Procrastination - Methods for elimination.

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Comment by docregal.com on March 3, 2011 at 11:08am

You can also add Future Pacing and Reframing.

Comment by Leo Gopal on March 3, 2011 at 5:31am

Apologize for the Extra large text!

Copy and Paste was not such a great Idea.

Comment by Leo Gopal on March 3, 2011 at 5:07am

Hi Kevin,

 

You may find this quite helpful, it is not hypnosis but it is completely psychological and you can build in your suggestions from getting through the foundations:

 

Taken from my Article: 5 Powerful Psychological Techniques to Beat Procrastination and Get...

To be truly and completely honest with you, I was supposed to have written this article last week, but alas I was to be plagued by the evil arrows of procrastination. Living in this industrial age we have noticed how big of an issue procrastination has become, so dreadful it is that I had to write an article of 5 Powerful ways to Beat Procrastination.

However, before the Industrial revolution, people did not actually think of procrastination in negative terms as we do today, neither was it positive, it was on the border, a neutral element of thought, neither good or bad. Such thinking makes one think of Shakespeares famous words in the Play Hamlet:

for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
- Hamlet Act 2, scene 2, 239–251

Self Imposed Deadlines

In a study by Ariely and Wertenbroch (2002) we can discover easily that setting deadlines for ourselves can be very effective when it comes to improving our task performance. However, this technique comes with a warning label, people tend to be as bad at setting their own deadlines as conforming to deadlines set externally. When left on their own, most people tend to paralyze themselves with irrational deadlines.

The Beginning… The Beginning… The Beginning…

Most people when it comes to actually getting things done, tend to get stuck at the very beginning, they no less start tasks as they do in getting them done.

In a study in Psychological Science by McCrea, Liberman, Trope & Sherman (2008), they hypothesized that to the extent to which we procrastinate was determined at the level to which we construe our thinking towards the tasks and outcome.

Throughout the Studies Two levels of construing were examined:

1. Abstract Construing: This was when the thoughts and focus of a task were more of a fantasy, more emotionally based, with less facts and more desires. For Example, the feeling of success when the task is complete, the joy of getting it done, the fantasy of what you are going to do once it is complete, etc.
2. Concrete Construing: This was when you focused more on the details of the task, the concrete facts of the tasks completion, the steps and the algorithms to get the tasks done.

Interestingly enough the studies found that the best way to construe to begin taskswas to think in positive concrete construal.

Big, Bigger, Complete…

Another level of procrastination is when much larger tasks are at hand, we tend to start them, but completing the task is a completely separate issue.

In recent studies of self-control (Fujita et al., 2006) researchers found that althoughconcrete construals will aid us in actually beginning a task, abstract construals,during larger tasks, are what actually helps us in completing them.

It is best to have the abstract construals once things get either easier or we get the goal near in sight as opposed to the concrete thinking.

Failure… Failure… Success…

Too often when the risk is higher for failure we tend to either not do the task completely, or not put our all in doing it, or not complete the task once it has been started. Houser-Marko & Sheldon (2008) did a study on success and failure on specific goals on specific verse overall goals and the motivation related to them all.

The study interestingly enough concluded that when presented with failure on a specific task which is part of a whole and if we are focused more the tasks at hand then the complete picture, we tend to brush it of and stay just as motivated to complete the overall task/goal with just as much motivation.

However, when we are told of the failure of a specific task but in terms of a the “whole” we tend to get less motivated with the thoughts of doing worse with the rest ‘up and coming‘ tasks.

With this thinking it is obviously best to focus on concrete thoughts of specific taskswhen it is harder or more chances of failure than to think of the tasks as a whole.

Forgiveness is key…

As I mentioned earlier that before the industrial revolution, people thought of procrastination more in the neutral terms as opposed the highly negative view that we have of it today.

In a new study, though, Wohl et al. (2010) had the theory of whether this self-blame game that we play in terms of our procrastination abilities is not actually aiding in the very process that it loathes.

In an experiment conducted with approcimately 119 students during examination, he studied the different groups that either forgave themselves and were less tough on themselves for their own digression and those that were hard on themselves and less forgiving.

Although we tend to think that letting ourselves off easy will lead to more procrastination, Wohl et al. found the reverse:

“Forgiveness allows the individual to move past their maladaptive behaviour and focus on the upcoming examination without the burden of past acts to hinder studying.”

This may work because:

“…forgiving oneself for procrastinating has the beneficial effect of reducing subsequent procrastination by reducing negative affect associated with the outcome of an examination.”

This is theorized to be somewhat linked to the approach and avoidance behaviors we as humans have. We stay away from that which makes us feel bad, and by not forgiving our procrastinations, we attach that feeling to doing the tasks rather the  idea of not doing it.

I conclude…

From these many studies we can easily conclude that just the way our thoughts are framed with regards to getting things done and procrastination can make a huge difference in how it actively affects us. In Conclusion:

1. Forgive yourself… we all procrastinate sometime and its nothing to beat ourselves over, what you focus on increases, so focus on getting things done rather than you lack thereof.
2. To Begin a task, it is best to focus on concrete construal, the finer details that the task requires in order to faster begin and get things done.
3. When the Task is Large… Focusing on concrete construal will aid you in quickly starting a task, though when a task tends to span over time or quantity of minor-tasks it is best to shift to abstract construing in order to stay motivated and focused on completion.
4. When it gets tough… the above may help well for tasks that either take time or that are not too difficult, but when tasks get tougher and sometimes regrettably longer, its best to focus on the success of the minor tasksand to not focus on the the task in its entirety in order to stay motivated on continuing towards success.
5. When tasks get easier… and when the goal is near in sight, we can then shift from concise concrete construal to more abstract construal.

Taken from my Article: 5 Powerful Psychological Techniques to Beat Procrastination and Get...

 

Hope this Helps you on your Journey,

Eternal Smiles,

Leo Gopal

In Master Minds Blog >>

Comment by Kathleen Hanover on March 3, 2011 at 4:59am

I find that procrastination is almost always tied to perfectionism and self-judgment. If being imperfect is unacceptable to you, it's far easier to not do something at all than to do it and risk being "wrong" or "imperfect."

 

I don't know what hypnotic techniques would be appropriate to address perfectionism, but that's where I'd start...my 2¢ as a client.

Comment by John Cleesattel on March 2, 2011 at 5:27pm

Kevin,

Not reward, good feeling. So if going for a good feeling, why not go for the best? ;)  Procrastination can be seen as avoidance of a bad feeling (doing something you don't want to do).

 

John

Comment by Kelley Woods on March 2, 2011 at 4:29pm

Hi Kevin,

 

A method I use and teach my clients is to utilize the wonderful feeling of completion and achievement we enjoy at the end of a task...allowing them to feel that at the very contemplation of chores does like John suggests and collapses the dread, the laziness, all of the negative blocks to action.

Imagine the task already complete, the bathroom shiny and neat, the desk organized, the taxes files...engage the positive emotions related to this and it's just a matter of body catching up with mind!

 

Best wishes,

Kelley

 

Comment by Kevin Atwell on March 2, 2011 at 1:32pm

John,

The reward concept?

Anchoring the feeling of when they received what they wanted for Christmas or when they won an award to the completion of a procrastinated task.

Is there a way to make it more generalized if they are putting off many things in life?

 

Kevin

 

Comment by Kevin Atwell on March 2, 2011 at 1:26pm

Graham,

 

It wouldn't be right in my mind if there wasn't at least two or more procrastination comments.

 

Kevin

Comment by Graham Old on March 2, 2011 at 12:49pm

Hmm... I'll have to come back to this.

 

Sorry! Someone had to say it. ;-)

Comment by John Cleesattel on March 2, 2011 at 6:02am

I have found that a collapsing anchors technique works well. Anchor a good feeling (I have them think about the best sex they've ever had) and then Anchor what they are procrastinating about.. then collapse the anchors.

 

John