Success Skills: Procrastination Webcast Notes

Introduction to Procrastination

• Topic of Discussion: Procrastination and how to avoid it.

• Context of the session: This is the second session in the Success Skills webcast series, featuring reminders for the upcoming webinars on January 15 (to-do lists) and exam preparation.

Reminders and Tools

• Importance of having materials for the session:

  • Notebooks and writing instruments are essential.

  • Colorful tools (colored pencils, markers, crayons) are unnecessary for this session.

  • Option to revisit calendar setups later in the session for questions.

• Suggested Materials to Bring:

  • Stickers and posters (if available).

  • A planner for future discussions and exercises.

Understanding Procrastination

• Framework for Discussion:

  • It’s essential to recognize time frames for students to maintain social, emotional, and academic wellbeing throughout the academic year.

  • Two key periods to focus on: Midterm period and exam preparation.

• Interaction Prompt:

  • Attendees are asked to reflect on their go-to procrastination activities.

Initial Engagement Activity

• Prompt for Participants:

  • Share your habitual procrastination activities. Common examples include:

  • Playing video games.

  • Scrolling social media.

  • Cleaning or organizing chores instead of working.

  • Watching television or napping as forms of avoidance.

Exploring Procrastination

• Discussion Points:

  • Common management of procrastination through counterproductive behaviors.

  • Reflection on personal procrastination habits by attendees (e.g., studying, emails).

KWL Chart Exercise

• Instruction for Activity:

  • Create a KWL (Know, Wonder, Learned) chart across two pages (or landscape single page).

  • Left Side:

  • K: List what you know about procrastination.

  • W: List what you wonder about procrastination.

  • Right Side:

  • L: This will be filled out later during the session.

• Time allocated for this chart: 3 minutes.

Reflection on Procrastination Video

• Video Content Overview:

  • Definition: Procrastination is described as avoiding tasks with anticipated negative consequences despite knowing it’s harmful.

  • Psychological Explanation:

  • Procrastination is linked to anxiety and negative feelings about tasks.

  • Brain response involves the amygdala triggering a fight or flight response, causing avoidance of perceived threats.

  • Findings:

  • Difficult emotions, such as dread and insecurity, contribute to procrastination.

  • Studies on university students indicate a greater tendency to procrastinate under perceived challenges.

Emotional Response and Behavioral Insights

• Important Distinctions:

  • Procrastination isn’t laziness; rather, it’s a protective, emotional response.

  • Procrastinators often fear failure rather than lacking ability.

• Consequences of Procrastination:

  • Associated with anxiety, depression, and heightened stress levels.

  • Short-term relief from stress leads to negative long-term effects.

Strategies to Combat Procrastination

• Emerging Strategies Discussed:

  • Shift focus from discipline to addressing underlying emotional concerns.

  • Break tasks into smaller, manageable components.

  • Engage in journaling to assess stressors and promote accountability.

  • Cultivate self-compassion and forgive lapses in productivity.

• Community Building:

  • Encouragement to share tips and strategies amongst peers to foster collective support.

Discussion of Personal Examples:

• Examples Highlighted:

  • Sharing personal procrastination examples can lead to an understanding of its emotional root causes (like fear of failure).

  • Narratives relating to activities highlighting procrastination behaviors (like avoiding dog walks due to anxiety).

Next Video and Further Exercises

• Introduction to Second Video:

  • Shifts focus from definitions and causes toward practical strategies to address procrastination.

  • Begins with an engaging analogy about how procrastination may be viewed as an umbrella term for various actions taken instead of working on tasks.

• Awareness Exercise:

  • Encouragement to identify specific actions taken and recognize the avoidance rather than generalizing them as procrastination.

Raising Awareness and Emotional Management

• Core Ideas:

  • Task completion is often avoided due to anxiety pertaining to the actual task.

  • Encouragement to acknowledge and feel through anxiety rather than running from it.

  • Importance of clarity:

  • Lack of clarity often leads to procrastination (e.g., not having necessary information to complete a task).

Discussion on Clarity and Breakdown of Tasks

• Exercise in Task Management:

  • Encouragement of breaking down larger tasks into smaller, clearer steps for completion makes the process less daunting.

  • Clarity in task expectations reduces procrastination triggers.

Community Interaction

• Breakout Groups:

  • Plans for participants to share and strategize around specific tasks they have been procrastinating.

  • Collective brainstorming of actionable strategies.

Reflection on Success Skills

• Check-in:

  • Participants encouraged to reflect on confidence in avoiding procrastination.

  • Share and develop support systems amongst peers for accountability in future tasks.

Final Reflections and Next Steps

• Reminder for Next Meeting:

  • Forward-looking cast with January 15 highlighting to-do lists and prioritizing tasks according to relevance.

• Emphasis on scheduling and utilizing planners for effective time management.