4. PROF. tim pychyl
dr. timothy pychyl is an associate professor in the
department of psychology at carleton university. his
research focuses on procrastination.
he has numerous publications, a website, a blog, podcasts,
and comic strips
For more information about his research, visit www.procrastination.ca
7. what is procrastination?
derived from the latin verb: procrastinare
pro – forward motion
crastinus – belonging to tomorrow
to “put off or postpone until another day”
8. Tomorrow
(noun)
a mystical land where 98% of all human productivity,
motivation, and achievement is stored.
- Unknown
14. why do people procrastinate?
• perfectionism
• feeling inadequate
• undeveloped study skills
• aversion to discomfort
• resentment
• being overextended
• lifestyle issues
• fear of success/failure
• overwhelming negative
emotional states
15. procrastination involves a voluntary, irrational, delay
despite the expectation of a potential negative outcome
(Mohsen Haghbin)
17. this is an example of self-regulation failure
a.k.a.
short-term mood repair
“Giving in to Feel Good”
18. Personality (me)
nature of our goals and
intentions (the task)
self-regulation
failure
cognitions and beliefs
(the way I think)
self-control and willpower
(lack of willpower)
19. personality
“i just don’t
want to do it”
Impulsivity
(Resistance)
“i don’t know where
to start”
Conscientiousness
“it will never be
good enough”
(Fear of Failure)
Perfectionism
23. “it’s not fun”
THE TASK
“it’s too hard”
task aversiveness=
dreading the displeasure of doing the task
1.
lack of meaning à lack of enjoyment, fun,
pleasure, passion, self-identity
2.
lack of structure à lack of autonomy, control,
initiation, uncertainty
25. lack of willpower
willpower is like a muscle..
the more we exercise it, the
stronger it gets!
it is also a limited resource!
26. the way i think
1. irrational beliefs
a. “i’m not smart enough to do this”
b. “studying won’t help”
2. self-deception
a. “i’ll feel more like doing it tomorrow”
b. “there’s plenty of time, it can wait until later”
27. effects OF PROCRASTINATION
Procrastination is more than the cost of a few
“all nighters” in the dorms of universities
a.
b.
c.
d.
performance
emotional and mental well-being
physical health
relationships
28. so if procrastination occurs
because of the way we think…
to beat it, we need to THINK
about how we THINK.
“metacognition”
29. recognizing procrastination
1.
admit that you WILL procrastinate! (it’s
inevitable)
2. identify the cost of procrastinating or the
benefits of completing the task on time
3. forgive yourself!
34. 2. create obstacles
“if you find a path with no obstacles,
it probably doesn’t lead anywhere”
- Frank a. Clark
35. 2. create obstacles
- multi-tasking is a myth!
- choose a designated workspace that you feel motivated in
- bring only the tools you need for the task
- use internet blocking apps such as anti-social
- leave post-it note reminders on your most common forms
of procrastination
36. Once concentration has been broken, it takes at least
15 minutes to get back into the “work” state of mind
43. 3. just get started!
divide the task into bite-sized chunks
intro
conclusion
research
discussion
divide the task into 5, 15, or 30 minute portions
44.
45. Pomodoro technique
• choose a task to work on
• set a timer for 25 minutes
• work on the task until the timer goes off
• take a 5 minute break
• reset the timer and repeat
after 2 hours, give yourself a longer break
