Introduction
Everyone procrastinates. We put things off because we don’t wish to accomplish them, or because we have way too many other activities on our plates. Putting things off—big or small—is part of being human. It is likely that your procrastination is troubling you if you are reading this handout, however. You suspect you didn’t put off writing projects until the last minute that you could be a much better writer if only. You will find that just if you have really gotten taking place a paper, it is time for you to switch it in; so, you never really have time for you to carefully revise or proofread. You adore the rush of adrenaline you will get when you finish a paper 10 minutes you(and your body) are getting tired of pulling all-nighters before it’s due, but. You’re feeling okay about procrastinating whilst in college, but you worry that this habit shall follow you into the working life.
You can easily tell whether or perhaps not you have to do something about your procrastination by examining its consequences. Procrastination can have external consequences (you get a zero in the paper in) or internal consequences (you feel anxious much of the time, even when you are doing something that you enjoy) because you never turned it. If you put off washing the bathroom, however the dishes don’t frustrate you, who cares? When your procrastination leaves you feeling discouraged and overburdened, however, it is time to take action.
Is there hope?
If you were to think you might be a hopeless procrastinator, take heart! No one is beyond help. The fact that you are inherently lazy or inefficient that you procrastinate does not mean. Your procrastination just isn’t an beast that is untamable. It is a practice which includes some specific origin, which is a practice you could overcome. This handout will assist you to begin to understand why you procrastinate and give you some approaches for turning things around. For most procrastinators, however, there aren’t any quick fixes. You aren’t likely to get up tomorrow rather than procrastinate again. You might wake up tomorrow and do a couple of things that are simple shall help you finish that draft a little earlier or with less stress.
You might not be surprised to learn that procrastinators tend to be self-critical. So, as you consider carefully your procrastination and find it difficult to develop work that is different, act as gentle with yourself. Punishing yourself every time you recognize you’ve got put something off won’t help you change. Rewarding yourself when you make progress will.
About it. if you don’t care why you procrastinate—you simply want to know very well what to complete about it—then you may as well skip the next area of this handout and go to the section labeled “What to do” If you skip into the strategies, however, you could only end up more frustrated. Making the effort to know about why you procrastinate can help you avoid the cycle whereby you swear up and down that you’ll never procrastinate again, only to discover that the very next time you’ve got a paper due, you will be up to 3 a.m. wanting to complete the very first (and only) draft—without knowing why or the method that you got there.
Why it is done by us
So that you can stop putting off your writing assignments, it is essential to understand why you tend to do this in the first place. A few of the reasons that folks procrastinate include the annotated following:
Because our company is afraid
- Fear of failure: if you’re scared that a particular written piece is not likely to turn out well, you might avoid focusing on it to avoid feeling driving a car.
- Anxiety about success: Some procrastinators (the author of the handout included) fear that if they begin working at their full capacity, they are going to turn into workaholics. Since we procrastinate compulsively, we assume that individuals may also write compulsively; we envision ourselves locked in a library carrel, hunched within the computer, barely eating and sleeping and not seeing friends or going out. The procrastinator who fears success might also assume that if they work too much, they are going to become mean and cold to people around them, thus losing their ability to be friendly and to have some fun. Finally, this type of procrastinator may believe that if they stop procrastinating, chances are they will begin writing better, that may increase other people’s expectations, thus ultimately enhancing the amount of pressure they experience.
- Concern with losing autonomy: Some people delay writing projects as an easy way of maintaining their independence. Once they receive a writing assignment, they procrastinate as a way of saying, “You can’t make me do this. I am my own person.” Procrastinating helps them feel more accountable for situations (such as for example college) in which they think that other folks have authority.
- Anxiety about being alone: Other writers procrastinate simply because they desire to feel constantly connected to other individuals. For example, you might procrastinate before you are in such a bind that someone has got to come and rescue you. Procrastination therefore helps to ensure that other individuals may be involved in your daily life. You may even put off writing because you don’t wish to be alone, and writing is oftentimes a activity that is solitary. In its worst form, procrastination itself can become a companion, constantly reminding you of most that you have to do.
- Anxiety about attachment: instead of fearing separation, some people procrastinate to be able to create a barrier between themselves and others. They may delay so that you can create chaos within their lives, believing that the chaos will keep other individuals away.
Whether these fears can be found in our conscious or subconscious minds, they paralyze us and keep us from following through, until discomfort and anxiety overwhelms us and forces us to either a) obtain the written piece done or b) call it quits. (The preceding is a directory of Chapters 2-4 of Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen’s Procrastination: Why you will do It, What to Do about college homework helper any of it.)
Because we expect ourselves to be perfect
Procrastination and perfectionism often go hand in hand. Perfectionists have a tendency to procrastinate simply because they expect so much of themselves, plus they are scared about whether they can meet those high standards. Perfectionists sometimes genuinely believe that it is far better to give a half-hearted effort and continue maintaining the fact they are able to have written a good paper, than to give a full effort and risk writing a mediocre paper. Procrastinating guarantees failure, however it helps perfectionists maintain their belief which they may have excelled should they had tried harder. Another pitfall for perfectionists is that they tend to ignore progress toward a goal. As long as the writing project is incomplete, they feel as them closer to a finished product though they aren’t getting anywhere, rather than recognizing that each paragraph moves.
Because we don’t like our writing
You could procrastinate on writing in all its imperfection because you don’t like to re-read what you have written; you hate writing a first draft and then being forced to evaluate it. By procrastinating, you ensure that you don’t have time and energy to read over your projects, thus avoiding that moment that is uncomfortable.