How to stop procrastinating... now!

1.1538158-1537183813 — Letting your mind wander occasionally can be beneficial. Image Credit: Getty Images

Emma Jepson was fully aware of just how important the work presentation was. The human resources executive was eyeing a possible promotion and this talk, in front of several tiers of company management, was a real opportunity to shine.

‘But I kept putting off preparing,’ says the 28-year-old Jumeirah Lakes Towers resident. ‘Every time I had a spare hour at work, I would find more mundane tasks to do – answering emails, updating HR documents, that kind of thing. And when I decided I’d get down to it at home one evening, I ended up wasting most of my time on Facebook and Twitter. When I eventually called it a night I had just half a page worth of notes – the talk was to be 40 minutes long!

‘I kept telling myself I was waiting for inspiration but I guess I was just delaying because it was difficult and I was worried  I might not do very well.’

She continued procrastinating until the weekend before the Sunday morning presentation, which was about ways to improve her company’s disciplinary procedures. Then, on the Saturday, she finally sat down and wrote her speech.

‘It went OK in the end but, because I’d left it so late, there were certain parts I had to blag,’ she admits. ‘I was asked a couple of questions and I answered all right but I was unsure of specifics because it was something I hadn’t had time to cover in my prep.’

She is, she says, still hoping for that promotion. But she is also still waiting.

‘I’ve learnt my lesson for next time,’ she concludes somewhat ruefully.

If Emma’s story sounds familiar, you too may be a procrastinator.

Research carried out by UK computer company Crucial suggests 75 per cent of us are in the habit of putting off today what can be done tomorrow. More surprisingly, perhaps, a 2010 study by the Chicago’s DePaul University found 20 per cent of people are likely to be chronic procrastinators, where they delay or postpone doing something. How those figures correlate in the UAE has never been researched but experts tend to agree that people living in big cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi – where there is simultaneously greater pressure to succeed and greater propensity for distraction – tend to be among the biggest procrastinators. Indeed, anecdotal evidence from therapists in the UAE indicates procrastination is far more common here than many people realise.

‘It affects far more people than anyone thinks,’ says Jared Alden, psychotherapist at the German Neuroscience Center in Dubai Healthcare City. ‘This desire to avoid making a decision or starting a task is at the heart of so many of the problems I deal with.’

Such avoidance can arise in any area of life, be it work, relationships, health or finances. But, however it manifests itself, experts agree that it is cause for concern. They reckon constantly putting off tough jobs or leaving things to the last minute can do real damage to both our mental and physical well-being.

‘We all procrastinate to some extent and that’s fine,’ says Dr Rose Logan, a clinical psychologist with The LightHouse Arabia in Dubai. ‘But if we do it too much that’s when real issues arise. With some people who come to me it has become a really severe problem. It can stop you achieving at work, make you less productive because you’re always putting things off, and put strains on your social life because you become indecisive.

‘At worst, procrastination means you constantly live with a background feeling of stress because there is always something that still needs to be done. That can lead to anxiety, sleepless nights and depression.’

Professor Joseph Ferrari, the lab director of DePaul University’s Center for Social, Personality and Community Research, goes further. He is widely acknowledged as the world’s leading authority on procrastination, having studied the behaviour pattern since the Eighties and written numerous books on the topic – and he reckons those who make a habit of delaying are more likely to suffer bad physical health too. ‘The research finds they get sick more often,’ he told the American Psychological Association’s website. ‘They have more headaches and more gastrointestinal problems. So why? Is it the procrastination? No, it’s probably the worry that goes along with this.’

So, procrastination is not good for us, but how can we stop it? ‘The first step is to be aware when we’re doing it and also be aware that what causes almost all procrastination is a fear of discomfort,’ says Dr Logan.

‘Then we need to ask ourselves, “What’s driving my desire not to do this particular job or make this particular decision? Do I have a legitimate reason?” Have that conversation with yourself. Very often when you realise your only reason is wanting to avoid some slight discomfort, you will then get on and do it. In some cases it may be so serious that you need to speak to someone. If it’s causing you to be depressed or, for example, it’s stopping you ending a relationship you don’t want to be in, there is a case for seeking help. But often it’s just about setting yourself goals that will allow you to stop putting things off.’

Setting those goals, it seems, is key.  If you want to clean the house from top to bottom before relatives arrive for a visit, the sheer scope of the task may seem daunting. Far easier to put it off for another day and enjoy that box set now.

But if you approach it by doing one room at a time and then watching one episode of the box set as a reward, the job suddenly becomes manageable. ‘If it’s a work presentation, tell yourself you’ll do the introduction today and then work on it again tomorrow,’ says Dr Logan. ‘It makes it easier because you can see an end to the work.’

Along similar lines, give yourself plenty of breaks. Spending 10 minutes away from the computer screen while working on an essay not only allows the brain to recharge, it also breaks the task down into bite-sized chunks.

‘Psychologically,’ notes Dr Logan, ‘this makes it easier for us to deal with.’

Another tried-and-tested method to avoid procrastinating is the ‘sandwich approach’, as advocated by Stanford University professor John Perry in his landmark book The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing.

He reckons that if we have a bunch of jobs on a to-do list the best way to tackle them is to start with one that you find more pleasant (replying to that email from your mum, perhaps), then you could move on to one you would rather not do (unblocking that drain, maybe). Then finish with another enjoyable one (watering the plants, possibly).

Avoiding social media is also a good idea.

‘It’s so easy to check a message on your phone, then just have a quick glance at Facebook or Instagram, reply to a couple of posts, follow a link, and, before you know it, checking that message has cost you half an hour,’ says Dr Logan.

In this way, social media is a 21st-century rabbit hole. A five-minute break all too easily leads all too easily into half the morning disappearing. ‘You know what you never hear anyone say?’ says psychotherapist Jared. ‘No one says ‘I wish I’d spent more time on Facebook yesterday’. I always advise taking these apps off your phone so they’re more difficult to get sucked into.’

Think, too, about writing down your worst procrastination story. If, for example, you once avoided going to the doctor for so long that a simple backache turned into needing time off work, jot it down and stick it up at your work station. Then every time you start to defer a job you have a written reminder of what the consequences could be.

But, above and beyond all else, also keep things in perspective. Just because you procrastinate sometimes, that doesn’t mean you’re a procrastinator. Leaving the odd job until tomorrow or sleeping on the occasional decision won’t cause your health to deteriorate. Indeed, letting your mind wander can, within reason, be entirely beneficial.

‘Mind wandering seems to be very useful for planning and creative thought,’ notes Dr Jonathan Schooler of the University of California’s department of psychology and brain science. ‘Allowing people an incubation period in which to let their minds explore really helps the creative process.’

In short, we all avoid things – and that can even be a positive. Remember it’s only when it begins to cause problems there may be, well, a problem.

‘Sometimes,’ says Jared, ‘things can wait. Don’t worry so much about avoiding procrastination that you burn out. “I had a patient recently who said he’d been procrastinating about revising for a science exam all holiday but had not even started. It turned out he’d also had five essays that he had got done, while his exam wasn’t for another three weeks. I said ‘That’s not procrastinating, that’s prioritising’.

‘It’s important not to allow misplaced guilt to become an issue because that leads to greater fear of failure which in turn leads to more procrastinating.’

Indeed, it advice which Emma, the human resources executive, says she will be taking. ‘I’ve always tended to put things off a little but the work presentation was the first time when I felt it had affected my confidence,’ she says. ‘Now I know the consequences, I’m determined it won’t happen again.’