Disease of tomorrow. The habit of putting off important things until later is dangerous. What is procrastination and why fight it

There is such an unpleasant phenomenon - procrastination is what we do to cope with the anxiety that arises in the beginning of work on a task and in trying to finish what we started. Someone, avoiding an important matter, begins to dig into small and not urgent ones, someone, on the eve of the annual report, recalls that he has long been going to sort out things in the closet ... How can you stop postponing things for later and drag them to the last?

Why do we procrastinate

"Why are you procrastinating?" The most common answer to this question is: "Because I'm lazy." However, even the most avid procrastinators are not without motivation and energy, which they use in some areas of their lives - sports, hobbies, reading, caring for other people, music, investing, gardening, or surfing the Internet.

Many make progress in the areas of activity that they themselves have chosen, but at the same time are completely unable to start working in other areas.

In my theory, neither laziness, nor disorganization, nor any other character flaw can be considered a reason why you procrastinate. Procrastination cannot be explained by the assumption that people are inherently lazy and therefore need outside pressure to motivate them.

My system is based on the theory of positive psychology by Dr. Martin Seligman, which Dr. Susan Cobaza of the University of Chicago calls "psychological guidelines that enhance human initiative and the ability to quickly restore mental and the physical state According to her research in The Hardy Personality, optimistic interpretations of human behavior are often overlooked when it comes to how people cope. Similarly, in Anatomy of an Illness and The Healing Heart, Norman Cousins ​​says that modern medicine virtually oblivious to the life-affirming healing powers that we naturally possess and prefers to focus on disease, while humor, positive emotions and thoughts have healing properties.

"If a person is endowed with the ability to be positive and active, then why are we afraid and put off the unpleasant?" you might ask. One explanation comes from Denis Whately, author of The Psychology of Winning and The Joy of Working. He defines procrastination as "a neurotic form of behavior in order to protect the individual," in particular, one's own dignity. That is, we procrastinate when our self-esteem or independence is threatened. We begin to be lazy only when our natural irresistible desire for fruitful activity is endangered or does not get an outlet. "No one procrastinates to feel bad," Whately says. "Just to relieve their deepest inner fears for a while."

What are these deep inner fears that make us look for such unproductive forms of getting rid of them? Dr. Theodore Rubin, in his book Compassion and Self-Hate, suggests that it is the fear of failure, the fear of being imperfect (perfectionism) and the fear of expecting something impossible (when we are overwhelmed with different tasks) that prevent us from working properly or achieving achievable goals, building relations.

Fear of failure means that you are convinced that even the smallest mistake can prove your worthlessness. The fear of being imperfect means that you have a hard time accepting yourself as you are—imperfect and therefore perfectly human—so any criticism, rejection, or judgment from others puts your subtle understanding of what is perfect at risk. The fear of expecting something impossible signals your fear that even after you have worked hard and achieved your goals, your only reward will be more and more and more difficult goals that promise no rest and time to enjoy the fruits of your works.

These fears, according to Dr. Rubin, prevent us from reaching that level of life when we feel compassion for ourselves and respect ourselves here and now - for who we are and where we are in this moment. This self-compassion is essential in overcoming the root causes of procrastination. You need to understand: procrastination does not mean that you have a problem character; rather, it is an attempt - albeit an unimportant one - to cope with the unsettling fear of exposing oneself to universal condemnation.

Fear of judgment is rooted in over-identification with one's work. This fear follows a destructive craving for perfectionism, harsh self-criticism, and the fear that you will have to deprive yourself of free time to please an invisible judge.

The Benefits of Procrastination

After working with thousands of procrastinators, I have come to realize that there is one main reason for procrastination: it provides temporary relief from stress. The main reason we get into a habit, according to Dr. Frederick Kanfer and Dr. Jeanie Phillips in their book Learning Foundations of Behavior Therapy, is that even the worst habit leads to rewards. Procrastination reduces stress by distracting us from what we perceive as a source of pain or threat. The more discomfort expected from work, the more actively you will try to avoid it and try to find salvation in something more pleasant. And the more you feel that endless work robs you of the pleasure you get from your free time, the more actively you will avoid it.

In a sense, we're looking to postponing a task as a way to temporarily reduce the anxiety associated with doing it. If it turns out that the work that we thought was necessary is not really necessary, we feel justified and receive a double reward for procrastination. It turns out that we not only used it to cope with our fears, but also saved our strength.

There are many situations in which procrastination is rewarded and turns out to be a solution to a problem.

• A randomly delayed boring task is done by someone else.
• If you put off buying something for a long time, then eventually you will wait for a sale or this thing will cease to be fashionable.
• Often procrastination goes unpunished: almost everyone in childhood was at least once worried because they were not ready for a test or exam, and all this inhuman tension passed in one second, as soon as they heard the news that the teacher fell ill or for some reason reason not to go to school that day - all this teaches you to procrastinate in the hope that a miracle will happen again.
• By taking a break to cool off, you have avoided serious spats with your parents, teachers, bosses, or friends.
• Difficult situations sometimes they resolve themselves if you wait additional information or rely on will happy case, etc.

It is believed that procrastination is more of an independent problem than a symptom of other problems. And, unfortunately, this diagnosis, instead of directing your efforts to break the pressure-fear-procrastination cycle, only makes it worse by blaming you for such a terrible habit. The people around you are saying that "you need to pull yourself together; just do it."

And you try hundreds of different methods, make lists, work out a schedule to force yourself to work hard, but the results are disappointing, because such methods attack procrastination, and along with you as its source, instead of attacking the problems that led to to that.

When we identify our value through work (“I am what I do”), then, naturally, having no protective psychological mechanisms, we are very reluctant to take risks. If you believe that by judging your work, people are actually judging you, then perfectionism, self-criticism, and procrastination become necessary forms of defense. Seeing your indecision preventing you from getting down to business or, conversely, completing what you started, the person controlling you, or family members - often with good intentions - begin to encourage you or, conversely, put pressure on you, or even threaten you. And when there is a conflict between internal fears make a mistake or be imperfect and the external demands of other people, you begin to seek salvation in procrastination. And that can lead to a destructive cycle.

Requirements for an ideal outcome - fear of failure - PROCRASTINATION - self-criticism - anxiety and depression - loss of confidence - even greater fear of failure - PROCRASTINATION...

Procrastination does not give rise to this behavioral stereotype. It is only a reaction to perfectionistic or exorbitant demands, as well as the fear that even small mistakes will cause devastating criticism and cause failure.

There are three main ways you can learn to use procrastination:

• as an indirect way to avoid pressure from superiors;
• as a way to reduce the fear of failure by justifying one's behavior that is far from perfect;
• as defense mechanism against the fear of success that keeps us from being able to express ourselves.

By looking more deeply at the root causes of procrastination, we will be able to understand which of them reveal the causes of our own problem.

To be continued...

Discussion

We begin to be lazy only when our natural irresistible desire for fruitful activity is endangered or does not get an outlet. "No one procrastinates to feel bad," Whateley says. "Just to temporarily alleviate their deepest inner fears."

Obomov is not in vain RUSSIAN.

Comment on the article "Why are we lazy? How to stop procrastinating and defeat procrastination"

Maybe someone is not too lazy to comment ... Then isolate the MAIN thing and do it. Secondary along the way. Otherwise, I'll forget, skip, mess up, and jitters, inner restlessness begin.

Discussion

I have had this for a long time, although I am only 38, but I feel that my brain somehow works strangely. I forget my bags all the time, especially in the market, like I paid, took the change and went. I can remember at home. Yesterday was the apotheosis. At first I forgot in the clinic, I returned. Then in the bread shop - the seller even ran after me ... And today is the apotheosis, I was going to bake a cottage cheese casserole, kneaded the dough, took out the bowl, buttered it and poured the dough - right into an empty slow cooker ... Now I think it will work or not :-) Plus I study English with my child, so the words that I knew from school are normal, but I can’t remember new ones at all, at least repeat 20 times, I used to remember everything from 1-2 times ... Of course, it annoys me, I went to a neurologist, wrote out injections of ceraxon and midakalm, I’m pricking, but I don’t see any sense so far ... I’ve been on maternity leave for the 10th year, probably completely stupidity has come ...

if there is a financial opportunity. go for xenon therapy. put on a mask, lie down, breathe, 3 sessions every day + a couple more times a week, and after that the surprise goes away that the code from the copier does not fit the intercom))

"- No president will change us. He himself is one of us. He himself knows how he broke through .... Our people are striving for Stockholm (London and so on) only to be surrounded by the Swedes. Everything else is already in Moscow. Or almost there. They don’t leave for that, they change their life, their profession in order to eat something, and not in order to live under the leadership of the Swedish prime minister ... So what should we do? I would say: change to the Swedish side. About this I don't feel like talking because it's easy to talk, but...

I'm an optimist! Concrete, adequate, with the inevitable elements of a realist, BUT! positive realist! And then after all, a realist is often confused with a pessimist. But no, I have no time to engage in whining and self-criticism. I am active purposeful, responsible and in love! I love my life, my family - as the most important part of this life. Sometimes I get tired, and, yes - "There are days when you give up, and there are no words, no music, no strength ..." (C). But we must remember that in reality everything is not so sad at all and ...

The newfangled philosophy of “childfree”, that is, the voluntary refusal to have children, is gaining more and more fans today. Among the childfree there are both women who prefer personal freedom and self-realization to motherhood, and men who consciously refuse fatherhood. Arguments “procreation…”, “a glass of water in old age…” for these people is an empty phrase. It should be noted that not everyone consciously refuses to have a child. But every time there are "reasonable ...

02/07/2018 19:26:18, Hel-la

12 I'm too lazy to put on and then wash all sorts of bibs. Therefore, while eating, my child sits naked and stains his belly. I think that later it will not be lazy for mom to feed the child in intensive care through the probe.

Every day he looks more and more like his future corpse. Jean Paul Sartre Each of us must have seen and experienced warm feelings and even admiration for the heroes of films who, finding themselves on the verge of death, suddenly began to find themselves. Such a feeling, probably, would be experienced by a person who would reliably know about the approaching end of the world. They started to study foreign languages, learn to sing, play on musical instruments, dance, love passionately, after all. There are many great examples...

Several methods to combat laziness. 1. To stop being lazy, you have to do nothing! Try doing nothing at all, stand in the middle of the room and freeze. You stand like this for 15 minutes at the most. Then you want to move, walk. Try not to get out of bed all day, just lie still. You will not be able to do this either, after a while you will want to eat, do all your needs. After such procedures, you will perceive all your affairs with delight! 2. Set a goal, decide on tasks ...

He is ready to live there. His eyes are burning, the child is simply changing. He is there like a fish in water. I tried to play on this - first lessons, then a circle. You just need to teach him not to be lazy. And to do even what seems unnecessary and disgusting at this particular moment in time.

Discussion

What does he do because he has to? Not interested, do not want, namely NECESSARY?
What does he know about you from what you do regularly on the basis of "like-dislike chew my beauty"?
About other people from the same?
This is what I mean, motivation is great, it allows you to do it with pleasure. But discipline is more important, what needs to be done still has to be done. And whoever does not know how to motivate himself is to blame, then he will do it without pleasure. But it will still be. Make. All you need. On time.
IMHO, the child simply has not formed an idea of ​​​​discipline and the fulfillment of one's duty as an integral part of life from which no one has gone anywhere and cannot be avoided.

tell him you'll give him his favorite thing if he does whatever you say

11/28/2015 13:14:47, Ivan Samarin

Our very first masseuse came every day for the first 100 sessions and worked only with the neck and back, and only then did she start the arms and legs, crawling and so on. Sveta, do not be too lazy to come to the seminar on Doman. already something but problems breath you decide. all...

Discussion

what does your cardiologist say about shortness of breath? ... any doctor has an idea about general list medicines you are taking? If you're still taking Convulex, valproate slows down the metabolism of some (quite a few) medications. maybe you overdosed on something? ... sleep during the day 3 times for 2 hours can be from aeps. Is there a correlation in time between taking and falling asleep?

What do doctors say why the child does not hold his head? You do not have any strong muscle pathology, even if the child does not have cerebral palsy. In order to crawl at least in a plastun way or roll over, you need to understand cause-and-effect things, have motivation for this, engage and coordinate large group muscles, but this is not necessary to hold the head. First of all, you need to take an x-ray. cervical, if there are no displacements there, then perhaps the head is too heavy due to hydrocephalus, or the child was too slowed down by AEDs. Another one possible reason that you are trying to work on the whole body of the child at once, and the brain cannot compensate for everything at once. Our very first masseuse came every day for the first 100 sessions and worked only with the neck and back, and only then did she start the arms and legs, crawling and so on.

04/02/2008 22:10:20, vtta

It will pass :)) Chesslovo! And then it starts, put out the light. Now it’s just staring at me - we have changed the furniture, and we are choosing a car (all sorts of test drives), the child of the eldest I’m just stupidly lazy - with the full understanding that finally something is not lazy.

Discussion

And I did not wait for the covering of enthusiasm. As I fell apart at the beginning of pregnancy, I still can’t put myself together. No, of course I do something, for example, my apartment is already shining - I scrub and scrub it. Who the hell needs this?! And the things that REALLY need to be done lie to myself, collapsed behind a box, and I write in a conf, or read everything in a row about children, pregnant women, even about travel (yesterday I accidentally brought it to the website of a tour company, so I spent 8 hours there all dreams). Fool house. Well, how do you force yourself to do something, eh?

It will pass :)) Chesslovo! And then it starts, put out the light. Now it’s just staring at me - we changed the furniture, and we choose a car (all sorts of test drives), the child of the eldest was medically examined, I go to driving courses, every day I am drawn to culinary and bureaucratic exploits (such as registering my husband and getting a tax deduction), etc. d. She's in shock! And this is with the eldest, who is 1.1 and a 28-week belly ... Mdya ...

I spoke at school, then I realized that it was not just useless, but very harmful, and I even stopped going to meetings. I agree with you that it is necessary to help, but we don’t know this specific situation, maybe it’s not laziness at all here.

Discussion

My child is now finishing the 1st year of Moscow State University, he entered without tutors, but there were a lot of absenteeism at school. The reasons are strained relations with teachers. I spoke at school, then I realized that it was not just useless, but very harmful, and I even stopped going to meetings. She sat with her son to teach unloved lessons, and asked, persuaded. Yes, we sat together with a 17-year-old guy and read essays on Onegin before the exam! I was very afraid that I would break, there psychologically it went to this. By the way, I was not alone with the child. My friend also read literature books with her daughter. Try to understand the child and take his side. Either it is difficult for him to study in general, or individual items, or there "the cat ran across the road" and "spit on a stone" found. Maybe better school change? If laziness - they correctly wrote about the belt and the grave mound. If the principles - it's quite another matter. At the age of 15, a person would rather leave school and do stupid things than step over all this.

"I think that you should tell everything frankly, talk well about the army, vocational schools, in short about later life. Ask: "What are you going to live on, baby? Do you want to cut and work by car, sitting on the fifth point?" It is necessary not to explain "what is good and what is bad", but you need to make him understand that life beats with terrible force for mistakes and for such naked irresponsibility in the future only three things await him: a vocational school with a beggarly salary, a prisoner with Convicts, or a small grave in a Chechen village. It is necessary to put everything in this light: parents do not care deeply, even if it is on their ears, but in the future he will not receive a penny from the aforementioned parents, otherwise he apparently decided that childhood is too good to fall out of it; you look, it hangs its legs from your neck and will sit like that until old age and beat the buckets. It is necessary to make them understand by their active actions that nothing falls from the sky by itself and parents will not be able to support the child forever, and until he realizes this, it makes no sense to fight: only he can cope with this UNIVERSAL EVIL. The only thing you can do in this situation is to take a tough stance: all the joys of life (TV, computer, etc., etc.) have come to an end. It IS NECESSARY to state directly that after the army, as he wants, he will fool around and it doesn’t bother you. Finally, you can practice an old method that effectively pushes the child's thought processes - the father's belt. As one philosopher used to say, "bodily suffering strengthens the spirit." I myself am a pacifist and do not recognize violence, but in the fight against UNIVERSAL EVIL, also called LAZINESS, all methods are good. Yes, to be honest, I'm also lazy, we are all lazy to some extent, but some struggle with laziness and drive Mercedes, while others do not fight and become homeless. If it finally dawns on him that he is one of the last, then maybe all is not lost for you, "- Merry Anonymous, 15 years old.

How everything is running for you. Yours, not your daughter's. Excuse me. Your daughter is a person, and an equal one, and not an object of control.
Habits are instilled by the example of parents and personal motivation, IMHO. Invite her friends. She may become ashamed of the mess in the room. Let her go to visit, see how it is cleaned. Although, IMHO, it's still early.
And as for mistakes and her own opinion, it’s so wonderful that she has it! I would explain the consequences (falling off the chair) and let them act. She fell, we don’t pay attention, or we kiss, if it hurts and NOT A WORD about what WE SAID, AND YOU ... She will understand everything herself. Did she do it again after the fall? Not? You see, the conclusion is made.
Violence (moral) can lead to closeness and unnecessary protests at a later age, IMHO, do you need it? Let them take responsibility for their choices now.

They are always late with work projects and utility bills... They forget to cash out gift certificates and often don't show up for scheduled meetings... They are said to be irresponsible, lazy and unreliable. Partly it is. But main reason The reason why these individuals do not have time to do everything on time is procrastination. What is it, let's try to figure it out just now.

What it is?

The term "procrastination" was formed from the Latin word, where pro- means in front, instead of, and crastinus - tomorrow. That is, in psychology, this concept indicates a person’s tendency to constantly put off “for tomorrow” important and secondary matters, shirking from solving tasks and problems, avoiding the fulfillment of previously undertaken obligations. Experts say that often such a state becomes a mechanism for dealing with feelings of anxiety, anxiety, when an individual is worried that he will not cope with the task or will not be able to complete it. In addition, they distinguish three criteria on the basis of which procrastination is defined as a behavior of the individual: delay, inefficiency and uselessness.

According to statistics, 20% of people suffer from this psychological problem. For them, the normal working state is procrastination. What it is? talking in simple terms, this is the situation when, instead of fulfilling the plan, a person is distracted by various trifles: he wipes the computer monitor, removes pieces of paper from the table, or reads a note in the newspaper.

The appearance of the phenomenon

Procrastination is often called the plague of the 20th century. But in fact, people were exposed to it many centuries ago. Most early mention about “postponing important matters for tomorrow” are the sacred texts of the Indian society Bhagavad Gita, created before our era, as well as quotations from the poems of the famous ancient Greek poet Hesiod. However, at that time the concept was not distinguished into a separate psychological category.

When did the term "procrastination" appear? This happened only in 1977: in a specialized foreign literature first described the phenomenon and gave it a definition. And already in 1992, they began to study it in detail thanks to the English scientist Noah Milgram, who drew the attention of colleagues to the problem. as the most shining example he described the process of writing coursework and theses: the task begins at an extremely deadline, when it is no longer possible to postpone it at all, or there is a clear threat of not finishing it.

Symptoms

If you dig deeper, you can following output: such a state of mind and body makes life much easier. So, procrastination: what is it? In other words, this simplified version existence when it becomes less stressful and responsible. Experts identify the main symptoms of a psychological phenomenon:

1. Inspiration and willingness to take on the task .
2. The emergence of a desire to "jump" from the solution of a global problem .
3. The fading of enthusiasm is the postponement of the matter to a later period. The appearance of self-criticism and subsequent justification.
4. The decline in motivation continues - the issue is postponed for a critical period.
5. The problem remains unresolved or is shifted onto the shoulders of colleagues. A person does not admit that he did not cope.

The most interesting thing is that procrastination has a cyclical nature: the symptoms, they are the stages of the process, are repeated with all subsequent cases. The phenomenon is not a disease, sometimes it's just a lifestyle or a banal lack of confidence in oneself and one's own abilities.

Main reasons

There are a lot of them. But psychologists have managed to identify the main reasons that make a person a chronic procrastinator:

• Lack of motivation: unloved job, uninteresting business, low salary.
• Perfectionism and procrastination, when an individual strives to do everything perfectly. He works out even the smallest details until the last moment, still remaining uncertain and dissatisfied with the result. As a result, the problem remains unresolved.
• Insufficient amount of knowledge and existing skills. A person doubts the correctness of actions, since he has not done this before, has not encountered a similar problem.
• existing phobias. There are a great many of them: to fail, to feel disappointed or to hear criticism, and even in awe of success.
• Inability to plan a schedule and distribute the list of cases by category of importance.

The above factors in most cases lead to the development given state. But it should be remembered that depending on the characteristics of the behavior and character of the person, procrastination will also manifest itself. The reasons for it lie deep in the mind and can be individual.

The guise of procrastinators

To determine the individuals most susceptible to this condition, psychologists often use a popular method. Procrastination or a tendency to it is diagnosed in such people:

1. gray mice. Such individuals are accustomed to being "average" in the team. They are sure that they are deprived of talents, their inclinations are undeveloped, and positive character traits are not pronounced. Therefore, they often listen to the opinions of others, are influenced by others. It is easier for them to remain in the shadows than to show individuality. They doubt their own abilities and knowledge.
2. Thrill seekers. Such individuals deliberately postpone everything until the last moment, as they cannot live without adrenaline. They like the feeling when the heart beats furiously in the chest from the realization that only a few hours, minutes remain until the decision is made.
3. Irresponsible. These are either the so-called nihilists, who simply do not need anything in this life, or cowards, trembling before important decisions, or weak-willed people without an inner core and with a lack of elementary self-education skills.

Other individuals can also be procrastinators due to certain circumstances, peculiarities of upbringing and character.

How is procrastination different from laziness?

Many people equate these two concepts. In fact, laziness and procrastination are completely different things, although they are in many ways similar and inseparable. The main difference is the presence of activity. If laziness is a person’s desire to do nothing, but only to rest, lie down, sleep, then procrastination is an activity aimed at any little things, just to avoid the execution of the main, global action. It's hard to blame procrastinators for not doing anything, because in fact they were busy - just not doing what they needed to. Such individuals justify themselves by solving other, no less important issues.

Canadian scientist Piers Steele has been researching the phenomenon for many years, discovering new facets that procrastination has been hiding until now. The books he wrote provided an answer to the question of why people prefer to postpone things indefinitely. To do this, he derived the formula: U = EV / ID, where U - the desire to do something is equal to the product of the expectation of success (E) and the value of completing the activity (V), divided by the urgency of completion (I), multiplied by personal sensitivity to one or other activity (D). According to his findings, individuals put off completing tasks if they do not bring immediate success - material gain, praise, promotion. That is, those who like to drag the rubber love to live in the current day, hour, moment, and do not care about the future.

Effects

Procrastination is not a disease. Despite this, it requires some therapy, as the aggravation of the problem leads to serious trouble. The fight against procrastination is necessary, otherwise, due to a chronic lack of time, a person will be in constant stress and anxiety. Time constraints also cause mental and physical stress. Such an individual can be nervous and angry, as very often he forgets to satisfy his basic needs for food and sleep. He develops guilt, loses productivity, and in many ways his potential remains untapped or unfulfilled.

Gradually, a person loses the ability to organize. He begins to be constantly late, hardly gets used to changing circumstances, loses control over time, preferring to do anything, but not what is really necessary. At the initial stage of the development of procrastination, the individual reacts aggressively to changes in the work schedule, constantly shifting the blame for not fulfilling it to others. Subsequently, the situation can develop according to two schemes: the first is a tense breakthrough before the deadline, which will lead to complete exhaustion and aggravation of the problem, the second is that the matter will not argue, causing depression and poor health.

How to overcome procrastination?

Each case is individual. Only after a conversation with the patient, the psychologist can recommend effective methods for the current specific situation. General recommendations are:

• Recognize the problem. This is the most difficult step, after which you can already draw a strategy for the fight. Remember: if you cannot change the situation, change your attitude towards it.
• Learn to plan, create a to-do list for every day. At the beginning, write down even the little things up to the exact time of the task.
• Think about the result. It can be a bonus, a promotion up the career ladder, gaining authority. This train of thought will motivate you and force you to act.
• Catch yourself procrastinating. As soon as you feel like you're slipping, punish yourself with an extra task.
• Do not plan global. Start small.
• Dare to refuse. If you are not initially interested in the problem that needs to be solved, say so directly. Give other people the opportunity to deal with that issue, and take something else for yourself, but the most suitable for you.

Remember that the modern one describes in detail how to beat procrastination. A book on this topic should become a desktop: buy it and read it every time before going to bed.

Eisenhower Matrix

One of the most effective methods fight procrastination. It looks like four squares, which are formed at the intersection of the axes "Urgent - Not very urgent" vertically and "Important - Not important" horizontally. Apply this drawing to your business diary and distribute current affairs in its cells in accordance with their degree of importance. At the same time, those problems that cannot be postponed should be classified as important and urgent issues. Without their solution, further steps will be useless. For example, an urgent call to a regular client, rescheduling a meeting to another time. Important and non-urgent - these are the things that will become global in the near future: planning a new project, holding a meeting.

Problems that are urgent but not very important are those that do not bring you closer to the goal. They need to be resolved, but this will not affect your work schedule. These include congratulating colleagues on their birthdays, receiving unexpected guests, and so on. As for unimportant and non-urgent matters, this category is the most capacious. This includes everything that is trifle, but at the same time insanely interesting and desirable: watching a series, playing a computer game, chatting with a friend on the phone. If you organize your work in accordance with the matrix, then you will successfully defeat procrastination: you will forget what it is. Remember that you only have one life. And wasting time on unnecessary things is a luxury and stupidity.

Before handing in an important project, an exam, talking to your parents, or going to the dentist (when your tooth already hurts), how often do you find a lot of other, simpler activities that are absolutely not related to the main business? Moreover, each list of such cases and the situation is very individual and may contain quite a few items. And even if you have only one item on this list, it still interferes with a normal life. What to do? Deal with this unpleasant phenomenon.

Let's start with the very definition of the term " procrastination" - this is a concept in psychology, meaning the constant postponing of unpleasant thoughts and deeds for later.

As I said, the list of such things and thoughts is individual and can be quite impressive. There are several tips that help fight procrastination and do not require any complex actions. The main thing is not to postpone work on yourself “for later”.

1. Do one unpleasant thing for you in the morning. Of course, not immediately after waking up. And when it's time to get down to business, let the first item in your "ToDoList" be at least one minor unpleasant thing for you. For example, call a plumber or call a not very pleasant client. It's like jumping off a tower without thinking. Or approach the edge a hundred times, estimate the height, retreat, gather your courage and ... stop again just before the jump. And so on until you are pushed by someone who has already exhausted the patience to stand in line for the jump. good rule- at least a small unpleasant thing first, and your list is already one item shorter.

2. If you find it difficult to do any work several times a week, do it every day. As strange as it may sound, this rule works. For example, you need to write blog articles or fill out cards for a program. Of course, you can sit down and write the required amount in a few days. But, firstly, the necessary material is not always at hand, and secondly, it will be very difficult to sit down and force yourself to write a second time in a few days (given that you don’t like it, but you still need to do it). If you start working on it a little every day, then gradually get involved. And to sit down for this work will not be so difficult. Gradually, it will become your habit, and later you may even like it.

3. Find company for your "unpleasant affairs." Research shows that we do many things much more willingly in the company of someone than alone.

4. Make prep your essential tool. That is, collecting the necessary tools gives you the opportunity to mentally prepare for an unpleasant task. For example, printing out a letter, or collecting the necessary information before talking with a client. You don't have to do it today, you can postpone it. But it is quite possible that just by preparing in advance, you decide to finish this business as soon as possible and do everything on the same day.

5. Keep a List. This advice can be found quite often in the fight against non-fulfillment of tasks (in other words, ubiquitous laziness). And it works. Usually lists are made for doing something long-term, but it works with one-day ones too. Just write down on paper that by the end of today I have to do so-and-so.

6. First - the most unpleasant (ladies and children - go ahead). Make sure you do one of the major unpleasant things first, and not by doing "little troubles" trying to delay the most unpleasant thing (and it happens).

7. Learn to enjoy the completion of things you don't like. Forced yourself to do what has been postponed for a month - rejoice! At least for the fact that you are such a fine fellow at home and have finally found the strength in yourself to complete a very unpleasant business. Even if you were a little sick during the execution and there was an unpleasant aftertaste at the end. You did THAT. You are well done!

And now I would like to ask what you are starting to do to avoid doing an unpleasant thing? I, personally, start sorting things out or looking for what else I should do “seemingly necessary”, often not related to “my dragon”.

Procrastination is a term from, denoting a tendency to regularly put off unpleasant, but obligatory tasks for later. At the same time, a person does not, does not lie on the couch, and does not watch films instead of working. He turns on the computer, opens the documents, but decides first to make himself a coffee, then he checks the mail, opens the letter and reads the sent article, i.e. busy with something all the time.

An hour later, the person remembers that he was going to work, but suddenly begins to clean up the table, being convinced that it will be easier for him to work this way, and then he goes to water the flowers. As a result, the procrastinator spends his time on unnecessary things, while he and, and the work is not done.

Causes of Procrastination

Psychologists believe that may result from several reasons. The main factor, as a rule, becomes a boring unloved job. In second place is a lack of understanding of your goals in life. If a person can hardly imagine why he should do a project, write a diploma or study sopromat, it will be quite difficult for him to get down to business.

Procrastination also affects people who are afraid to make a mistake and for this reason are afraid to get down to business, or, conversely, perfectionists who want to do everything the best way and therefore skipping all deadlines. Finally, procasters may simply not be able to properly allocate their time and prioritize.

Please note - sometimes the reason for the inability to force yourself to do business may lie in beriberi, low hemoglobin levels or other diseases that reduce activity and performance.

Fortunately, psychologists offer treatments. First of all, you need to realize that it is present, and tune in to fight. After all, in the end you will have to do the very things that scare you so much.

Procrastinators not only ruin relationships with colleagues and others because of tasks not completed on time. They also have health problems due to constant nervous tension.

Engage in time planning. Break things down into blocks, write down how much time you will work on each block and how much you will rest. Get a special diary where you will record your plans.

Change your attitude towards responsibilities. Don't tell yourself "I have to do this". Replace this phrase with "I will do this of my own free will."

If you are constantly stuck on doing something a certain kind work, consider whether you could delegate this to someone, taking on some of the duties of this person.

Related article

To justify lazy people and idlers, who constantly leave everything for later, the obscure term “procrastination” was coined (translated from English, procrastination means delay). Together with him were created ideal conditions for doing nothing. If earlier couch potatoes had to somehow justify their laziness, today it is enough to mention this sonorous word so that others begin to look at them with respect. But how does procrastination syndrome actually occur?

anxious

According to psychologists, the most common cause of procrastination is increased anxiety. A person tends to be afraid of ridicule, criticism, large financial costs, failures, and much more. That is why a long-standing conflict, for the resolution of which it is necessary to sort things out once and for all or even ask for forgiveness, makes most people endure the conversation again and again. They reassure themselves that it is better to wait for the right moment to resolve the situation. In other words, they are self-deceiving.

Another less common example advanced level anxiety is the postponement of visiting the hospital. It is better to endure pain than to get into unpleasant procedures or hear an unexpected diagnosis. At such moments, it is recommended to act according to the scheme "first into battle, and then we'll see." Fears, as a rule, turn out to be greatly exaggerated, and the gloomy pessimistic mood is quickly replaced by a businesslike approach.

Difficult

At first glance, many things seem very complicated. So complex that you can't figure out where to start. Buying a car, repairing an apartment, moving to another job, starting a family - for many, any of these options takes months, or even years. For a quick and successful completion of the case, you can divide its implementation into several stages. For example, how to move big mountain sand from one place to another special equipment? It is very simple - with the help of a shovel and a wheelbarrow to transport it in small portions. The same goes for repairs. Depending on the completeness of the wallet, the dwelling is divided into sections, in which repair work is carried out alternately.

Breaking down a complex case into stages with a record of all the steps and details allows you to see the big picture without overloading your brain. Otherwise, the gray matter in our head may refuse to solve problems, “hanging” like a computer.

Not important

Almost all of us often accumulate various small things that can be done at any time. But for some reason, a pile of utility bills continues to grow on the shelf, music CDs taken for a couple of days are covered with dust, and there is so much ice in the freezer that nothing fits into it. In this regard, one of the professors at Stanford University suggested structuring procrastination. That is, to force a person who shirks from one thing to engage in another - more pleasant and at the same time useful. So at least the feeling of guilt will be significantly reduced.

Psychologists have come to the conclusion that the level of procrastination is much lower when a person hopes for a quick, and most importantly, pleasant effect from a completed task. Therefore, you need to try to see something interesting in the task, otherwise it will remain in the plans. For example, imagine what nice things bonuses will be spent on at the end of the project, or how much "" will get a fun one posted on the Internet.

Impossible

Sometimes it's more like a dream. I really want it to be realized beautifully, non-trivially, on a grand scale. Because of this, its organization never has enough money or time. Here you should understand the priorities - what is more important: a beautiful, but such a distant dream, or still its implementation. People who experience the occasional need to fly in the clouds can be advised to continue in the same spirit, and those who really want to achieve a goal should break down the task in stages and, without hesitation, begin to complete it.

procrastination- one of the most common syndromes, both among copywriters and among representatives of other creative (and not so) professions. It's funny: each of us has been in this state at least once (and some are in it all the time), but the vast majority do not know how this state is called correctly. So, friends, make yourself comfortable. Today we will talk about one of the most pressing problems of copywriters, marketers, designers, bloggers and other knowledge workers - procrastination. Today we will also look at 9 causes of it and 13 ways to deal with it.

What is procrastination

Have you ever done anything but work? climb in social networks, read blogs, check mail, sharpen a pencil, drink coffee, look out the window, play computer games... In a word, take a break from work in all conceivable and inconceivable ways, convincing yourself that another minute, and you will again get down to business. This is what procrastination is. Here is a short video that explains the essence in animated pictures.

In other words, procrastination is the scientific definition of inaction, procrastination, and postponing important things “until later.” psychological term. I don’t know about you, but for me this is especially true at times. It would seem: a matter of minutes, but postponed for several hours. And after all, what is the most offensive - it still has to be done later.

Origins of procrastination

procrastination is the derivative of laziness. And - this, in turn, is a derivative of the instinct of self-preservation (economy of forces). As long as this condition does not become a habit, it is considered the norm. Procrastination is of two types:

1. Local. When everyday things are postponed (we didn’t wash the dishes - the buckwheat dried up, we read smart articles instead of finishing a burning project, etc.).
2. Global. When long-term goals are postponed. The most obvious global procrastination can be seen in students: the whole semester is walking, and 1-3 days before the exam itself, “cramming” begins.

The global type of postponing “for later” in some cases leads to a total loss of time, as a result of which many ideas die out and are not implemented. As a result, this results in disastrous consequences (see below).

Causes of Procrastination

Procrastination has some bright expressed reasons. Each of them is most typical for certain type of people.

1. Stress and anxiety

There are people who, when they are worried, go into mental work with their heads in order to “kill time”. But there is another type of people who, with excitement and anxiety, cannot concentrate on work in any way. Their brain seems to freeze, like an overloaded computer. As a result, they begin to do anything but work to distract themselves.

2. Perfectionism

Perfectionists strive to do everything perfectly and spend a lot of time on details. So, for example, this type of person can spend a day polishing some little things, while more important things are postponed for later.

3. Fear

In the context of procrastination, fear can be different: some do not want to do it because they are afraid of criticism from the outside. Others are afraid to step out of their comfort zone.

4. Riot

This reason was especially relevant to me when I was employed in an office. When someone from the outside imposes artificial frames, programs and other clichés, some people have a counter psychological reaction. This reaction is manifested in the sabotage of the imposed foundations and the protrusion of one's own self, which ultimately results in procrastination.

5. Lack of motivation

One of the most popular factors is the decline or lack of . When work is not a joy (monotonity, routine), or when the result is long in coming, a person puts off work and does more pleasant things that give immediate results.

6. Too many tasks

Another popular reason for procrastination. It can be compared to a spray gun that sprays a jet of liquid. A person does not know what to take on, and as a result twitches from one thing to another, not finishing any of them.

7. Chronophages

There are people who are time wasters. They are also called chronophages. They can chat as much as they like in messengers and talk on empty topics. It takes hours to communicate with them, but it does not bring any benefit to the business.

8. Weakness of character

There are people who are very susceptible to temptations. They like to have fun, and they look for any ways to constantly stay in their own comfort zone. Very often, people abstract from problems and tasks, headlong into computer games and doing important things hastily at the very last moment.

9. Fatigue

Yes, yes, sometimes procrastination has objective reasons. Banal fatigue, which, by the way, has 4 forms:

• Physical
• mental
• soulful
• Spiritual

More about these types of fatigue as factors in the occurrence of laziness, Max Heger wrote well in his blog.

Impulsive people are the most susceptible to procrastination. Their enthusiasm is like a match: it flares up sharply, and then quickly fades away. Result: a lot of unfinished business.

It is curious, but observing myself and my acquaintances, I noticed an interesting pattern. If you notice the same, please unsubscribe in the comments.

In general, I noticed that the brain has a certain inertia. And it has two pronounced modes (of course, there are more of them, but it is these two that are of interest to us now).

1. Generation mode. I call it "working rush". In this mode, work is in full swing: efficiency goes off scale, and ideas fly out like salmon spawning - even with a net, get up and catch it. In this state, I keep a notebook closer to write down all ideas (even the most crazy ones). Super mode, but to enter it you need to try.
2. consumption mode. Passive mode, when the brain only perceives information. Watching movies or playing computer games will activate it for a long time. It feels like being shrouded in mist. Ideas - if a couple meets, then it's already a holiday. For some reason, this mode is especially protracted, and it is very difficult to get out of it. Procrastination is on the rise.

Exception: reading of books. Curious: there are books (most often business literature) that inspire and after reading which a lot of new ideas and insights come to the brain, but there are also those that activate the consumption mode (for the most part, this applies to fiction).

Consequences of Procrastination

Global procrastination can lead to severe internal conflicts. First of all, this is due to the fact that a person reproaches himself for lost time, which is irreplaceable.

Local procrastination leads to irritability and short temper. A kind, also an internal conflict, when a person is angry with himself that he wasted a day, did nothing, and the deadlines are burning. At the same time, innocent people can fall under the “hot hand”.

Other consequences of procrastination can be: stress, nervous exhaustion, psychosomatic disorders, etc.

Pause!

You have already read a lot. Let's take a break. Relax your eyes, do gymnastics for them, make a cup of tea or coffee with a bun or biscuits. This is not procrastination, this is a reasonable rest for concentration and recuperation. Don't worry, I'll wait for you here and we'll continue.

This is not procrastination, this is a well-deserved break!

"Treatment" of procrastination (13 methods of struggle)

It is difficult to imagine how procrastination can be treated, since it is not so much a disease as a condition. But you can fight it. There are at least 13 effective ways to do this.

1. Delegation

The simplest and effective method. If you don’t want to or can’t do it yourself, let someone else do it for you. Of course, in this case, you need to take care of the motivation of the contractor or establish business processes if delegation is put on stream.

2. Prioritization

This way of dealing with procrastination is suitable when its cause is an excess of tasks. Just break down the tasks based on the following criteria:

• Important and urgent. These are objectively critical tasks with an impending deadline (force majeure, accident, health hazard, time pressure on an important project, etc.)
• Important and non-urgent. These are the things that need to be done, but which time endures. For example, a large project, until the end of which there is another six months. Procrastination is common in this group of tasks.
• Irrelevant and urgent. This is special group tasks. Let's just say that they may seem important because society thinks so or because of existing stereotypes. Typical reasons: "So it is necessary", or "So it is necessary" or "So it is accepted". Although, if you look objectively, the significance of such tasks is much inferior to the first two groups. Examples of such tasks: alumni meeting, daily meetings, planting potatoes strictly according to lunar calendar etc.
• Irrelevant and non-urgent. This is the very group of tasks in which procrastination thrives. This is chasing teas, surfing the Internet, chatting in ICQ and Skype, checking mail, putting things in order on the table, etc. All these little things do not bring results, as such, but eat up a lot of time.

3. Split tasks

This method helps when the reason for procrastination is a lack of motivation, for example, because of the long-term result. In this case, you just need to break the task into small subtasks and perform them sequentially.

Let's say you need to create a . And so, you sit in front of a blank slate and think. Then you get distracted, and off you go. To avoid this, divide the work into small parts:

• Outline a summary of the main thoughts and benefits
• Highlight
• Make, etc.

This approach is more specific and in some cases flows into the "working rush" mode. For example, I am very heavy on the rise. This can be compared to a train: you need to make a lot of effort to move it, but then, when it picks up speed, it is already difficult to stop it. Therefore, this method works very well for me: we slowly pick up speed due to small tasks, enter the desired state and rush at full steam.

4. Mental attitudes

I don’t particularly like this method, because, firstly, it is subjective, and secondly, it makes you engage in self-deception. Its essence is that you change the wording of certain settings, for example:

• "I need to do something" is replaced by "I want to do it"
• “The result is expected of me” is replaced by “I myself am aimed at the result”, etc.

For some, this approach helps very well, because it removes internal barriers.

5. Planning

When there is a plan with clearly defined deadlines, nothing is easier and at the same time more difficult than following it. The fact is that when you allocate a temporary reserve for certain tasks, then procrastination is automatically laid down inside the plan.

Work takes as much time as you allocate to it (Parkinson's law). In addition, unfortunately, urgent tasks constantly appear that require setting a higher priority than those that are in the plan.

And, nevertheless, with the proper approach, planning helps very well. fight procrastination.

6. Integrity

This is perhaps one of the most effective methods for rebels. Everything is simple. We go to the principle: to bring the matter to the end, and at least the grass does not grow.

7. Competent filling of pauses

Another very interesting observation. Have you noticed how you fill temporary pauses when you rest, wait for dinner to be prepared, or you go out in an hour on business?

For most, the principle is this: “Time is short, why take on work. Teek-sir, let's see what's new in social networks ... ". But meanwhile, if you combine all these pauses, you get a lot of time.

In this regard, the inhabitants of the metropolis and intellectual workers can learn a lot from the villagers. Personally, when I come to the village, I just can’t get used to the rhythm of the locals. Not only do they go to bed early and get up early - they also have a specific rest. For example, they plowed a field - took a break, during which they repaired the tool, lubricated the tractor and took out the garbage. And the good deeds don't stop.

By the way, I am now writing these lines at the moment of filling one of these pauses.

8. Rest

If procrastination is associated with fatigue, then the most effective way fighting it is just to relax. The fact is that when the body or the mind or the psyche is exhausted, the efficiency becomes below the plinth, and there is little sense from such work.

Speaking of rest, it is necessary to remember that rest is selected under the guise of fatigue. If you are physically tired, then mental rest or "consumption mode" is good for restoring strength. Likewise, if you are mentally tired, physical activity will bring you back to normal the fastest.

9. Introduction of game elements

To get rid of procrastination associated with a lack of motivation, game elements help very well. For example, you earn points for each completed task. Beforehand, you make a list of pleasures and prices in points for each of them. For example, to drink tea, you need to score 10 points (this means answering 10 letters, developing a concept for a sales text, etc.).

The main advantage of such a system is that you can increase its complexity at any time and, damn it, it's fun and cool to keep you on your toes. Try it!

10. Clear goal statement

Very often, procrastination occurs when the goal is too vague. Then there is a mass of seemingly important cases, which at the same time do not bring closer to the result. This method helps perfectionists well, and its essence is simple: everything that does not bring you closer to the goal is aside!

11. Abstraction

This method of struggle helps when the cause is stress and anxiety. Ideally, eliminate the cause of stress and calm down, but if this does not help, you need to try to abstract yourself from feelings and tune in to a working mood.

12. Minimizing communication with chronophages

If you see that communication with individual "comrades" distracts you, interferes with concentration and takes a lot of time - turn off the messenger (Skype, ICQ) and try to minimize such contacts.

13. Willpower

The most difficult way, but also the most effective, is to say “No!” waste of time and hard to concentrate on work. The only negative is that most people are not able to apply this method in practice.

Summary

So today we met scientific name shirking and postponing things "for later" - with procrastination, as well as with the causes of its occurrence and methods of struggle ("treatment").

And now, the most interesting thing: what are the most common causes of procrastination for you, and how do you deal with it? Please write about it in the comments.