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How to Just DO IT!
Josie Bannon and Sarah Lane (Psychological
Wellbeing Practitioners)
Helping yourself
to...
Overcome Procrastination
2
3
It can be hard to ask for help with procrastination,
particularly at University when everyone else may
look like they are just getting on with things. Well
done in taking the first step towards trying to
tackle the problem.
This booklet is aimed at anyone who struggles with procrastinating or ‘putting things off’. It
includes a student example to illustrate different ideas and techniques. All the techniques in
the booklet are based on the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy approach. We will talk more about
this later in the booklet. CBT has a lot of research to show that it can be very helpful for a range
of problems. You may be working through the booklet on your own or with the support of a
practitioner from the Wellbeing Centre. It can also be helpful to talk to someone you trust
such as a family member or a friend so you have their support as well.
If you are working with a practitioner it is likely you will have regular sessions where you can
talk through how you have got on using the different techniques and any problems that may
have arisen. You can talk together about how to solve these problems and progress with the
techniques.
Tackling procrastination can be a difficult and challenging process and there may be times
when you feel as though you aren't getting anywhere. Just remember that we all have good
days and bad days so try not to let the bad days feel as though you have taken ‘two steps back’.
If you are seeing a practitioner at the wellbeing centre then you can talk this through with
them and work out the best course of action. If not then you may want to get in touch to
access some support in using these techniques.
The idea of this booklet is to give you the information
you need to help yourself tackle procrastination.
This means that you need to have a go at all the
techniques to find out which ones are the most
helpful for you.
4
Defining procrastination...
Procrastination can be intentional…BUT it may happen almost automatically and can become a habit
so you may not notice yourself doing it.
Is it Common?
Procrastination is a normal human behaviour.
Approximately 20% of adults are chronic procrastinators.
In university 75-95% of people have problems with procrastination.
It can be mistaken for laziness.
What do people put off doing?
People may procrastinate with anything. In University students will often put off studying, writing an
essay or course work. However, people may also procrastinate in other areas such as household
chores, health , finance, social activities, activities associated with family and relationships, self
development, decision making and work.
“…making a decision for no valid reason to
delay or not complete a task or goal you’ve
committed to, and instead doing something
of lesser importance, despite there being
negative consequences to not following
through on the original task or goal.”
What people do when they procrastinate…
People do a variety of things when they procrastinate. These can include: pleasurable
tasks, socialising, distractions (e.g. sleeping, eating, drinking), lower priority tasks and
daydreaming.
Centre for Clinical Interventions
5
Some positive and negative
consequences Amy gave about
procrastinating...
“When I sit down to work I feel horrible.
By procrastinating I can avoid that
feeling”
“I procrastinate by going for a coffee
with friends which I enjoy”
“If I don’t do very well then I can say
that I left it until the last minute”
“I end up feeling more stressed because I
know that the work still needs to be
done”
“The work load continues to pile up”
“I don’t allow myself to have days off
where I can go out and enjoy myself”
“I can become very critical of myself for
not being able to get on with the work”
“I often get worse grades because I leave
my work until the last minute”
“Sometimes I punish myself if I have-
n't been able to get any work done that
day”
Amy is a second year Biology student.
She always leaves her work right up until
the last minute. She has tried to start
earlier but finds that she ends up looking
on Facebook or day dreaming. She has
started going out with her friends instead
of trying to start early. She has been
receiving marks around the 2:2 level for
the work that she has handed in. She
gets really frustrated with herself
because she knows that she can do
better than that.
Amy’s example...
6
What tasks do you put off doing?
What do you do when you procrastinate instead of the
task you aim to do?
What are the positive and negative consequences when
you procrastinate with tasks?
7
One way of thinking about procrastination:
Behavioural
Not doing the task and
instead doing other less
important things. Not
allowing breaks or
enjoyable things in your
schedule.
Feeling
Feelings of discomfort
when attempting the task
or when the task
approaches. Negative
feeling associated with
putting the task off
Thoughts
Thoughts are often
negative or unhelpful such
as predicting the worst or
thinking that you won’t be
able to do it.
Procrastinating can impact on all three of these areas then each area can have a ‘knock on’ effect on
other areas. For example, if you think that you are not going to be able to do well on a piece of work,
then you might experience feelings of discomfort when the work is set and avoid these feelings by
putting off doing the work until the last minute. A result of leaving the work until the last minute
might be that you don’t do as well as you had hoped which might reaffirm your thoughts that you
will not do well with work set.
The above diagram shows how you can get ‘trapped’ in a vicious cycle that can become a downward
spiral. This can be very difficult to break out of and this is where Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can be
helpful. The term ‘Cognitive Behavioural Therapy’ refers to techniques that focus on changing thoughts
and behaviours.
8
Behavioural
Feelings
Thoughts
How does your procrastination affect you?
The techniques in this booklet are based on the idea of this vicious cycle. Because all of the areas
together form the cycle, it is possible to tackle procrastination by focusing on any one specific area. This
booklet includes techniques focusing on thoughts and behaviours as a way of breaking the cycle.
Have a go at
filling in your
vicious cycle
9
Today’s date:
Goal One:
Setting goals to work towards
I can do this now (circle a number)
0 (not at all) 1 2 (occasionally) 3 4 (Often) 5 6 (Anytime)
Today’s date:
Goal Two:
I can do this now (circle a number)
0 (not at all) 1 2 (occasionally) 3 4 (Often) 5 6 (Anytime)
Consider how procrastinating is affecting your life. What goals could you set yourself to work towards
over the next few months? When setting goals try to make sure they are specific and realistic, this way
you will be able to measure when you have achieved them. Setting and monitoring goals can be really
useful as it can keep you focused on what you want to achieve and it can help you to know when you
have reached that point.
Revisit these each week and circle the relevant number. This will help with monitoring your progress
towards your goals.
10
Amy’s goal
Today’s date: 12th August 2014
Goal One: To start assignments within a week of them being set.
0 (not at all)
I can do this now (circle a number)
1 2 (occasionally) 3 4 (Often) 5 6 (Anytime)
Specific - Be as clear as you can, you may want to ‘feel better’ but ask yourself
what ‘feeling better’ means you will be able to do e.g. go for more walks.
Measurable - How will you know when you have achieved this goal?
Achievable - It needs to be something we really want or need to do so that
we feel more motivated. Is it a small enough step?
Relevant - It needs to be relevant to you, it should match your values.
Time bound - You should have a clear idea of when you want to achieve this
goal by.
Amy initially set herself a goal to not
procrastinate over her assignments,
however it is difficult to measure this.
Making goals SMART can help.
S
M
A
R T
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Thoughts that can lead to procrastination...
I’m too tired. I will wait until I have
enough motivation to
do the work well.
If I try really hard
and still don’t do
well, people will
think I’m stupid.
I’m not going to
do very well.
The Truth Unhelpful Conclusion
I am really tired I am better off doing it after I have rested
I don’t want to do it now I may feel more like doing it tomorrow
I will miss out on the fun happening now I can always wait until nothing much is
happening
I don’t have everything I need I will wait until I do
I have plenty of time I don’t have to start it now
I don’t feel inspired I will wait until I do
I have other things to do I’ll do it once those things are finished
I don’t have enough time to get it all done I will wait until I have a lot of time to do it
I work better under pressure I will leave it to the last minute
Often the thoughts that lead to us procrastinating are based on truths. It’s true that we might feel very
tired, unmotivated and uninspired, or that we don’t have enough time to get it all done in one go.
However, it is the thoughts that we attach to these truths, the unhelpful conclusions we draw, that can
cause us to procrastinate. Below are some examples of the truths and associated unhelpful conclusions
that might lead to procrastination. Have a look and see if any relate to you.
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Dispelling the illusion of perfect conditions
Unfortunately there is unlikely to be any time that is ideal for doing something we don’t
feel like doing. It might be more helpful to think ‘now is as good as any other time to
make a start’. Once we have begun a task, even in a small way, our motivation often
increases and this helps us to then achieve our goal. Also by taking action, many of the
initial obstacles will often resolve themselves and we will feel capable of seeing the task
through to completion.
What are the reasons that it is better for me to put off this task?
What are the reasons that it is better for me to start this task now?
Is it possible to make a small start on some parts of the task now,
despite conditions not being ideal?
Can I be certain that there will be a better time to do it later?
What is the likely outcome of starting the task now?
What is the likely outcome of not starting the task now?
I can say all that now but
it might be harder when I
have something I need to
do!
Below are some questions you can ask
when you notice yourself procrastinating
over a task. Think about each one and write
the answer down for future reference.
13
Challenging Amy’s conclusions
Procrastination Excuse
The Truth
I will miss out on the fun happening now
Old Unhelpful
Conclusion
I can always wait until
nothing much is
happening
Answers to Questions
It is true that I will miss going out with my friends tonight
Delaying doing the work is likely to make me feel more stressed as this
is what has happened in the past
There may not be a time before the deadline when nothing much is
happening
If I do go out, this coursework will just play on my mind and prevent me
from fully enjoying myself
If I make a start I will feel more relaxed when I next go out
End Result
The Truth
I will miss out on the fun happening now
New Helpful Conclusion
If I get some work done
I can reward myself
with other fun later
It can be helpful to go through all of the questions in
the table below, that way you have all the information
together and you can always refer back to it any other
time you notice yourself procrastinating over a similar
task. Below is one of Amy’s examples when she was
procrastinating over starting an essay because she
thought that she would miss out on the fun happening
at that point in time. Fill out your own on the next page.
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Procrastination Excuse
The Truth
Old Unhelpful Conclusion
Answers to Questions What are the reasons that it is better for me to put off this task?
What are the reasons that it is better for me to start this task now?
Is it possible to make a small start on some parts of the task now, despite conditions not being ideal?
Can I be certain that there will be a better time to do it later?
What is the likely outcome of starting the task now?
What is the likely outcome of not starting the task now?
End Result
The Truth
New Helpful Conclusion
Challenging unhelpful conclusions worksheet
15
The Truth Helpful Conclusion
I am really tired But I can still make a small start right
now and then rest
I don’t want to do it now But later won’t be any better, so I
may as well try to get started
I will miss out on the fun happening
now
But if I get some of it done, I can
reward myself with other fun later
I don’t have everything I need But I can still try to make a start on
some bits of the task
I have plenty of time But better to stay on top of it now
than leave it to the last minute
I don’t feel inspired But if I get started the inspiration may
follow, I can’t just wait around for
inspiration to arrive
I have other things to do But they are not more important and
can be done after this
I don’t have enough time to get it all
done
But that doesn’t mean I can’t get
some of it done now
I work better under pressure But it is still worth making a start
now, because if I leave things too late
it can backfire
Possible helpful conclusions
It will be important for you to come up with your own helpful conclusions to challenge your
procrastination. Changing thought processes can take time and it won’t happen over night. The best
thing to do is keep the previous worksheet handy so you can look over it and remind yourself of the
answers to the questions. Try to go over the helpful conclusion again and again, until it’s easier to bring
to mind, you might even want to stick it to your wall!
16
Tackling negative predictions When we feel anxious or stressed, it is common to make negative predictions about what's going to
happen in the future. Predicting the worst tends to lead us to engage in unhelpful behaviours like
procrastinating. When we put a task off we are never able to test our predictions and find out what
actually would have happened if we didn't procrastinate. If the outcome was different to what we
predicted, this could really help to break the cycle. Behavioural experiments are a good way of testing
negative predictions in a systematic way. The steps involved in this process are detailed below:
Make a plan to test the belief
Identify a belief
Carry out the experiment
Evaluate the result
Draw conclusions
Is there another explanation for what happened?
What else was happening at that time? What
other variables may have affected the outcome?
Are there other ways of viewing what happened?
What could I learn from the experience to improve or change
things in the future?
What if the
findings support
my belief/
prediction?
A belief or thought might be quite vague or general. If you are going to test it out then you will need to
reduce it down to something specific that can be tested experimentally.
Make a plan to test this belief. Be as specific as possible. What, Where, When and with Who will
you test this. You will also need to create a hypothesis about what you predict is going to happen.
Carrying out the experiment might feel very uncomfortable and
anxiety provoking. But remember that a bit of anxiety is to be
expected and you are just experimenting to find out what happens.
Record what happened in the experiment. What was the outcome? Is the
outcome open to interpretation or is it conclusive?
What do the results mean? How do they relate to the original prediction/hypothesis? What does
this tell you about your belief? Are you able to test this belief further with any more experiments?
17
Step 1: Negative thought or belief to be tested How much do you believe
this prediction? (0-100%)
I’m too tired, I won’t be able to get any work done now.
80%
Step 2: What is an alternative prediction? How much do you believe
this prediction? (0-100%)
That I might be able to get some work done, despite being
tired.
20%
Step 3: Experiment design– What will you do to test the prediction? Where? When? For
how long? With whom?
I’m going to wait until the next day that I have had a bad nights sleep and go to the
library to try and do any assignments that I have set at the time, I’ll just try to work on
one thing. I’ll do this on my own or with a friend if they want to come. I will try to work
on the assignment for the morning and a few hours in the afternoon .
Step 4: What things may get in your way? How will you overcome these?
If a load of friends are going in to town or doing something fun, then I need to tell them
that I am doing an experiment and that I can’t come, in fact, I’ll let friends know before
hand so they don’t try to make me come with them.
Step 5: Record what happened when you carried out the experiment
It took me a while to get going with the assignment, but after an hour or so I started to
focus on a literature search and actually found quite a few articles. I had a nice break
to get some fresh air and then tried to read some of them. This was hard but I did find
that I could read the abstracts to work out how important they were.
Step 6: What can you learn from this? How much do you believe your original
prediction?
Well, it’s obvious that I am able to do some things. There might still be certain things
which are difficult but at least I could gather what I needed and do a good bit of
preparation for the essay. I don’t believe the original predication now.
Amy’s behavioural experiment Below is an example of an experiment that Amy tried to test out her unhelpful
conclusions.
18
Step 1: Negative thought or belief to be tested How much do you believe
this prediction ? (0-100%)
Step 2: What is an alternative prediction? How much do you believe
this prediction ? (0-100%)
Step 3: Experiment design– What will you do to test the prediction? Where? When? For
how long? With whom?
Step 4: What things may get in your way? How will you overcome these?
Step 5: : Record what happened when you carried out the experiment
Step 6: What can you learn from this? How much do you believe your original
prediction?
Behavioural experiment worksheet
19
Some ideas for experiments...
Belief/Prediction Unhelpful Conclusion Behavioural Experiment
I ’m bette r at working
under pressure
I wil l l eave it to the last
minute
Try leaving some tasks until
there is little time to do them
and plan and work on other
tasks so they are completed at
least a couple of days in
advance of their deadline.
Compare these approaches to see
which works best for you.
There ’s not enough t ime
to get i t al l done
I wil l wait unti l I have
p l enty of t ime to do i t
Try starting some tasks only
when you have enough time to
complete them in one sitting
and other tasks using chunks
of time as they become available.
Compare these approaches to see
which works best for you.
I ’m very t ired
Do ing the work wil l just
make me even more t i red .
I t would be best to wait t o
do i t unti l after I have
r est ed.
Rate fatigue on a scale of 0-10
before doing a task. Spend 20
minutes doing the task.
Re-rate fatigue and compare to
the initial rating. Reflect on
what you’ve achieved in the
short amount of time you’ve
worked on the task.
I can’t think what to
do for a behavioural
experiment?!
20
Practical strategies for overcoming procrastination
Write a ‘To Do’ list of the tasks to be
done. This could be for the day, week,
month, term...whatever works for you.
Consider how realistic the list of tasks is
for the time allocated.
If it isn’t realistic, see which tasks can
be postponed for a later date.
Number the activities according to
what is most urgent and important.
If having a long list is too stressful then only think about activities by
the day.
We have looked at how to challenge the unhelpful thoughts that lead to putting a task off,
now we are going to focus more on practical strategies that can be helpful. We will go
through a number of different ideas, some of them might relate well to you and others
may not. Just give them all a go and see how you get on.
Grade tasks
Break each task into all the small steps involved in its completion e.g.
writing an essay: literature search, reading, writing, editing, etc.
This can make large tasks seem less overwhelming and small tasks
seem more straightforward which may motivate you to get it over and
done with.
Think of the first step, then work forward through the series of steps
involved until the task is completed.
For big steps, see if there is any way to break them down further.
Also if the tasks are smaller you can do them in far less time so you
won’t need to wait until you have large gaps of time to complete them.
To do list
21
Tell the time
People who procrastinate often underestimate how long
a task will take and therefore do not allocate enough
time or overestimate, which puts them off doing it.
It can be helpful to practise estimating how long you
think tasks you usually underestimate or overestimate
will take.
Then time how long they actually take and keep a
record of this for future reference.
Start with the worst first – particularly
good for small but dreaded tasks e.g.
phoning someone you don’t want to
speak to.
Using momentum – start doing a task
that you like and that energises you and
then without a break quickly switch to a
task that you have been putting off.
Ordering tasks
Just 5 minutes – initially commit to just a small amount of time to get started
on a task.
Set time limits – Set a specific amount of time to work on a task then stop
rather than extending if you can.
Set time constraints
22
Finding your optimum
Prime time – choosing your most
productive, energised or creative time of
day.
Prime place – What type of environments
do you get more done in and what types
of environments have more
distractions? Seek out environments with
minimal distractions.
Remembering
Remember-then-do – For small irritating tasks that often get forgotten, do them
as soon as you think of them.
Reminders – If forgetting is a significant factor then use visual reminders and
prompts e.g. mobile phone.
Visualise yourself doing the task.
Bring to mind a very vivid picture.
In this visualisation, notice any obstacles arising which
get in the way of the task and imagine successfully
overcoming these and completing the task.
Focus on the positive feelings of the task being
complete.
Use the momentum from the visualisation to start the
task in reality.
Visualisation
23
If you feel unsettled when trying to start a
task, close your eyes and focus on your
breath.
Try to lengthen each in and out breath and
slow your breathing to steady it.
Breathe from your belly rather than your chest.
Spend 5-10 minutes focusing on your breath then return to
the task.
Come back to focusing on the breath again if you feel
unsettled at any time.
Focusing
Plan rewards and time for having fun.
Often the activities which we could use to
reward ourselves (e.g. socialising) are the
same things that distract us and cause us to
procrastinate in the first place.
The more you plan regular rewards for your
achievements, the less you will feel like you
are missing out.
Letting these rewards be guilt-free, by
having planned them and fitted them
around work that needs doing, is critical.
Rewards, leisure and pleasure help to
replenish energy.
Plan Rewards
Meet Beth for
Lunch!!
24
Scheduling
Schedule in existing commitments and usual routine but do not plan the
steps towards the tasks that you had been procrastinating about.
This will help you see where you have blocks of time to devote to the
tasks you have been putting off.
When you reach one of these blocks of time, then look at your
prioritised and graded list and decide what to work on during the time.
Once you have worked solidly on a task for 30 minutes, write it into your
schedule, you can then look back at the schedule to see what you have
done as opposed to what you haven't done.
Scheduling may feel like it actually contributes
to the stress you feel around getting things
done. If a schedule is too full or unachievable
then this will be the case. It may also feel
daunting to see all the things which you need
to do, if this is the case then you should try
scheduling described below.
Try keeping a detailed diary.
Enter in existing commitments and usual routine.
Fit ‘chunks’ of tasks that need to be completed around these
tasks.
Scheduling
Unscheduling
25
M
ON
DA
Y TU
ESD
AY
WED
NES
DA
Y TH
UR
SDA
Y FR
IDA
Y SA
TUR
DA
Y SU
ND
AY
7am
8am
9am
10
am
11
am
12
pm
1p
m
2p
m
3p
m
4p
m
5p
m
6p
m
7p
m
8p
m
9p
m
10
pm
11
pm
12
am
Sch
edu
ler
26
Staying well
What have you learned?
What are your signs of procrastination? (Thoughts / feelings / behaviours)
What areas are you going to work on?
Are you going to talk to any one else about what you are working towards?
Which techniques are you going to try and put into practice?
Well done on getting to the end of How to just do it! It can be helpful to look back on these techniques
and think about what has been the most helpful. Hopefully working through this booklet has equipped
you with some ways of coping with procrastination, now you just need to try to put these ideas into
practice. Fill out the sections below to help consolidate the most important or relevant points.
27
Well done for working through how to just do it!
It is worth keeping an eye on your procrastination. It is perfectly normal to put things off
sometimes but if you find that procrastination is impacting on your wellbeing then you
should try to do something about it. The important thing is that you have learnt some
skills that you can use to manage procrastination.
It can be helpful to schedule in a day a
month where you can focus on YOU!
Where you can have a look back through
this booklet to remind yourself of the
different techniques and only do activities
that are enjoyable and don’t involve any
stress. If you schedule it in you’ll be more
likely to do it, these things can easily get
lost or forgotten about otherwise.
Josie Bannon and Sarah Lane
(Psychological Wellbeing
Practitioners), Wellbeing Centre
University of Exeter
You might feel as though you’re still not where you want to be in
terms of your procrastination. This is completely normal, it can take
time for these techniques to reverse the vicious circle of thoughts,
feelings and behaviours. If you found that they have made any
difference at all, even if it’s small, this is encouraging. Just keep up
the good work and as time goes on you will notice it getting easier.
You might also find further Cognitive Behaviour Therapy helpful.
References
Page 4: Speech bubble quote & bullet point statistics - Centre for Clinical Interventions, http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/
docs/Procrastination%20Module%201_Understanding%20Part%201.pdf.
Pages 10 & 14: Tables - Centre for Clinical Interventions, http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/docs/Procrastination%
20Module%204_Dismissing%20Excuses.pdf.
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