Solving the Procrastination Puzzle

By Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo

This book “Solving the Procrastination Puzzle:  A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change” by Timothy Pychyl reveals to us the two main reasons why we procrastinate or delay doing our tasks and duties:

(1) The Future Self Forecasting Fallacy: When we put off a task, we assume our future selves will be in a better mood and have the energy to do it. Essentially, we tell ourselves, “I don’t feel like doing this now, but my future self will surely do it!” But we fail to predict that our future self will still be busy and just as unwilling to do a task as our current selves are.

(2) The Mood Enhancement Effect: If the thought of doing a task right now makes us feel down, we usually put it off until tomorrow, and we think we made the right decision because our  mood improves. The truth is it’s our bad mood that makes us procrastinate on difficult tasks and seek immediate pleasure. It’s our instant satisfaction attitude that makes us value our current emotional state more than a future emotional state – just as we prefer $100 today to $100 in one month – and it’s easy to see why we have a procrastination problem.

The Author Recommends a L.E.A.R.N Response

The urge to avoid a task starts in an area of the brain called the amygdala. When the amygdala is active, we experience the “fight‐or‐flight” response. Luckily, we can L.E.A.R.N. to calm down the amygdala when we encounter a task that we don’t feel like doing and reduce the

urge to run away by Labeling, Exhaling, Accepting, Releasing, and Noticing.

Label the emotion leading to procrastination. When we feel the urge to procrastinate, we must call it out by thinking, “This is overwhelmed,” or “This is anxiety.” Consciously acknowledging our fearful emotion is proven to reduce activity in the amygdala.

Exhale slowly. By consciously exhaling longer than we inhale, we activate a parasympathetic response that counteracts the fight‐or‐flight response.

Accept whatever you’re feeling. When we resist an uncomfortable emotion, we prolong its presence. But when we accept a negative emotion, that emotion is no longer perceived as a threat, which further calms the amygdala.

Release muscle tension. Letting go of muscle tension relaxes the body, which relaxes the amygdala.

Notice where the urge to procrastinate is coming from. Searching our bodies for the source of our procrastination urge puts us in a curious state, which we can then use to explore and move toward a task we didn’t feel like doing.

Set an Anti‐Procrastination Intention

An anti‐procrastination intention (also known as an implementation intention) is a specific “when‐then” statement directed at a frequently procrastinated task. For example, “When I hear my ‘book writing’ calendar notification at 9 AM, I will open a new Word document on my laptop and do stream of conscious typing for 5 minutes to generate ideas for the writing session.” Give the brain an explicit cue and a simple action sequence, and it will act without thought or resistance.

But sometimes, we need extra motivation to start a frequently procrastinated task. That’s why psychologists have come up with the W.O.O.P. method – Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan. Think of it like implementation intentions on steroids. Complete the following W.O.O.P. statements for a task or project you’ve been putting off and you’ll find that you need very little willpower to move past your procrastination and get your work done:

Wish: “I wish to complete ______________________.”

Fill out this statement by thinking of something you want to finish by the end of the day – it’s typically a project or task you’ve been putting off.

Outcome: “After I complete ____________________, I will experience ___________________.”

Complete this statement by imagining the emotional high you’ll experience when you fulfill your wish in statement one and perhaps write “immense pride,” “excitement,” or “complete satisfaction” as your reward feeling.

Obstacle: “However, I won’t experience ________________ if I___________________.”

Complete this statement by writing the experience you want to have followed by the procrastination tactic that will prevent you from having it. You may write in the second blank: if “I’m too tired” or “Feeling lazy”. Paradoxically, imagining an optimistic vision of the future destroyed by procrastination is motivating (not demoralizing) because we hate the feeling of being held back.

Plan: “When I start to ______________________, I will _____________________.”

This is the anti‐procrastination intention (implementation intention). Here you might write, “When I start to think ‘I’m too tired to work,’ I will get on the floor, do five push‐ups, and get to work.” OR “When I start to browse YouTube, Reddit, or check my email, I will turn off the phone and stare at the wall until I feel like working again.”

Procrastination is simply a discipline problem.  If we practice the virtue of discipline we will not procrastinate.  Discipline is precisely defined as doing a task even if we don’t have the good feelings of doing it.  But you don’t have to worry about your bad feelings while initially doing your task, because it will then be rewarded by great feelings of satisfaction after finishing it, plus you feel proud of yourself for having overcome your laziness.