. I just need to work through that rather than getting hard on getting hard myself or beating myself up about this and making it worse, which actually can make it worse, the more that you get more critical about yourself about procrastinating, that can actually increase the chances that you'll continue to procrastinate. Procrastination thrives in secrecy and isolation. So people want to do things with certain outcomes and they tend to procrastinate more with things with uncertain outcomes. In addition to studying procrastination, she also researches perfectionism, self-compassion, gratitude, time and loneliness. He doesnt do pictures. Thats episode 295. And there is some research, there's some procrastination researchers down in Peru, and we do these conferences every couple of years, just sort international conference on procrastination and we hear about the different research that's going on different in parts of the world on the topic of procrastination. We procrastinate because our brains receive a reward for avoidance. Be honest with yourself in your answer. My guest today is Dr. Fuschia Sirois, a professor of psychology at Durham University in the United Kingdom, and author of the book Procrastination: What It Is, Why It's a Problem and What You Can Do About It, published in July by APA Books. World's Leading Expert On How To Solve Procrastination - Dr Tim Pychyl Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal Jordan Peterson: How To Become The Person You've Always Wanted To Be | E113 The Diary Of A CEO 1. That's Germany. And since productivity hacks never go out of style, let me recommend another IdeaCast episode, Boost Your Productivity with Micro Breaks. In this way, youre setting yourself up for positive reinforcement, instead of the negative thoughts that usually accompany procrastination. Such as, This is stupid, I dont even care about it.. So my strategy and my system is kind of tailored to that. Procrastinators may find themselves unable to start something because they dont know how to start, but they dont want to show weakness by needing to ask for clarification. Scan . And how can we be more conscious of that? Our sound editor is Chris Condayan. We ask people about how often they procrastinate or if they're putting things off to tomorrow. Thank you for having me. So the classic example is the student who the only time they ever clean their dorm room is when they should be studying for exams. Speaking of Psychology is produced by Lea Winerman. Its about identifying the forms of procrastination that cause problems for you, like where youve got a sense of a possible problem in your mind, and you just keep putting off thinking about it, putting off dealing with it. When we are novice drivers, we have to think carefully about checking the mirrors and all the steps. I've done some preliminary work looking at using self-compassion to address procrastination and it does suggest that it at least increases people's intentions to get on with the task and not procrastinate, but I want to follow up with some research to actually track that. If you talk yourself into believing you dont care about it, it wont hurt as much if you fail. But also it feels like it is approaching the tasks in a way that uses my strengths. And one of the researchers there, she mentioned that especially in the workplace in Peru, it's like people procrastinate quite regularly because they see their managers and their bosses procrastinating so it sets the standard and everyone thinks it's okay. This is simply not true. Sirois: Yeah. Not just it's harmful for our mental health, it's also harmful for our physical health. There are a lot ofthere's some procrastination research that did just that, just looked at the sort of social media and digital distractions, and that's a whole research program is in that area. Et la procrastination on peut la trouver aussi chez les personnes qui souhaitent gurir. But a lot of what my research is focused on over the last couple of decades is exactly what you said, that there's these real health consequences. And this sort of fits in with an area of research that's called affective forecasting, which basically says that as human beings, we're not very good at predicting our future emotional states. But what we actually know about people who are healthy, happy, and productive is that they dont go around spending a lot of time trying to reduce their emotions. And so we actually conducted some research a couple years ago where we did this thing called a meta-analysis, which is just basically a review of all the research that's ever been done looking at the associations between perfectionism, both perfectionism dimensions there, and procrastination. Far more than a productivity hack. And it can have very real physical health effects. How do you think about separating emotions from tasks? Using science and storytelling, Hidden Brain . One is quickly testing assumptions. What purpose does it serve? Because being on alert, partly were alert for our usual associations between things. So things like compassionate self-talk can be really useful for them. Sirois: That's a great question. Ways to overcome procrastination include: 10. And then also, cut yourself a little bit of slack about some of the creative procrastination, like recognizing that weve got this image of a productive person being this person who is never distracted, whos always focused, who never procrastinates, whos just hustling all the time. You said, I'm going to do that. Self-forgiveness reduces the negative emotions we associate with a task, thus reducing future avoidance and offering ourselves an encouraging approach instead. CURT NICKISCH: You mentioned earlier that when people do the tasks they know, those are often the easiest to do, and they put off the harder ones. And recognizing that actually if youre doing things that are creative, if youre doing things that are hard, youre going to need more recovery time. Procrastination, Depression and Creativity | Psychology Today So depending on how complex this task is, my system can have up to six or seven steps. Sometimes we need that incubation period. For good! And if you like what you heard, please leave us a review. Being unwilling to ask for help can relate to Impostor Syndrome, and can fuel procrastination. So that's one project that I'll be working on and looking at sort of existing research out there to see if the mean levels of procrastination, chronic procrastination that is, have gone up, especially in student samples over the last couple of decades. Their self-worth is contingent upon whether they live up to some sort of idealized standard that they think society or their friends or their family expect of them. And there is indeed a connection. Weekly "Speaking of Psychology" is an audio podcast series highlighting some of the latest, most important and relevant psychological research being . Procrastination is a phenomenon that has plagued individuals since the dawn of time. "Everyone procrastinates, but not everyone is a procrastinator," quoth Dr. Joe Ferrari, a charming, hilarious expert on the subject. I think that would kind of level the playing field for many people as well in terms of whether they were able to be productive or whether they found themselves falling into a trap of procrastination. And we all want to learn from science. They call procrastination the grave where opportunity is buried. Make those goals realistic so you dont talk yourself out of them. Like if you feel guilt. If you have comments or ideas for future podcasts, you can email us at speakingofpsychology@apa.org. Finding productive reasons to keep working on tasks and commitments. Before you know it, hours have passed and you're right where you started and more stressed than ever. So we think about having systems for tasks we do all the time, but we often dont think about having a system for novel tasks. The presence of ambivalent emotions tends to put us on alert. Im an anxious person. So I think it's whatever your fancy is, something to distract you from the emotions that you're not dealing with about the tasks that you should be doing, which is going to bed and maybe it's because you haven't processed what went on in that day. I find I do some of my best work when Im procrastinating doing something else. Sirois: That is a really good question. Procrastination ou rsistance au changement ? (TCA, arrt du tabac So if we tell people to recall a time that they're procrastinating and then give them this sort of script that re-frames that experience in a self-compassionate manner, basically You're not the first person to procrastinate, nor will you be the last. Most of us are decent humans and its not consistent with our values to be being jerks. ALICE BOYES: Yeah, often the emotional intolerance isnt really about just a task being boring or unpleasant. According to some psychologists, the answer is not that people are lazy or have poor time management skills. Potentially youre going to need more reflection after youve done something. Yes. What tasks are they most likely to avoid? It's a habit of putting off tasks that we know we need to complete, and it often leads to stress, anxiety, and missed deadlines. Go through the list of false beliefs we listed and journal your common cognitive distortions. Sirois: Great. Sometimes its just theres so much opportunity, we want to be doing all of these things and we sort of bite off more than we can chew in terms of the energy and focus that weve got. To even begin to change, we have to become aware of the problem, then accept it. A former reporter and editor for The Associated Press, Mills has also written for publications including The Washington Post, Fast Company, American Journalism Review, Dallas Morning News, MSNBC.com and Harvard Business Review. She explains the different causes of procrastination and shares three approaches to beat it: through habits, emotions, and thought patterns. Other people have struggled with this task too. So yeah, I would say there is some evidence suggest men might procrastinate a little bit more than women, but it's not a huge difference and we may get some evidence in the coming years that that levels out because I think it is really driven also by what's going on. Sirois: The best way to answer that, and I do agree there's different cultural norms, if you like, and just unspoken standards about what is and isn't acceptable across different countries and different parts of the world. Because youve given us a lot of tips on managing yourself individually. Part of it is Ill think about three ways I could approach the task at the outset. I just want to ask if perfectionism and procrastination are linked and are perfectionists more or less likely to procrastinate? Yeah, I'm doing a few different things. The puzzling psychology of procrastination and how to stop it The real reason you procrastinate | WorkLife with Adam Grant (Audio Identifying the role of procrastination in your life. There hasIt's a little bit controversial. So I'm curious to know whether the rates of procrastination over the last couple decades are increasing over time as well. And again, estimates there range between 15% to 25%, which is still quite a few people who are really engaging in procrastination as a fairly regular way of dealing with tasks that they don't want to deal with. If you force yourself to think of three different ways, then you can assess which is the best of those. ALICE BOYES: Yeah, Im not sure that its that black and white. Guilt is a useful emotion because it causes us to want to repair things. But then you do still need those other little skills to soothe yourself a little bit. Sometimes its just people have more things that they want to do and theyre having trouble settling on one. And this is whatas you mentioned, emotions are at the core of procrastination. Sometimes its a much deeper seated thing than that. And thats kind of useful for everybody, because we all tend to think of one way we could approach something and start down that track. Although we may experience discomfort in the final moments before a task is due, we rarely think about the past or future when procrastinating. And I think that lays into the final part of the definition, which is that we engage in this type of unnecessary voluntary delay of these intended tasks despite knowing there will be negative consequences for ourselves and others. Since becoming aware of the problem is one of the first ways we are able to change, mindfulness helps us be more aware of our actions in general. Fuschia M. Sirois, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Durham University, Durham, England, and heads the Self-Regulation in Health and Well-Being Laboratory.. For more than 20 years, she has researched the causes and consequences of procrastination as well as how emotions play a role in explaining why people procrastinate. They have career issues, health issues, they're not fulfilling their dreams, they're not reaching their goals. Adding your daily task unlocks deep insights about your psychology. Im thinking of putting something off until Friday afternoon and then writing an email to kick it into somebody elses pile of work at the end of the week. Its not necessarily just about thought processes and habits, but it is such an emotional process too. They called it a procrastination ambulance, which was I think their way of translating saying it was like a clinic for procrastination at a university, for students who were really troubled by their procrastination. overcome the tendency to put things off. People often come to therapy wanting to change somebody else. And we know that self-compassion can be a very powerful tool for regulating negative emotions, and that's another approach too, especially if we're really struggling and just sayit's not giving yourself a free pass. She is a social, health and personality psychologist who is broadly interested in how self-regulationhow we manage our thoughts, emotions and behaviorsaffect our health and wellbeing. Danny draws on the expertise of clinical psychologists, physicians, psychiatrists and researchers in his new podcast, and he has already taken on a variety of challenging and interesting topics. . Her research also examines the role of positive psychology traits, states, and interventions for supporting self-regulation and enhancing health and well-being. Repeat. Also, take up some form of regular willpower exercise. And I think this happens a lot with procrastination, that we predict that we're going to feel a lot worse when we're doing the task than when we actually get on and just do it. And they showed the data suggesting that their program worked and they showed the mean scores on this measure of chronic procrastination at the beginning of them coming to the clinic and at the end so they could say, Oh look, there's some improvement. And I remember standing there with a colleague of mine and we both were looking at the scores on this measure of procrastination at time one, and the level of procrastination that they found troubling was well below the average national mean for the procrastination in the U.S. and Canada, but this was troubling in Germany. This Web site provides access to my research group and academic publications, as well as my iProcrastinate Podcasts and "Don't Delay" blog for Psychology Today. Mindfulness will help you be able to identify mental patterns, such as cognitive distortions. You dont have to be a member of Procrastinators Anonymous to appreciate how paralyzing procrastination can be. Thank you for joining me today, Dr. Sirois. Movies. The podcast version of this story was produced by Audrey Nguyen. The Psychology of Procrastination (Podcast Episode 2018) - IMDb What can you do, either as a manager or a colleague? Its why people have workout playlists. This Mindset Change podcast contains powerful subconscious training meditations, interviews with cutting-edge experts, and host Paul Sheppard's unique holistic blend of psychology, hypnosis, neurobiology, NLP, psychotherapy tools and strategies to help you create the life you truly want to live. And then there are other countries where efficiency and productivity are highly valued. Fuschia Sirois, PhD, of Durham University, talks about why procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not one of laziness or poor time management skills; how it can harm our mental and physical health; why it's so tied up with guilt and shame; and how self-compassion can help us overcome it. And then it turns into a big problem that could have been avoided. They have a zero tolerance sort of policy for any sort of mistakes or anything not going correctly and so they tap out. She has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, Hannity and Colmes, CSPAN, and the BBC, to name a few of her broadcast engagements. And we had 40-some-odd studies, it included 10,000 people and when we looked at the links between chronic procrastination and perfectionism, we indeed found that individuals who were more prone to chronic procrastination also scored higher on this measure of the self-critical perfectionism.

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psychology of procrastination podcast