subject: 3 Factors That Make Procrastination Worse [print this page] I have a confession to make - here..I have a confession to make - here... today. I am a recovering procrastinator who sometimes finds myself going back into bad habits. Say, for example, I have a fifteen page paper due in eight weeks. I will wait until 2 days prior to the due date before even starting the paper. The worst part about procrastination is that it is contagious. Since becoming infected I have influenced those around me to delay the start date of their projects.
My procrastination has actually effected other areas of my life. If I am asked to show up somewhere at 3:00pm I will generally arrive at 3:05pm (on a good day). Most of the time I really have no reason to be late.For a while I could blame it on my small baby, but now he is 2 and it's not as socially acceptable to blame it on him anymore.
Anyway, here are some things I've tried that absolutely do not work. I share them with you, in case you suffer from procrastinatia (we'll call it that for the sake of this article). Now, maybe you can avoid these techniques, save yourself some time and address the root of the problem.
Getting up early
Sure, it seems like a sound idea. I will just wake up in plenty of time to do everything I have to do. The odd thing is I will always find something else to do, just long enough that I will be late. Oh, there's another sock to pick up. Whoops forgot to start the laundry. Oh, I'll just scrub these two dishes. (I'm making it sound like I live in a very dirty house - ok, no arguing there.)
Accountability
I am a procrastinator (say it out loud). I put things off until the last minute. I've been accountable for years, but still no chance for improvement. I think denial may have at least gotten me a few places on time or submitting at least one term-paper before midnight the night it was due.
Keep a calendar
Ah, anticipation. Certainly if I know it's coming up I will prepare ahead of time. Wrong. I've even logged down to the last minute each and every, baby step I needed to take to complete a project and what happens is - that's right I actually procrastinate the baby steps until I look at my calendar and realize that I haven't completed any of them.
The only logical way I have come up with to possibly make sense of my procrastinatia is hedonism. Hedonism is the seeking of pleasure and the avoidance of pain - whatever it is, I have it and there's no cure. The only solution I see is to find a profession where there are no deadlines or where deadlines are not enforced and where they do not expect you to show up on time - ever. Best of luck to me.
