"Procrastination, I'm going to shap you".
"Tomorrow".
"Okay".
Do you often do homework or have urgent work tasks, but you still can't help but play with your mobile phone and watch TV first, and you will never wait for the deadline to drive, accompanied by your restless and restless little heart. Procrastination has seriously affected our study, life and career.
Is there really no cure for procrastination?
Let's talk about procrastination today.
The team of a psychologist named Sean McRae in Germany found that the way of thinking about goals is different, and the effect is completely different. If you're only thinking about a goal at an abstract level, you're likely to procrastinate; But if you think specifically about how to achieve the goal, such as how, where, and when you will achieve it, then you will be more inclined to do it efficiently rather than keep procrastinating.
In Dr. McRae's research, a group of students had to complete a simple task of opening a bank account and keeping a journal in three weeks. Half of the students were asked to write abstract things in their diaries, such as what kind of person would open a bank account; The other half of the students had to write down specific things in their diaries, such as chatting with bank clerks, filling out forms and depositing money. As a result, students who had to write specific things in their journals completed tasks much faster and more proportionally than those who only wrote abstract things.
Set yourself a deadline
Some people use the method of setting deadlines to overcome procrastination. Does this really work? The study found that setting a deadline for oneself can indeed alleviate procrastination to a certain extent, but the self-set deadline is not as effective as the externally prescribed deadline, and the self-set deadline is not easy to comply, and the examination time set by the school or the time set by the company to submit the plan is more binding on people. Therefore, externally imposed deadlines are more effective in overcoming procrastination.
Turn "must do" into "want to do".
Often, procrastination is due to the fact that we don't want to do something and make it a low priority. We rarely procrastinate on things we really want to do and love to do. Playing games and meeting people we like will stimulate our brain's reward circuits and release dopamine, giving us the desire and motivation to do these things. And what we don't want to do doesn't give us that sense of reward, and our brains don't have much incentive to start doing it. So how do you do that? For example, if you're going to submit a report, you tell yourself that this is an interesting field and I want to learn more about it. This kind of positive thinking will make you more willing to take the initiative to do things instead of just waiting for deadlines.
Don't set limits on yourself
Some people procrastinate because they "set their own limits". If you don't do something well, you can say, "It's not that I'm not capable, it's that I haven't arranged the time." This kind of thinking is called self-limiting. For example, if you score 60 points, you will tell yourself, I am still very smart, but I just didn't have a good revision time.
There was a 2012 study that looked specifically at the phenomenon of self-limitation. High school students participating in the study prepare for a math test. Before the test, they are asked to write down sentences that describe how they will prepare for the test. The high school students were divided into two groups, and the researchers gave one of the groups a positive sentence as an example: If I thought about it carefully, I would have done better. The other group got a neutral "what if......on". After reading the sentences, participants are asked to write a few more declarative sentences about how they will prepare for the test. Once written, these high school students begin their exams.
There were some high school students in both groups who had a tendency to set self-limits. It was found that among high school students who had a tendency to self-limit, those who read positive sentences persevered in preparing for the test longer, and more people who did not read positive sentences.25 hours. Why do positive sentences have such a big impact on self-limiting people? Self-limiting people procrastinate because they are unsure of their abilities and don't know what to do, while positive sentences allow them to think in a more positive way, and if they are less self-limiting, they can procrastinate less.
So, before you do something, don't doubt and limit your abilities, and tell yourself with an open mind: the more I prepare, the better I will perform. That way you won't procrastinate so much and you'll be more engaged in the preparations.
From passive procrastination to active procrastination
People who procrastinate can be divided into two types: one is an active procrastinator and the other is a negative procrastinator. Negative procrastination is more in line with our traditional understanding of procrastination: when it comes to completing a task, the negative procrastinator does not want to do anything, does not move forward with the task, just lets time pass, and endures the anxiety and the pleasure of procrastination in the passage of time. This is not the case with active procrastinators, who deliberately put off tasks until the last minute because they feel that they will be at their best and most motivated when the deadline is approaching. If you procrastinate in life just to perform at your best when deadlines are approaching, you may be an active procrastinator.
Positive procrastinators believe in their ability to achieve their goals, and they usually end up doing well when they tackle tasks. If you are a passive procrastinator, you can change your mindset and turn yourself into an active procrastinator: believing that you can get things done under pressure, then dedicating your time to what you want to do and what is meaningful, and finally completing what you have to do efficiently.