Are You Setting Yourself Up to Procrastinate
Below is a MRR and PLR article in category Reference Education -> subcategory College.
Are You Setting Yourself Up to Procrastinate?
Introduction
"How can I stop procrastinating?"
This is the most common question I hear from graduate students and professors. As a dissertation and tenure coach, I've noticed that procrastination is a widespread challenge in academia, affecting those working on dissertations, articles, or research. But why does this happen among such a well-educated, intelligent group?
The Misguided Mindset
Your mindset might be holding you back. Many academics believe they need large blocks of time, thorough preparation, and the right mindset to write effectively.
When you finally sit down to write, it feels like an unpleasant marathon. You build up the session so much that anxiety takes over. You haven’t resolved certain issues, read necessary articles, or organized your thoughts. If you don’t achieve everything now, disappointment looms. This approach is both unpleasant and counterproductive!
A New Approach: Embrace the Irony
Research by Robert Boyce reveals that first and second-year professors produced more publishable pages annually by:
- Writing for 30 minutes each day
- Writing only on workdays
- Incorporating writing into small gaps in their schedules
The challenge was convincing them to try this low-pressure method. Ironically, they believed that only marathon sessions could yield results. When Boyce measured their actual pre-intervention writing time, it was less than 30 minutes per week?"far less than they reported.
Another irony was that those who believed they needed extended writing sessions were the least productive. Moreover, although writing seemed like a private task, they performed best when accountable to someone for their daily writing habit.
Take Action
What’s stopping you from committing to short, daily writing sessions? Common excuses include:
- It doesn’t feel rewarding to write in small amounts.
- Big issues take longer than 30 minutes to address.
- Guilt arises from not doing more.
- The pace seems too slow for dissertation or project completion.
- Limited time or overwhelming tasks prevent starting.
My response? Nonsense! With no immediate deadlines, you owe it to yourself to try this technique. The more resistant you are, the more likely procrastination has been a problem for you.
A Week-Long Challenge
Try a week-long experiment: Set aside 30 minutes daily (preferably not at night unless you're a night owl) to write without email, reading, or other distractions. Ignore thoughts like "I should be doing more." By the end of the week, you’ll likely be surprised by your progress and find writing becoming easier. You'll start to see real advancement on your dissertation or article, realizing completion is within reach.
Accountability is key. Tell someone about your daily writing plan. Find a writing buddy, connect with your dissertation group, or join one of my coaching groups. Our listservs offer plenty of accountability, and CaféAcademia.com will soon provide a platform to find writing partners.
Conclusion
Remember, if you always do what you've always done, you’ll always get the same results. Start setting yourself up for success today!
You can find the original non-AI version of this article here: Are You Setting Yourself Up to Procrastinate .
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