How to (Finally) Stop Procrastinating
Students who procrastinate can often struggle in school, missing deadlines or adding unnecessary stress. How can we teach our kids to do what needs to be done in school when it needs to be done. Procrastination expert Eric M. Twiggs walks us through techniques to take action and stop procrastinating.
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Eric M. Twiggs first became interested in procrastination when he was in college. As a student, he procrastinated a pager, and then at the last minute had computer problems and wasn't able to turn the paper in.
He hoped that the teacher would be lenient, but he ended up dropping a whole letter grade.
Why Do We Procrastinate?
We assume best case scenarios.
We are bad at predicting what could go wrong.
How to Stop Procrastinating
1. Don't Focus on Outcome
Instead, we need to focus on process.
We often fear failure.
In a study of 262 students, they were divided into two groups.
Group A visualized the outcome of getting and A.
Group B visualized the process (how they would study, etc.)
Group B did better: we also need to think about the process that will get us there.
2. Eliminate Distractions
88% of students felt their cell phone vibrate...even when it was off!
Be aware of how distracting cell phones can be.
Eliminate alerts; put phones in a different space.
A big cause of procrastination is anxiety.
People look for relief from that anxiety in their phones.
Be aware: are there patterns of things you procrastinate on?
Go back to focusing on process.
Practice and prepare.
3. Environment can dictate behavior.
A study was done on what made a great students and it was found that study groups, mentors and tutors had a huge impact.
People don't do what they don't understand, so get help when needed.
Final Thoughts
Don't allow perfect to become the enemy of progress.
Start- even if it's small.
