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Put Off Procrastinating!!
Put Off Procrastinating!!
Module 5
Practical Techniques To Stop Procrastination
Introduction
2
What Do I Need To Do?
2
How Can I Do It?
4
When Can I Do It?
6
Other Tips
7
Module Summary
About the Modules
11
12
Put Off Procrastinating!!
The information provided in this document is for information purposes only. Please refer to the
full disclaimer and copyright statement available at http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au regarding the
information on this website before making use of such information.
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Introduction
As we have seen already, understanding procrastination and using helpful self-talk to overcome
procrastination, are both very important. But, at the end of the day it is taking action that needs to
happen. You may be familiar with the phrase “Just Do It”. Ultimately that is what needs to happen to stop
your procrastination, but it is easier said than done. No one ever tells you “How To Just Do It”, and this
Module will aim to show you how. In practical terms, you need to stop procrastination activities, such as
doing pleasurable tasks, lower priority tasks, socialising, engaging in distractions and daydreaming, and
instead you need to act and get started on important tasks and goals. This Module will take you through
practical ways to stop putting things off and start doing. These practical strategies will help you get going,
and will also address any weakness you may have in skills like organisation, time management, managing
your environment and the way you approach tasks, which may be contributing to your procrastination.
What Do I Need To Do?
The first practical step to overcoming procrastination is being very clear about what needs to be done. If
this is all hazy, then it is going to be very hard to get started. If the task is big or you have many tasks, you
won’t know where to start. If the task is small, you may be thinking it is worse than it really is. Being clear
about what you need to do will bring you one step closer to doing, as you will know exactly what you are
up against, and hence have a better idea about how to proceed. Knowing exactly what you need to do
involves the following.
Prioritise
Firstly, write a ‘To Do’ list of the tasks and goals you need to work on. This could
be a list for the day, the week, the month, or longer, depending on what makes
most sense for your circumstances. You may have more than one list, for example
a longer-term list for the month and a short-term list for each day. Depending on
your situation you may have lots of things on your list, or just one big thing that
you have been putting off. When you stand back and look at the list(s), think how
realistic it is to achieve these things in the time allocated. If it isn’t realistic, see
which tasks or goals can be postponed and revisited at a later date.
With your remaining list of activities it is now important to prioritise. Order them from things need to be
done first and foremost, then what next, and what can be done later down the track. That way you will
know where to start, not based on what you feel like doing, but instead based on what is most urgent and
important.
Grade
The next step is to grade each task. What we mean by grade is to break the task into all the small steps
that are involved in achieving the task. That way you break the task into ‘chunks’. This works well in the
sense that if it is a large task and you don’t know where to start, grading the task into its component steps
can make it seem less overwhelming. Alternatively if it is a small task, when you go to grade it you may see
there isn’t much too it, and this may motivate you to get it over and done with. When you grade a task,
think of the first step, and then work forward through the series of steps involved until the task is
completed. Include all the steps – big, medium and small. For the big steps, see if there is anyway you can
break them down further if they seem too big.
Tell Time
People who procrastinate are often not very good at telling time. What we mean by this is that they may
underestimate how long something will take them, and hence do not allocate enough time, and so things
don’t get done or are late. They may also overestimate how long something will take them, and hence
make the task a far bigger deal than it really is, which puts them off doing it. Improving your time telling by
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p
racticing estimating how long something takes can be helpful. You can do this by starting to keep a record
of tasks you regularly have problems with because you either underestimate or overestimate the time
required to do these tasks. Actually time how long it does take you to do these things and keep a record.
Once your time telling has improved, you can then make more accurate estimates of how long each step of
each task will take you.
B
elow is an example of how to prioritise, grade and allocate time to tasks. You can have a go at doing
something similar in a notebook, focusing particularly on the tasks or goals you have decided to tackle
throughout these Modules.
Prioritise Week’s Tasks
Ring family member
Finish ‘Put Off Procrastinating’ Modules
Pay gas bill
Tidy spare room for guests
Start a walking exercise routine
Grade & Time Tasks
Pay gas bill:
1. Find account (5 mins)
2. Ring company & pay over phone (5 mins)
Finish ‘Put Off Procrastinating’ Modules:
1. Complete Module 5 (2 hours)
2. Write outline for Module 6 (1 hour)
3. Write Module 6 (5 hours)
4. Write outline for Module 7 (1 hour)
5. Write Module 7 (5 hours)
6. Revise Modules 1-7 (7 hours)
7. Format Modules 1-7 (7 hours)
S
tart a walking exercise routine:
1. Find joggers (5 mins)
2. Get changed (5 mins)
3. Short walks (15 mins)
T
idy spare room for guests:
1. Put things away (20 mins)
2. Rearrange furniture (10 mins)
3. Change spare bed sheets (10 mins)
4. Dust furniture (15 mins)
R
ing family member:
1. Find phone number (2 mins)
2. Ring and speak to them (10 mins)
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How Can I Do It?
Now that you know exactly what needs to be done, you can focus on the best way to approach each step
involved in completing your tasks or goals. The overall aim is to take it one step at a time. However,
there are a number of different possibilities for approaching each step of a task or goal, and there is no one
right way. Below are some suggestions of different approaches you can try. Some of these approaches will
be more suited to certain types of tasks, and less relevant for other types of tasks. Try them on for size
and see which you like the most.
Worst-First
One option is to knock out the worst task first. If there is something you are dreading, get it over and
done with first, and then all the other things you need to do will seem like a breeze after that. This works
particularly well for small, but dreaded tasks (e.g., phoning someone you don’t want to speak to).
Using Momentum
Another option is to start doing a task that you like and that energises you, and then without a break
quickly switch to a task that you have been putting off. The idea is to use the motivation and momentum
you get from the task you like (e.g., cooking), to help you get through the task you don’t like (e.g., cleaning
the fridge out).
Just 5-Minutes
A really useful approach for getting started on tasks is to plan to spend just 5 minutes on the task. This is
such a small amount of time, so you will feel you can tolerate just 5 minutes. At the end of the 5 minutes
reassess and see if you can spend just another 5 minutes on the task, and so on. You may decide to make
the chunks of time a little larger (i.e., 10 minutes or 15 minutes), if this seems more reasonable for you.
The idea being, set just a small amount of time to get started on a task, at the end
of which see if you can go just another small amount of time more. You will be
surprised at just how much you are able to extend your time working on a task,
once you have gotten the ball rolling.
Set Time Limits
A different approach is to set a specific amount of time to work on a task, and
stick to just that, rather than extending things even if you feel you can. If you
know in the back of your mind that you are going to expect yourself to do more when the time is up, it
may stop you from starting in the first place, as it can feel like you are just trying to trick yourself.
Whereas, if you know you only need to do 30 minutes and that is it, regardless of whether you feel like
doing more, you may be more willing to get going.
Prime Time
Choosing the right time of day to approach a task can be helpful too. You might need to work out what
time of day you are most productive or energised or creative. The idea is to attempt tasks when you are
at your optimum. You may be a ‘night person’, a ‘morning person’ or a ‘middle of the day’ kind of person.
Also, there may be different times of day that are better suited for different types of tasks. For example, all
the ‘dry’ tasks (e.g., household chores) you may be better at tackling in the morning, and ‘creative’ tasks
(e.g., painting or drawing) you may be better with at night. Another example is that you may find it easier
to follow through with a new exercise routine in the morning compared to the end of the day, or vice
versa. The important thing is to become aware of what time of day works best for you, and seize those
moments to get going.
Prime Place
It is also important to choose the right place to attempt a task. You need to be aware of what types of
environments you get more done in, and what types of environments have distractions that make you more
likely to procrastinate. For example, trying to get a task done while there are lots of people around, means
there is the potential for social distractions, which isn’t going to help you get going. Therefore, you may
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need to isolate yourself for a set period of time in order to get work done. In addition, attempting tasks
whilst there are other distractions within arms reach (e.g., TV, fridge, telephone, etc), is just teasing
yourself and tempting procrastination. Hence, seek out environments you can work in with minimal
distractions (e.g., the library versus your home, your desk versus the loungeroom or your bed, etc).
Remember-Then-Do
For small irritating tasks that often slip your mind, a good strategy is that as soon as you remember you
need to do the task, seize that moment to follow through. Rather than putting it off and forgetting about it
again, use your remembering of the task as a sign to take action now.
Reminders
If forgetting tasks is a big part of why you procrastinate, use visual reminders and
prompts to help you. If the things you need to get done aren’t ‘in your face’, then it
will be a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’. So take steps to make sure that the tasks
you need to get done are ‘in your face’. This could involve writing notes or lists and
placing them in prominent places (e.g., fridge, bedside table, bathroom mirror, desk,
diary), or using other reminders (e.g., mobile phone, email manager, asking someone
else to remind you).
Visualise
Another way to approach your tasks or goals is to first visualise doing them. If you are good with imagery,
bring to mind a very vivid and real picture of doing the task. Try to use all your senses to make the image
as real as possible. In this image notice any obstacles coming up that get in the way of the task, and
visualise yourself successfully overcoming those obstacles and following through with the task to
completion. In the image focus particularly on the good feeling you have when the task is complete. Once
the task is successfully completed in your mind, use the momentum from the visualisation to get going on
the task in real life.
Focus
If you are feeling unsettled when sitting down to commence a task, take a moment to close your eyes and
focus on your breath. Try to lengthen out each breath in and each breath out. Slow your breath down to
smooth, slow and steady breathing. Take in normal and comfortable volumes of air, and try to allow
yourself to breathe from deep in the lungs and belly, rather than shallow in your chest. Just focus on the
breath. It may even be helpful to count your breath to yourself (e.g., “breathing in-2-3-4…hold…breathing
out 2-3-4-5-6”), counting whatever rhythm feels comfortable to you. Spend 5-10 minutes using your
breath to settle and focus, and then return to the task. Anytime you notice yourself becoming unsettled,
again just focus on a couple of slow and smooth breaths. Just observe the unsettled feeling, rather than
being irritated by it. Let go of the feeling by imagining each exhalation as carrying that unsettledness away
from the body, as the breath leaves the body.
Plan Rewards
A really important part of approaching tasks and goals in a productive way is to
actually plan rewards and ‘play time’. Often the things we could use to reward
ourselves (e.g., pleasure, socialising), are the very same things that distract us and
get us procrastinating in the first place, and hence make us feel guilty. But, there
is a difference between these activities interfering and distracting us from what
needs to be done, and instead using them to reward ourselves after something
has been achieved or as a well earned break from a task. The more you plan regular rewards for your
achievements, the less you will feel like you are missing out or being deprived of something, and hence the
less likely it is that you will procrastinate. The key is to let these rewards be guilt-free, by having pre-
planned them and fitted them around the work that needs to be done. People will often think “I don’t have
time” or “I don’t deserve rewards or fun”. But think of it this way, the things you don’t like doing tend to
zap some of your energy, whereas rewards, leisure and pleasure help replenish you energy, allowing you to
do better quality work in the long run. It is all about a balance between pleasure and achievement. When
you are a procrastinator the balance is out, in that there is more pleasure (often guilty pleasure) and little
achievement. The aim with overcoming procrastination is not for it to be all about achievement and no
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pleasure, as that doesn’t lead to a good life. Instead, finding the balance between pleasure and achievement
is the key to being a ‘doer’, rather than a ‘procrastinator’.
Now that you have had a look through the different ways you can approach tasks and goals, jot down the
ones you would most like to try that seem relevant to the tasks or goals you are trying to conquer
throughout these Modules:
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
When Can I Do It?
Now that you know what needs to be done, and have some ways of approaching the tasks and goals you
need to do, the final practical way to overcome procrastination is to identify when to do it. This involves
having some routine, and hence an idea of where the tasks you have been putting off can slot into your
routine. It is about making or allocating time to work on tasks or goals. There are two ways you can do
this, to schedule or to unschedule your tasks and goals. You may want to try both ways and see which
works best for you.
Schedule
Scheduling is like keeping a detailed diary. It involves making a plan for what will be done, at what point in
your day or week. On Page 8 you can see an example of how to use a schedule for your week. Notice
how this persons existing routine and commitments have been scheduled into the week (e.g., breakfast,
work, catching the bus, lunch, dinner, appointments, social outings, etc). Also included is a plan of when to
do the steps for each of the tasks and goals they have been procrastinating on, and these tasks appear in
bold type on the schedule (e.g., find gas bill/ring/pay, change/15min walk, tidy spare room, write Modules,
etc). Notice how when you schedule your week, you make a decision about the specific time you are going
to do things, this way your week is well planned and you know exactly when you will fit in the things you
have been putting off.
Unschedule
The upside of scheduling is that you have a detailed plan in place to follow, and you know exactly what
needs to be done when. However, there can be some downsides for some people. One downside is if
spontaneous events interfere with the plan. If something interrupts the plan, some people find it hard to be
flexible and get back on track with the schedule. Also, some people can feel like their week is too planned
and regimented, and may resent this. In addition, if you don’t happen to do a task or goal at the set time
you planned for whatever reason, some people can feel like they have “failed” at the schedule and may give
up altogether. If you find that these problems apply to you when you try scheduling your week, you may
want to try using the unschedule (Fiore, 1989). The unschedule shares some similarities with scheduling, in
that you use the same format to schedule in any existing commitments or usual routine, that is, the things
you know will happen in your week. However, the key difference is that you don’t write in when you plan
to do the tasks and goals you have set yourself that you had been procrastinating on. Instead, by having
scheduled your existing commitments, you will now be able to see where you have space in your week to
fit other things. The unschedule will help you see where you have blocks of time to devote to the tasks
and goals you have been putting off. Then, when one of these blocks of time presents itself, you can go to
your prioritised and graded list of tasks and goals, and decide what you are going to work on during this
time. Once you have worked solidly on a task or goal for 30 minutes, mark it into your schedule. Then if
you have worked for another solid 30 minutes, mark that in too. That is, you mark in each 30-minute
block of time you spend working on your tasks and goals after you have done it. Doing things this way, you
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can’t fail at the unschedule, as no specific target has been set. In addition, interruptions are more easily
accommodated, and you feel like there is some spontaneity in your week. At the end of each day or week
you can look back and see how much time you have devoted to doing things you have been procrastinating
about, by looking at the blocks of time you have marked off. Page 9 shows an example of what an
unschedule might look like.
The main thing is to give scheduling a go, whether it be using a more fixed method (i.e., planning specific
tasks for specific times in your week) or unfixed method (e.g., being aware of when you have blocks of time
in your routine to devote to tasks and goals, and marking off the time you have worked on these). On
Page 10 is a blank schedule so you can experiment with each method for the tasks and goals you have been
working on throughout these Modules.
Other Tips
Below are other practical tips that may be helpful in getting you going and following through on tasks.
Self-Monitoring
Similar to marking in the blocks of time you have worked in the unschedule, self-monitoring is the process
of recognising and recording what you have achieved. So when you have accomplished some work on a
task or completed a task, mark it in on your unschedule, or tick it off on your schedule, or tick it off your
initial list of tasks and goals you created. Don’t let these things go unnoticed or get swept under the
carpet, but instead acknowledge your achievements by having some record of what you have done. It is
amazing how something as simple as merely crossing a task off your ‘To Do List’, can make you feel really
good and keep you doing more.
Telling Someone
Another tip is to tell someone you trust that you are aiming to complete certain tasks or goals. Telling
someone has three aims. Firstly, when you tell other people it signifies a more serious commitment that
you are going to follow through on things, compared to when you do things in secret. Secondly, having
another person check in with how you are going can be motivating, as it makes you feel accountable to
someone other than yourself. Finally, if you are struggling, then that person can be someone you can gain
support from in tough times.
Assertiveness
Another thing to consider is whether a lack of assertiveness is getting in the way of you overcoming your
procrastination. For example, if you are unassertive you may find it difficult to say “no”. This may mean
that you take on unnecessary tasks, which lessens the time you have available for the real priority tasks and
goals you need to be working on. Another example is you may find it difficult to make requests of others,
such as telling people you need some time alone to work on something important. As such, this may keep
any social distractions going that interfere with working on your tasks and goals.
Assertiveness is a skill that takes some time and practice to develop. It involves recognising you have the
right to say ‘no’ and make reasonable requests, in a way that is respectful to both yourself and others. It
involves not just what you say (e.g., "I am unable to do that job for you at the moment, is there someone
else you could give it to” or “I really need some time alone to work on this right now, but I would love to
catch up with you afterwards”), but how you say it (e.g., clear and confident tone of voice, direct but calm
style, making eye contact, standing straight, listening to others, etc). If you struggle with these types of
things, you may want to refer to the InfoPax on Assertive Communication to help you deal with this issue
in more detail.
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Module Summary
• Overcoming procrastination in practical ways involves knowing what needs to be done, how to do it
and when to do it. Clarity, task approach and time availability is the key.
• To gain clarity as to exactly what needs to be done, you needs to write a list of tasks and goals, then
prioritise these, then grade each, and then accurately estimate how much time each step of each task
or goal will take.
• When contemplating how to do a task, there are numerous ways you can approach any given task to
make the task easier. Some of the methods you might try include, worst-first, using momentum, just 5-
minutes, set time limits, prime time, prime place, remember-then-do, reminders, visualise, focus, and
plan rewards.
• To manage your time availability, so that you know when to do your tasks and goals, you can use a
more fixed method like the schedule (i.e., planning specific tasks for specific times in your week) or a
more unfixed method like the unschedule (e.g., being aware of when you have blocks of time in your
routine to devote to tasks and goals, and marking off the time you have worked on these).
• Other things to consider when overcoming procrastination is self-monitoring your achievements,
getting someone else involved in the process, and improving your assertiveness skills.
Coming up next …
In the next module you will find tips
for addressing some of the underlying
reasons for your procrastination, such
as dealing with your unhelpful rules
and assumptions and increasing your
ability to tolerate discomfort.
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About The Modules
CONTRIBUTORS
Dr Lisa Saulsman (MPsych
1
; PhD
2
)
Centre for Clinical Interventions
Paula Nathan (MPsych
1
)
Director, Centre for Clinical Interventions
Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Psychiatry and Clinical
Neuroscience, The University of Western Australia
1
Masters of Psychology (Clinical Psychology)
2
Doctor of Philosophy (Clinical Psychology)
BACKGROUND
The concepts and strategies in these modules have been developed from evidence based psychological
practice, primarily Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT). CBT for procrastination is based on the
approach that procrastination is a result of problematic cognitions (thoughts) and behaviours.
REFERENCES
These are some of the professional references used to create the modules in this information package.
Bernard, M.E. (1991). Procrastinate Later! How To Motivate Yourself To Do It Now. Australia: Schwartz &
Wilkinson.
Burka, J.B., & Yuen, L.M. (1983). Procrastination: Why You Do It, What To Do About It. US: DaCapo Press.
Ellis, A., & Knaus, W.J. (1977). Overcoming Procrastination. New York: Signet.
Fiore, N. (1989). The Now Habit: A Strategic Program For Overcoming Procrastination And Enjoying Guilt-Free
Play. New York: Penguin Group.
Knaus, W.J. (1979). Do It Now: How To Stop Procrastinating. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.
Knaus, W. (2002). The Procrastination Workbook: Your Personalized Program For Breaking Free From The
Patterns That Hold You Back. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications Inc.
“PUT OFF PROCRASTINATING”
This module forms part of:
Saulsman, L., & Nathan, P. (2008). Put Off Procrastinating. Perth, Western Australia: Centre for Clinical
Interventions.
ISBN: 0 9757995 4 1 Created: August 2008
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