Overcome Procrastination

By Xiaochi Liu in Scientific Writing

What should I do

Improve self-esteem

  • Make time for activities that are unrelated to research

  • Acknowledge small achievements

  • Measure your own progress

Deal with anxiety about future

Exit the shame and guilt cycle

  • Show kindness to yourself

  • Switch to a different task

  • Speak to a true support

  • Eat right, Sleep right, Do exercise

Overcoming being stuck

  • Communicate with supervisors clearly

  • Talk to peers or friends

  • Explain the problem from a different perspective

Look after yourself

  • good nutrients, particularly bright fruits and veggies

  • get good sleep

  • exercise

  • If an introvert, make time for personal reflection or deep conversation

Work Deeply

  • Find out what conditions suit you best

  • Aim to build up to 2-4 hours of distraction free work

  • Give adequate time for rest, health and other activities

What is procrastination

Procrastination is strategic

  • Protecting us / avoiding things which we fear

  • Waiting to understand the circumstances before acting

  • Protest / rejection of things which don’t align with our priorities and values

Causes of procrastination

  1. Not enough information on what you need to do

  2. Task is too big or too difficult

  3. Perfectionism

  4. Task is not rewarding

  5. Task is not urgent

How to over come it

Strategies for making progress:

  1. Not enough information on what you need to do

    • Identify the cause, free of judgement or panic

    • Find an exemplar

    • Form a hypothesis and seek expert help

    • Seek advice/support from several different sources

    • Read about it: blogs, guides, research about research

    • Other strategies…

  2. Task is too big or too difficult

    • Identify the cause, free of judgement: it feels too big

    • Map the task, to find ways to break it into parts

    • No part too small to start (open a file and give it a name)

    • Ask for help

    • Give yourself a step up or lower the bar

    • Other strategies…

  3. Perfectionism

    • Critique the perfectionist agenda

    • Do not need to be perfect, but need feedback and be on time

    • Positive and realistic self-talk

    • Work alongside others

    • Lower the stakes

    • Ration your improvement time

    • Other strategies…

  4. Task is not rewarding

    • Check your real priorities

    • Make your goals visible

    • Make your successes visible

    • Pace the rewards and/or add extra rewards

    • Manage stress

    • Cooperate with yourself (YANHP)

  5. Task is not urgent

    • Check your real priorities

    • Create deadlines with real consequences

    • Plan ahead for each day (plan before you stop (take a break))

    • Get a witness

    • Refine the accuracy of your predictions about time

    • Take breaks with finite activities

    • Other strategies…

The role of thoughts

  • I am really tired –> I can make a small start before resting

  • I don’t have everything I need for all the parts –> I’ll work on the parts that I can do

  • I have plenty of time –> I will do some of this now and be ahead

  • I have other things to do –> Those things can be done after this