UPCOMING #SmithExecEd

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1 UPCOMING PROGRAMS FDC-Smith Women s Global Leaders Program August 30 September 4, 2015 FDC Nova Lima, Brazil Combines Smith s signature all-women learning environment and FDC s expertise in global executive development HKUST-Smith Leadership Program for Women November 9-12, 2015 HKUST Hong Kong Combines HKUST s strengths in science, technology, and business management with Smith s signature all-women classroom #SmithExecEd

2 Solving the Procrastination Puzzle Making sense of a self-defeating coping strategy Timothy A. Pychyl Department of Psychology #SmithExecEd

3 My research Goal pursuit Well-being Procrastination Productivity #SmithExecEd 3

4 What gets in the way? We have to talk about the Brene Brown things that get in the way of doing what is #SmithExecEd best for us. 4

5 Solving the Procrastination Puzzle Explain what procrastination is and what it s not. Highlight the consequences of procrastination Identify key pieces of the self-regulation failure puzzle It s me It s the task It s the way I think It s my lack of willpower Summarize some general strategies for change My slides & pace... your questions

6 Latin roots Latin verb procrastinare pro - forward motion crastinus - belonging to tomorrow put off or postpone until another day That s not so bad, it s about belonging to

7 Tomorrow A mystical land where 98% of all human productivity, motivation, and achievement are stored. (Unknown) #SmithExecEd

8 How do psychologists define procrastination? Gap between intention and action Mohsen Haghbin Voluntary, irrational delay, despite the expectation of a potential negative outcome All procrastination is delay, but not all delay is procrastination Sirois, F., & Pychyl, T.A. (in press). Procrastination. In H. Friedman (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Mental Health, New York: Elsevier.

9 Types of Delay Mohsen Haghbin Purposeful Inevitable Irrational Hedonistic Arousal Delay due to Emotional Problems Haghbin, M., & Pychyl, T.A. (July 9, 2015). Measuring prototypes of delay using a vignette approach: Development and validation of the delay questionnaire. Paper presented at the 9th Biennial Procrastination Research Conference, Bielefeld, Germany.

10 The costs of procrastination Fuschia Sirois Sheffield University Performance Well-being Health Relationships Regrets & bereavement... procrastination is usually harmful, sometimes harmless, but never helpful (Steel, 2007; p. 80). Sirois, F. M., Melia-Gordon, M.L., & Pychyl, T. A. (2003). "I'll look after my health, later": An investigation of procrastination and health. Personality and Individual Differences, 35 (5),

11 Procrastination it s not about time The Procrastinator s Clock? Pychyl, T. A., Morin, R.W., & Salmon, B. R. (2000). Procrastination and planning fallacy: An examination of the study habits of university students. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 15,

12 #SmithExecEd

13 What just happened here? #SmithExecEd

14 The procrastination puzzle 14

15 The nature of our goals & intentions Personality Self-Regulation Failure Self-Control & Willpower Cognitions & Beliefs 15

16 It s that gap between intention and action. It s weakness of will. SELF-REGULATION FAILURE Short-term mood repair Giving in to feel good Sirois, F. & Pychyl, T.A. (2013). Procrastination and the priority of short-term mood regulation: Consequences for future self. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7,

17 Personality Perfectionism Impulsivity Emotional Intelligence Conscientiousness #SmithExecEd 17

18 The nature of our goals & intentions #SmithExecEd

19 What makes a task aversive? INCEPTION PLANNING ACTION Goal Boredom, frustration, resentment at every stage Allan Blunt Carleton University Inception & Planning Phase = LACK OF MEANING (enjoyment, fun, pleasure, passion, self-identity) Action Phase = LACK OF STRUCTURE (lack of autonomy, control, initiation, uncertainty) Blunt, A.K. & Pychyl, T.A. (2000). Task aversiveness and procrastination: a multi-dimensional approach to task aversiveness across stages of personal projects. Personality and Individual Difference, 28,

20 Implementation Intentions Peter Gollwitzer In situation X, I will do behaviour Y to achieve subgoal Z. External cue for behaviour 40% increase in attendance on second experiment Owens, S., Bowman, C., & Dill, C. (2008). Overcoming Procrastination: The Effect of Implementation Intentions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 38,

21 McCrea, S.M., Liberman, N., Trope, Y., & Sherman, S.J. (2008). Construal level and procrastination. Psychological Science, 19,

22 It s the way I think! Irrational beliefs Downward Counterfactuals Cognitions & Beliefs 22

23 Irrational beliefs I m thinking now that I m simply too stupid to benefit from more studying, so I ll just hang out on Facebook. Bill McCown University of Louisiana I m too smart for this assignment I don t need it. That would ruin my evening We depreciate self and the world, and we can t tolerate frustration very well. McCown, W. Blake, I.K., & Keiser, R. (2012). Content analyses of the beliefs of academic procrastinators, Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy. Neenan, M. (2008). Tackling procrastination: A REBT perspective for coaches. Journal of Rational- Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 26,

24 I ll feel more like it tomorrow.

25 Daniel Gilbert Harvard University #SmithExecEd

26 You know, some day these kids will be out of the house and you'll regret not spending more time with them. That's a problem for Future Homer. Man, I don't envy that guy. s-top-10-best-parenting-tips Blouin-Hudon, E-M., C., & Pychyl, T.A. (2015). Experiencing the temporally extended self: Initial support for the role of affective states, vivid mental imagery, and future self-continuity in the prediction of academic procrastination. Personality and Individual Differences.

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28 fmri Studies Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex? What is this stuff? Hal Hershfield UCLA #SmithExecEd

29 I lack the willpower Self-Control & Willpower 29

30 Willpower and Ego-depletion Willpower is like a muscle Self-regulatory depletion Implications? Strategic investment of a limited resource Strengthening will power Ferrari, J. R., & Pychyl, T. A. (2007). Regulating speed, accuracy and judgments by Indecisives: Effects of frequent choices on self-regulation depletion. Personality and Individual Differences, 42, Baumeister, R.F,, & Heatherton, T.F. (1996). Self-regulation failure: An overview. Psychological Inquiry, 7, Baumeister, R.F,, & Heatherton, T.F., & Tice, D.M. (1994). Losing control: How and why people fail at self-regulation. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

31 Self-affirmation meaning and values Expressing one s core values Puts focus on volition as opposed to habit Courage to be Bolster s selfregulation Schmeichel, B.J., & Vohs, K. (2009). Self-affirmation and self-control: Affirming core values counteracts ego depletion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96(4),

32 Meditate Jacob Rotblatt Sirois, F. M, & Tosti, N. (2012). Lost in the moment? An investigation of procrastination, mindfulness, and well-being. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, Pychyl, T.A., & Rotblatt, A. (2007). Mindfulness meditation as an intervention for academic procrastination. Paper presented at the Biennial Counseling the Procrastinator in the Academic Context conference. Lima, Peru. Dosa, M. (2011). Mindfully losing control: An examination of the relation between measures of mindfulness, self-control and procrastination. Unpublished honours thesis, Carleton University, Otttawa, Ontario.

33 Self-Control & Executive Function Laura Rabin Brooklyn College CUNY I have trouble waiting my turn. When people seem upset with me, I don't understand why. I say things without thinking. I don't plan ahead for tasks; I have trouble organizing work. I have trouble thinking of a different way to solve a problem when stuck. I have trouble with jobs or tasks that have more than one step. I overreact to small problems; I get emotionally upset easily. all of the nine clinical subscales of executive functioning were significantly related with higher academic procrastination... our research suggests that there may be problems within cognitively healthy individuals that contribute to a vulnerability to procrastination. Rabin, L.A., Fogel, J., & Nutter-Upham, K.E. (2011). Academic procrastination in college students: The role of self-reported executive function. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 33,

34 Extended Will Willpower prosthetics Joel Anderson Utrecht University Triggers, chutes and ladders - lowering the threshold for action while raising the threshold for alternatives Leverage self-control Social support, commitment contracts, scaffolding your individual effort Heath, J., & Anderson, J. (2010). Procrastination and the extended will. In C. Andreou & M. White (Eds.) The Thief of Time: Philosophical Essays on Procrastination. New York: Oxford University Press. 34

35 Just get started! Jonathan Lee Experience sampling Doing & should be doing Appraisals, emotions, thoughts Follow-up interviews Rachelle Thibodeau I ll feel more like it tomorrow I work better under pressure Pychyl, T.A., Lee, J., Thibodeau, R., & Blunt, A. (2000). Five Days of Emotion: An experience-sampling study of undergraduate student procrastination. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 15(5),

36 Pre-empt that which tempts! Reduce distractions Lavoie, J., & Pychyl, T.A. (2001). Cyber-slacking and the procrastination super highway: A Web-based survey of on-line procrastination, attitudes and emotion. Social Science Computer Review, 19, Jennifer Lavoie Wilfrid Laurier University #SmithExecEd

37 Self-forgiveness Michael Wohl Carleton University If we self-forgive after we procrastinate, do we procrastinate less the next time we face a similar task? Wohl, M.J.A., Pychyl, T.A., & Bennet, S.H. (2010). I forgive myself, now I can study: How self-forgiveness for procrastinating can reduce future procrastination. Personality and Individual Differences, 48,

38 John Perry Stanford University Structured procrastination Harness your liabilities for motivation

39 Randy Pausch ( ) Time must be explicitly managed, like money. The last lecture "Time is all you have. And you may find one day You can always change your plan, but only if you have one (Make manageable, concrete task lists and take one step after another.) Ask yourself: Are you spending your time on the right things? (Make sure your todo-list tasks, your goals, are really worth pursuing.) Develop a good filing system. (Organization saves time in the long run.) Rethink the telephone (Don't waste time on "hold" - be prepared to do other things as you wait.) that you have less than you think." Delegate (Many hands make light work, and everyone needs autonomy.) Take time out (Everyone needs a break, and not all delay is procrastination.) Randy concludes his advice by writing We will all use up all the time that is allotted to us. It is up to us how we decide to use it (Stephen Pychyl).

40 Viktor Frankl on Procrastination Viktor Frankl Since my years in the concentration camps, this pattern has changed... I have learned to spend my time more wisely, indeed to make every minute count. I do this so that I have time for the things that are really important" (Frankl, 2000; p. 34, emphasis added). "Another thing: I try to do everything as soon as possible, and not at the last moment. This ensures that, when I am overburdened with work, I will not face the added pressure of knowing that something is still to be done. There is yet a third principle that has guided my work and it is this: I do the unpleasant tasks before I do the pleasant ones. Frankl, V. (2000). Victor Frankl recollections: An autobiography. Cambridge, MA: Basic Books.

41 Well, he s finally done. Did we learn anything? Did we solve the puzzle? #SmithExecEd 41

42 The nature of our goals & intentions Personality Self-Regulation Failure Self-Control & Willpower Cognitions & Beliefs 42

43 Want to know more? Research Self-help Podcasts & Carpe Diem procrastination.ca

44 Connect with Smith! Learn more! smith.edu/execed Follow Like us! facebook.com/smithcollege.execed Follow us! Smith Executive Education for Women #SmithExecEd