66 | www. Char l es tonPhys i c i ans . com | www.Hea l thL i nksChar l es ton . com According to Katelyn Campbell, Psy.D., another of Charleston’s private practice therapists, “If a certain task involves high levels of concentration, any sort of difficult emotion or isn’t engaging/exciting enough, clients may avoid feelings of anxiety, dread or boredom by postponing the task.” “Gradually, these people become accustomed to only working under time-pressure conditions and the increased level of adrenaline/stress associated with meeting a deadline,” Dr. Campbell adds. “Working without the stress of the time crunch becomes difficult.” Dr. Campbell considers perfectionism another root cause of procrastination. Those who fear failure or disappointing results from their efforts may be willing to be judged as lazy underachievers rather than risk being viewed as less than perfect. She incorporates anxiety-reducing strategies and therapy to help her clients let go of the unrealistic self-demands of perfectionism. Greenville family therapist Kelly Roseberry, Ed.S., LMFTS, CSOTS, opened her practice, All About Change, “to try to keep struggling kids out of facilities by addressing family issues within the home before things spiral out of control.” While procrastinating may be only one piece of the relationship concerns, she recognizes the negative ripple effects of living or working with a habitual procrastinator. “I find that helping clients learn to follow a daily agenda, plan for projects and avoid last-minute overscheduling reduces stress, not just for the individuals but for their loved ones and co-workers,” Roseberry said. “Finding balance is the key.” THE ANATOMY OF PROCRASTINATION Scientists have discovered that when stress and anxiety arise, the brain’s automatic limbic system – where mood control is the priority – races against the amygdala in the prefrontal cortex – where thinking and decision-making are conscious efforts – to reduce the perceived immediate danger and its accompanying anxiety. If the limbic system wins, people push the negative feelings away by postponing the stressor and are subsequently rewarded with a burst of the feel-good neurotransmitter – dopamine. PROCRASTINATION By the Numbers FIFTEEN PERCENT TO 20% of U.S. adults are chronic procrastinators, and 88% of employees admit they procrastinate at least one hour every day. solvingprocrastination.com/procrastination-statistics Procrastination is the norm in colleges and universities, with 80% TO 95% of the students owning up to this frustrating habit. nu.edu/blog/helping-students-overcome-procrastination/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20American%20Psychological,of%20every%20five%20 students%20in OVER 95% of procrastinators would like to reduce what they consider to be this negative behavior. psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-2909.133.1.65 A whopping 94% of survey respondents have indicated that procrastination has negatively impacted their levels of happiness. Of those, 18% expressed the impact as severely negative. solvingprocrastination.com/procrastination-statistics Procrastination appears to decrease with age. Young people, AGES 14 TO 29, have the highest rates of procrastination. journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0148054#:~:text=Procrastination%20across%20 the%20life%20span&text=Post%20hoc%20analysis%20revealed%20that,05%2C%20d%20%3D%200.25) CURB PROCRASTINATION WITH THESE TIPS 1. Break work sessions into 25-minute intervals with five-minute breaks, during which you practice mindfulness by doing activities such as meditating or journaling. 2. Tackle the most difficult or meaningful task first thing in your morning. 3. Trick your brain by offering yourself a small reward for working on something you have been avoiding. 4. Break overwhelming tasks down into pieces so small you have no excuse not to do at least the first one. Each minor success becomes fuel for the next step. 5. Manage your environment and how you view the task. Listen to yourself speak out loud about the positive outcomes of completing it successfully. 6. Forgive yourself and have some compassion when you do procrastinate. In this instance, feeling worse will not motivate you to do better. 7. Finally, if you need a little professional help, seek it out. This is definitely not the time to procrastinate. Source: mindtools.com/a5plzk8/how-to-stop-procrastinating.
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