Procrastination and Strategies to Overcome It

Using the information from this TEDed and the article from the Harvard Business Review (below)  . . . . 

Why do people procrastinate? What is the psychology behind procrastination?

What are some different approaches, techniques, and/or strategies to manage or beat procrastination?

Possibly explore emotional triggers and behavioral patterns associated with procrastination.

What other viable techniques to overcoming procrastination can you think of (or find in a quick search)?

5 Research-Based Strategies for Overcoming Procrastination

Harvard Business Review  (Chris Bailey)

https://hbr.org/2017/10/5-research-based-strategies-for-overcoming-procrastination

Why do we procrastinate, even though we know it’s against our best interests? How can we overcome it, preferably without hating ourselves or the techniques we use in the process?

Why we procrastinate

Procrastination is a human condition. About 95% of people admit to putting off work, according to Piers Steel, author of The Procrastination Equation.  It might be argued that the remaining 5% are lying!  

As for the phenomenon of putting stuff off, it’s “a purely visceral, emotional reaction to something we don’t want to do,” says Tim Pychyl, author of Solving the Procrastination Puzzle. The more averse you find a task, the more likely you are to procrastinate.

In his research, Pychyl identifies a set of seven triggers that make a task seem more averse. Bring to mind something you’re putting off right now — you’ll probably find that task has many, if not all, of the characteristics that Pychyl discovered makes a task procrastination-worthy:

• Boring
• Frustrating
• Difficult
• Ambiguous
• Unstructured
• Not intrinsically rewarding (i.e., you don’t find the process fun)
• Lacking in personal meaning

On a neurological level, procrastination is not the slightest bit logical. It is the result of the emotional part of your brain, your limbic system, strong-arming the reasonable, rational part of your brain, your prefrontal cortex. The logical part of your brain surrenders the moment you choose social media over work, or decide to play another video game when you get home.

But there’s a way you can give the logical side of your brain the upper hand. When you notice an approaching showdown between logic and emotion, resist the impulse to procrastinate. Here are some great ways to do that.

1 Reverse the procrastination triggers. Consider which of Pychyl’s seven procrastination triggers are set off by an activity you’re dreading. Then try to think differently about the task, making the idea of completing it more attractive.

Take writing a quarterly report. If you find this boring, you can turn it into a game: see how many words you can crank out in a 20-minute time period. Or if you find a work task ambiguous and unstructured, create a workflow that lays out the exact steps you and your team should follow each month to get it done.

2 Work within your resistance level. When a task sets off procrastination triggers, we resist doing it. But just how resistant are we?

Let's say you have to wade through a dense piece of research for an upcoming project. To find your resistance level, consider the effort you commit to that task along a sliding scale. For example, could you focus on reading for an hour? No, that period of time still seems unpleasant. What about 30 minutes? Shorten the amount of time until you find a period with which you’re no longer resistant to the task — and then do it.

3 Do something — anything — to get started. It’s easier to keep going with a task after you’ve overcome the initial hump of starting it in the first place. That’s because the tasks that induce procrastination are rarely as bad as we think. Getting started on something forces a subconscious reappraisal of that work, where we might find that the actual task sets off fewer triggers than we originally anticipated.

Research suggests that we remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than projects we’ve finished. It’s like listening to a catchy song, only to have it unexpectedly cut off in the middle and then have it stuck in your head the rest of the day. Starting a task means you’ll continue to process it — and this makes you more likely to resume the work later on.

4 List the costs of procrastination. This tactic works best when you’re putting off larger tasks. While it’s not worth spending 20 minutes listing the costs of not going for your evening run, listing the costs will significantly help for a task such as saving for retirement. Add to your list all the ways procrastinating on retirement saving could affect your social life, finances, stress, happiness, health, and so on.

It’s also worth making a list of the things you put off personally and professionally, large and small, while calculating the costs of procrastination for each.

5 Disconnect. Our devices offer a cornucopia of distractions, whether it’s email, social media, or texting with friends and family. This is especially difficult as our work becomes more ambiguous and unstructured (two triggers of procrastination).

When you notice yourself using your device to procrastinate, disconnect. Sometimes when I’m writing, I go as far as to put my phone in another room, and shut off the WiFi on my computer. 

This may sound drastic, and it is. Disabling digital distractions ahead of time gives you no choice but to work on what’s really important.

There are proven ways to combat procrastination so that it doesn’t get in the way of accomplishing your most important tasks. The next time you resist a task, consider whether it sets off any of the procrastination triggers, work within your resistance level, force yourself to get started on it, list the costs of putting the task off, or disconnect from the internet.

You may just find yourself procrastinating a lot less often.

PIXAR Story Formula

Once upon a time there was _____.

(And) Every day, _____.  
(Until) One day _____. 
Because of that, _____. 
Because of that, _____. 
Until finally _____.
And ever since that day _______ .

See bottom for simplified version of instructions.

Once upon a time there was _____.

       These opening words remind us that our first responsibility as storytellers is to introduce our characters and setting. Fix the story in time and space. Instinctively, your audience wants to know: Who is the story about? Where are they? When is this taking place? You do not have to provide every little detail, but you must provide enough description to hook your audience or reader. You want the reader to know have everything needed to understand the story to follow.  In a movie or play, this would be the beginning of Act I. Keep in mind that you should plan the ending of your story before figuring out the middle of your story.

(And) Every day, _____.  

       With characters and settings established, you can begin to tell the audience or reader what life is like in this world every day. In The Wizard of Oz, for example, the opening scenes establish that Dorothy feels overlooked, unloved, and dreams of a better place "over the rainbow." This is Dorothy's "world in balance," and don't be confused by the term "balance." This does not imply that all is well - only that this is how things are.

(Until) One day _____.    (inciting incident/pivotal event)

       Something happens that throws the main character's world, forcing them to do something, change something, attain something that will restore the old balance or establish a new equilibrium. In story structure, this moment is referred to as the inciting incident. It is the pivotal event that launched the story.
       In The Wizard of Oz: the tornado provides the inciting incident by apparently transporting Dorothy far, far away from home.
       In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: the letter to Harry from Hogwarts is the pivotal event.

(And) Because of that, _____. 

      Your main character or protagonist begins the pursuit of the his goal. This is the main body of the story. After being literally dropped into the Land of Oz, Dorothy desperately wants to return home, but she is told that the only person who can help her lives miles away. So she must journey by foot to the Emerald City to meet a mysterious wizard. Along the way she will encounter several obstacles (apple-throwing trees, flying monkeys, sleep-inducing poppy fields, etc.). These things only make the narrative more interesting.  In a movie or play, this would be the beginning of Act II. 

(And) Because of that, _____. 

        Dorothy achieves her first objective which is meeting the "Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz." But, this is not the resolution of her dilemma. This is not the end of her story. Because of this meeting, she now has another objective: kill the Wicked Witch of the West and deliver the evil witch's broomstick to the Wizard. NOTE: In shorter stories you might have only one "because of this." No matter what, you need at least one "because of this."

Until finally _____.

      This is where the story approaches the moment of truth.  In a movie or play, this would be the beginning of Act III .  In The Wizard of Oz this is when Dorothy succeeds in her task and presents the Wizard with the deceased witch's broom.  At this point the Wizard must keep his promise to help her return to Kansas. He does this, but things do not happen in quite the way the audience or reader expects.
      The conflict or problem is finally and creatively resolved. 
      1) Remember that coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating. 
      2) Remember that you should have planned your ending before you figured out the middle of your story.

And ever since that day _______ .

          The story should continue enough to show what all of this means to the protagonist. In The Wizard of Oz, what Dorothy learns that what she needed, she always had, and there's no place like home.

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PIXAR FORMULA ( simplified version )

Once upon a time there was _____. (character, setting, time AND place)

(And) Every day, _____.   (the norm)

(Until) One day _____.  (pivotal event / inciting incident)

Because of that, _____. ( Because of that, _____.  Can be repeated for effect)

action rising . . . climax of story

Until finally _____. (resolution)

And ever since that day _______ . (the new norm)

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GREAT GENERAL ADVICE 
(The 22 Guidelines of Storytelling - Pixar First author: Emma Coats ex-Pixar Storyboard Artist)

#1: You want your reader to admire a character more for trying than for their successes.

#2: You must keep in mind what’s interesting to an audience, not what is fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.

#3: Integrating the theme you chose is important. At the end of your story it will become obvious if the theme you planned held true. You will probably have to rewrite. This is part of the process.

#4: Once upon a time there was _____.
      (And) Every day, _____.  
      (Until) One day _____. 
      Because of that, _____. 
      Because of that, _____. 
      Until finally _____.
      And ever since that day _______ .

#5: Simplify. Focus. You might need to combine characters. Hop over detours. You might feel like you are losing valuable content but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, make sure yours works.

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it is not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULD NOT happen next. This list will help.

#10: Dissect the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you need to recognize it before you can use it.

#11: Putting ideas on paper allows you start fixing them. If a perfect idea stays in your head, you will never share it with anyone.

#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. Discount the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th ideas – move the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What is it within you that feeds your story? That’s the heart of it.

#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on - it’ll come back around to be useful later.

#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?

#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

Ken Adams' version, which he calls The Story Spine, is one way to approach this.

Cat Quotes & 9 Strange Behaviors Explained

“I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.” - William Shakespeare

“In a cat’s eye, all things belong to cats.”  - English Proverb

“Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you later” – Mary Bly

“Cats choose us; we don’t own them.” - Lewis Carroll

“Just watching my cats can make me happy.” – Paula Cole

“In a cat’s eye, all things belong to cats”- Unknown

“If cats could talk, they wouldn’t.” - Unknown

“What greater gift than the love of a cat?” -Jim Davis (Garfield)

"In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this." -Terry Pratchett 

“What greater gift than the love of a cat?” - Jim Davis

“Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you later” – Mary Bly

Cats come and go without ever moving. - Unknown

In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.” – Terry Pratchett

“If cats could talk, they wouldn’t.” – Nan Porter

I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.” – Jean Cocteau

“I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It’s not. Mine had me trained in two days.” – Bill Dana

“Cats are inquisitive, but hate to admit it.” – Mason Cooley

“What greater gift than the love of a cat.” – Charles Dickens

“Cats are not required to make sense” - Unknown

“There is no sane way of explaining a cat.”  -Unknown

“Cats are inquisitive, but hate to admit it.” - Unknown

Career Essay (2 Phases)

Write your essay about a career you are interested in OR on someone who has/had the career that you are interested in.

Phase ONE

Examples:
If you are interested in becoming an astronaut, you might want to write about John Glenn or Neil Armstrong.

If you are interested in teaching, you might want to write about Aristotle or St. Elizabeth Ann Seton or Anne Sullivan.

If you are interested in becoming a lawyer, you might want to write about Abraham Lincoln or Sam Houston or Teresa Collett.

If you are interested in becoming an artist, you might want to write about Botticelli or Caravaggio.

If you are interested in working to forward the pro-life movement, you might want to write about Abby Johnson or Tim Tebow.

If you are interested in becoming an engineer, you might want to write about Nikola Tesla, Elon Musk or Sarah Guppy.

If you are interested in becoming a doctor, you might want to write about Dr. Michael DeBakey, Hippocrates, or Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell

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Phase TWO

Address details such as:

Best schools for this major 

Average time to complete the education necessary for this career  (Explain)

Different hiring scenarios   (What companies or other options are there?) 

Demand in the marketplace for this career

Average beginning salary

Average workload 

Introductions and Conclusions (General)

THE INTRODUCTION (3 things to remember)

1) Open w/ an attention grabber to hook the audience’s interest.  

This sentence (topic sentence) should connect to the clincher & possibly to the title. (TT/CC)

Consider these options:

• fact or statistic (if it is fascinating/ startling/ compelling)
• anecdote or personal experience (an intriguing example)       
• rhetorical question (thought-provoking)        
• bold pronouncement   
• great quote (It must make sense with your essay - consider a song lyric, part of a nursery rhyme, well known tag line, part of a poem)
• inverted pyramid  
• riddle, joke, play on words                                                 

2) Avoid statements like, “In this paper, I will . . . . “

Say what you mean in a declarative sentence. 

3) Include your THESIS STATEMENT

Write a 3 pronged academic thesis statement. It tells your reader what your three topics are. Your thesis is at the end of the introduction. 

PLAN IT LIKE THIS:  

What are your three topics?

(What is the main idea of paragraph 1) Topic 1

(What is the main idea of paragraph 2) Topic 2

(What is the main idea of paragraph 3) Topic 3    

 

EXAMPLES:    

• In order to better understand Twyla Tharp, one must be familiar with her early life, her choreography, and her life philosophy.

• It is important to consider Gene Kelly's childhood, training, & career highlights. 

• The science fiction phenomenon of Dr. Who is best understood after examining the show's timeline, the common themes of the plots, and the growth of its audience demographic.

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THE CONCLUSION  (3 things to remember)

1) Recap the three topics (do not use the exact words as the thesis sentence ,but it IS the same information)

2) Do not add new information in your conclusion (unless specifically called for in the directions).

3) These should be your last and/or second to last sentences

--> “The most significant thing about (your main idea of the essay)  is/was  (one topic paragraph point).

--> The clincher must connects to the topic sentence (and perhaps the title) (TT/CC)

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(TT/CC) = Title/ Topic/ Clincher/ Connection

Topic sentence -- the first sentence (aka: hook)

Clincher -- the last sentence

The Topic and Clincher sentences must always Connect (reflect, refract, or repeat)

The Title must Connect to one or the other (Topic or Clincher sentence)

The Selfish Giant (Oscar Wilde) Change the Dialogue to Description

 It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. "How happy we are here!" they cried to each other.

One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.

"What are you doing here?" he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away.

"My own garden is my own garden," said the Giant; "any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself." So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.

TRESPASSERS
WILL BE
PROSECUTED

He was a very selfish Giant.

The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. "How happy we were there," they said to each other.

Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. "Spring has forgotten this garden," they cried, "so we will live here all the year round." The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. "This is a delightful spot," he said, "we must ask the Hail on a visit." So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.

"I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming," said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; "I hope there will be a change in the weather."

But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. "He is too selfish," she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.

One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King's musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. "I believe the Spring has come at last," said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed and looked out.

What did he see?

He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it. "Climb up! little boy," said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the boy was too tiny.

And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. "How selfish I have been!" he said; "now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever." He was really very sorry for what he had done.

So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter again. Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant's neck, and kissed him. And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring. "It is your garden now, little children," said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were going to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.

All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good-bye.

"But where is your little companion?" he said: "the boy I put into the tree."

"We don't know," answered the children; "he has gone away."

"You must tell him to be sure and come here to-morrow," said the Giant. But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad.

Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him. "How I would like to see him!" he used to say.

Years passed, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden. "I have many beautiful flowers," he said; "but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all."

One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing. He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.

Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It certainly was a marvelous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he had loved.

Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, "Who hath dared to wound thee?" For on the palms of the child's hands were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet.

"Who hath dared to wound thee?" cried the Giant; "tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him."

"Nay!" answered the child; "but these are the wounds of Love."

"Who art thou?" said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child.

And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, "You let me play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise."

And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.