The Science of Procrastination, and How to Beat it!
Last time I checked, laughing at Seinfeld and studying for my Psychology exam have as much in common as a banana and a tricycle, however, they are more connected than you might think. When our brain encounters and interacts with a pleasurable external stimulus, a signal is given by the cerebral cortex to release dopamine, and hence we experience happiness and gratification. This is part of the brainās āreward systemā, and reinforces that behaviour, ensuring we make the connection that repeating it will give us pleasure. Obviously the brain chemistry here is very simplified, but I am refraining (barely) from writing a three thousand word essay. Ā
Now, activities we do while procrastinating, e.g. watching Ellen on YouTube, give frequent, shorter bursts of dopamine, and since we generally base things on their temporal proximity (i.e. we see things with a closer reward as having higher value), we find procrastination often more pleasurable than working towards a larger goal. The larger goal, although it may produce a greater satisfaction than the latest episode of Greyās Anatomy, is further away, and hence we tend to undervalue its importance until the deadline approaches.
BUT NEVER FEAR MY FRIENDS! There are well established methods that can counteract these tendencies.
Breaking up your goals can ensure that we receive timely ārewardsā each time we complete a task, and hence counteracts the pull of procrastination. Rather than wait for the huge surge of adrenaline then relief and happiness before a deadline, chunking your work ensures that you remain motivated consistently, as it releases dopamine timely and you feel and that you have a pathway to accomplishing your goal.
2. The Pomodoro Technique
This is a time management system which allows us to break up a larger task into smaller ones. The system encourages short, frequent bursts of work which increases efficiency remarkably, and allows you to maintain your stamina, whilst having the promise of timely ārewardsā, i.e. the satisfaction of completing a task. From experience, these are hard to keep track of in daily planners, so I suggest you download an app on your phone or computer ā there are many out there. Personally, I use Pomodoro on Android. Essentially, all you have to do is decide on a task, set an alarm for twenty five minutes using an app or watch, work on that task for twenty five minutes with good focus and pace (donāt worry if you donāt feel like the Terminator here) and then take a short break (three to five minutes) after the time is up. Repeat this throughout the day, and every four times you do this, the break should be longer, i.e. fifteen to twenty minutes.Ā
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