OH! Magazine - Australian Version March 2016 | Page 32

PROCRASTINATORS:
DRAMA QUEENS OR DREAMERS?

GREG
SELLAR

Greg Sellar explores the timeless art of procrastination!
rocrastination can hurt careers,
workplaces and most importantly,
you. It’s a serious enough condition to
scupper goals, dreams and aspirations
because we choose to be a drama queen
or dreamer regarding why take no action.
Procrastination can also reap major
health
implications
with
serial
procrastinators often suffering high stress
levels, heart conditions and lower levels
of wellbeing.

P

If you’re a procrastinator, you may have
the ability to work hard, but telling you to
buy a weekly planner is like telling
someone with chronic depression to
cheer up! The thing is, like any habit, you
have the ability to get yourself out of it,
just as you got yourself into it.
The dictio nary defines procrastination as,
‘to put off doing something, especially
out of habitual carelessness or laziness’.
It’s interesting that procrastination is
defined as a habit; because a habit is
something created by us, which means
we are free to ask ‘why’ and can
successfully develop strategies to
overcome it.
True procrastination is a complicated
failure of self-regulation: experts define it
as the voluntary delay of some important
task that we intend to do, despite knowing
that we’ll suffer as a result. A poor
concept of time definitely contributes to
the problem, but an inability to manage
emotions seems to be its very foundation.
Procrastinators either put stuff off
because they fool themselves into
thinking they work better under pressure
(they don’t); or they’re not following
through because they’re suckered into ‘la
la land’, which is a magical place where

32

MARCH 2016 ( OH! MAGAZINE )

everything will be great, but you don’t
actually have to work hard to get there;
instead, you just have to wait long enough
and it will find you!
If you’re suddenly coming to the
realisation that perhaps you’re the reason
you’re not where you thought you’d be,
don’t fear! You’re among the 20 per cent
who are self-confessed procrastinators,
while the other 80 per cent will catch the
procrastination bug from time to time.
Procrastinators are often heard saying
they need ‘the perfect conditions’ or a
‘Monday’ to begin, but the truth is,
procrastination is a vicious cycle that
affects bottom lines at work, and selfesteem in life.
‘I’ve found that while everybody may
procrastinate, not everyone is a
procrastinator,’ explains Joseph Ferrari, a
professor of psychology at DePaul
University and one of the world’s leading
researchers on procrastination. He
believes that people procrastinate for
different reasons and as a result, he has
identified
three
basic
types
of
procrastinators:
1. Arousal types: These thrill-seeker
types tend to wait until the last
minute for the euphoric rush.
2. Avoiders: Often these types of
procrastinators will be avoiding fear
of failure or even fear of success; in
either case they are very concerned
with what others think of them, and
they would rather have others think
they lack effort than ability.
3. Decisional procrastinators: These
folks cannot make a decision. In
their mind, avoiding decision making

absolves them of the responsibility
for the outcome.
So, what do you need to get yourself out
of it?
Sometimes, if the habit has been there
long enough, it’ll require a deep processes
to unblock the ‘why’ question. Essentially,
in order to achieve positive behavioural
change and greater success, new neural
pathways need to be established so we
can rewrite new habits over the old.
If you need help with this process, or if
you’d like any additional information
about procrastination, then drop me a
line (do it now!) via
www.teamlifehack.com

www.teamlifehack.com

(Performance Coaching)