According to DePaul University research, in 1978 5 percent of people stated they were procrastinators. In 2018 that number jumped to 26 percent of people who stated they were procrastinators.
Jessie Shepherd, a Mental Health Counselor, joined us to share some hacks if you are one of them.
Jessie says there are three different types of procrastinators.
-Arousal type. These are the `thrill seekers` in life who unconsciously or consciously wait last minute for the endorphin rush. This is the only type that does not often hold closely with the perfectionist.
-Avoiding type. These folks are knee deep in perfectionists because avoiders tend to hold a fear of failure. They may even be fearful of success. This fear holds tightly to a general concern of what others think about them, with their behaviors being easily modified.
-Decision type. These folks have a difficult time making a decision. They often will ask others to make it for them or make a decision purely on what they think others would approve of. The fear here is that they do not want to be responsible for if it was a bad decision or be seen as incompetent. Disapproval from others is unbearable. So as you can guess, perfectionism fits right in here.
If you want to make a change -- she's offering these anti-procrastination hacks.
- Recognize that you are stressed. Write it down, self reflect for a moment- note your triggers to stress and then procrastination.
- Make one small decision. Even as small as eating an apple instead of an orange awakens your prefrontal cortex so that you can be rational again.
- Do one task on your to do list. Tell yourself that you can get back to your distractions as soon as you finish that one task you have chosen. But then set a time limit on how long you can distract again.
- Do some pushups or wall sits. Doing some physical activity can help bring us out of our `funk`, wakes us up and breaks the distraction long enough to get back on track.
- Develop a better stress relieving strategy. Plan on going for a walk during lunch, get a massage at the end of the day, or take time to meditate before bed. Basically your stress is too high and you are trying to cope when you should be working.
You can learn more from Jessie on her website: jessiethetherapist.com.
