in a series of the academic enhancement program sponsored by the bumpers

college

today's topic is on overcoming procrastination

procrastination afflicts millions of people and almost always has a negative

effect on productivity

an a student sense of well-being

although everyone procrastinate in his or her own way

it can best be defined as delaying required or desire tasks

by choosing other activities

so we're going to spend a few minutes today discussing some techniques to help

you overcome this condition or disease

why overcome procrastination

well if you put things on to the last minute

your most likely going to reduce your ability to perform at your best

that's very likely that you'll just decide to not complete the activity

at all

this clip art is a great example

hell me times have you intended to finish a project or thought you complete it

later

and yet later never came

on a more serious note

procrastination leads to stress and low selfesteem

it leads to chronic worrying which uses a lot of energy without really

accomplishing any results

everyone has their own reasons for procrastinating

but generally those reasons can be grouped together in the five major

categories

the first reason

rebellion

rebellion happens most often college with freshmen

students have their first taste of freedom

however they lack the insight into the fact that the activity or assignment

will have to be addressed at some point

procrastination simply adds to poor results

the next reason

would be fear of failure

it's a very realistic characteristic of students who procrastinate

to provide some false rationalization

of why one did poorly

the third reason

lack of enjoyment

immediate entertainment or satisfaction such as watching television

looking at facebook or talking on the phone seems more valuable than doing

something that someone doesn't enjoy

the fourth one

fears ofsuccess

success for some students can be a stressor it it's not well-managed

and the fifth reason lack of motivation

or emotional intelligence

many students lack the internal drive to accomplish their long-term goals because

they're so used to immediate gratification

it's difficult to find value in the short term goals when you're not able to

see the immediate connection or immediate rewards

so how should we address the causes of procrastination

what is the cure

ask yourself why you're planning to accomplish something

into space alot others expect or fear of negative consequences

you may not be very motivated

if it's based on what you truly want or need

you're likely to be more motivated

be careful to avoid sabotaging your own wants or needs just because others also

think you should accomplish something

it's more important take care of yourself then despite others

so are you the first to go to college in your family

are you attending because it's expected of you

or because you really want to be here

here's a couple cures

for procrastination

one is getting a bite sized mentality

what that really means is taking what seems to be overwhelming tasks and

breaking them down into measurable an achievable goals

it will help you get over the fear of failure

here's a personal example

when i got my course syllabus each semester

I always found the day when the paper was due

and then i stressed about it at three the first week or the actually the week

the paper was due

finally I'd myself through tears and and stress to finish on time

and the best way to deal with a major project is to find the due date

then calculate how many days you have to complete it

take the project and break it into small achievable parts

make a commitment to complete part of the project each week or even each day

depending on the size of the project

for example of the project is writing a paper

identify the parts to paper pick a topic

research the topic

develop an outline

produce the introduction

complete the body

write the conclusion

and review it

assign a week or several days to each of these areas to accomplish the completed

task

that way it doesn't seem so insurmountable when the due date is

arriving

makes sense

Here's another cure set up a reward system

or excuse me a reward-punishment system

if I read for twenty minutes to get to call John

if I don't a need to do the dishes

using the reward system really works if you're disciplined enough to return back to work

after a break you provide yourself

next study in a place reserved for study only

Haley always promised herself so she'd study in her room after she ate

However there were always to many distractions and she rarely studied in her room

when she went to her favorite place in the library

she was always more successful

and why do you think haley was always more successful in the library

well obviously it's because there tend to be fewer distractions in the library

I should mention if you choose to use a public place such as the library

try to find the same location each time

that way you won't be distracted by new stimulus or new items to look at

another cure might be that you want to become a groupie

so when possible study with a group of dedicated students

others can be an inspiration to keep up and learn to support your efforts

you may discover others have different learning styles

and pick up on items that you would normally ignore

it can make you a much better student

however i must warn you it's important to someone in the great keeps the trio

on task

otherwise the group could become a distraction

and then finally

there are a number of resources on campus to assist you as well

review these offices

each of them have trained staff available that can assist you in

diagnosing the cause of your procrastination

as well as helping you identify an action plan to find a cure

their contact information is not only available on the slide

but also easily accessible on the university's web page in the a-z

directory

as the image

portrays here

the longer you wait the worse it gets

identify your resource today

and give them a call for an appointment

now that we discussed several cures

let's take a moment to address some behavioral solutions

obviously these concepts come from the field of psychology

and not to be to theoretical but it

it is the science of human behavior

which is how we react to situations

situations don't cause feelings and actions

our interpretations of them cause feelings and actions

let's look at an example for a moment

this situation

a parent tells you to do your homework

person one's thought responses: he's always bossy me around

the emotion and feeling responses that they are angry

the action our behavior and will end up being rebellion and so person one

chooses to not do their homework

person two receive the same instruction

person two's thought response

is: I want to do well in this class

their emotional responses is energized

the action or behavior

results in person two

doing their homework

so choosing how to react from someone else's direction all actually impact the

action you take

it's important to understand the cognitive response

the emotional reaction

and then the behavior

that is the results of the two

make sense

to change procrastinator behavior

we must change the thoughts and beliefs that cause it

the first step

identified the thoughts and beliefs

this is easier

if we know what to look for

internalizing those activities

will create a sense of internal drive strength and personal motivation to

complete those tasks

rather than placing the responsibility

on an external agents such as a parent a teacher

an academic advisor

a roomate

or significant other

here's another example

let's take a moment to look at some procrastinators terminology

how often have you used some of these phrases when you really didn't want to

do something

i have to

because the teacher's gonna make me

i wish i could

blow it off and go to the football game

if only I could

do both

well, even my favorite phrase comes from porky pig and he says tomorrow I'll diet

these phrases we used to reflect are underlying thoughts what we really

believe

now

here are

some anti procrastination phrases

I will complete my paper and be a successful student because I want to

I'll definitely work hard to get that project done

I'm confident I can earn an A

I'll start on monday

at ten o'clock

and I'll continued each day until the project is through

after I turn my paper in

I'll reward myself by going to the movies

utilizing these praises on a daily basis will help began to change the

procrastination type behaviors

or the cognitive and emotional reaction to thanks

now that i've given you some things to think about

i need to point out that change doesn't happen just because you think about it

you must take some action

so now that you're aware of

the types of thoughts that lead to procrastination

i suggest that you keep a log for about two weeks

here's how to do it

the first step whenever you're aware that your procrastinating

write it down

write down the task intended to accomplish

such as i was gonna read twenty pages of nutrition

next write down what you've been thinking or saying immediately before

you began to procrastinate

notice what your current behavior is

such as watching television or

being on facebook

and then recognize what are your current feelings

are you angry are you disappointed are you guilty

the log will allow you to see your patterns

once you're aware of those

you'll be more up able to apply appropriate cures

such as change procrastinator phrases to anti procrastination phrases

adding more positive reinforcements to provided incentives

and also don't forget to break those large projects into manageable task

once you make some positive changes continue to keep a log to see patterns

of improvement

based on what you see

fine-tune your plan is needed

using this approach you will likely reduce procrastination

and feel more in control of your own behavior

it's difficult to start a log

you're worried about whether or not you're gonna do it right

well my advice is just start

no one's going to be looking at it but you

now some of you may remember from an earlier workshop

that it takes about

twenty seven to thirty days to develop a new habit

so in reality it's gonna be a little challenging it's gonna be uncomfortable

when you first start

so just practice

and just do it

that all sounds like a great idea

but how do you start

well now that you've learned some strategies specific to overcoming

procrastination

try these general time management strategy that'll often help prevent procrastination

when you're trying to change some unhealthy habits it's good to have a

step-by-step game plan