Procrastination is the thief of time.
Edward Young, ‘The Complaint: Night Thoughts, Night I,l. 393
What is procrastination
Procrastination is defined as the tendency to put off important or relevant tasks, and is often associated with lack of motivation, lack of discipline and inability to concentrate.
My PhD is in Financial Regulatory Law and not in Psychology, therefore I cannot state whether procrastination stems from some form of anxiety, whether the condition is worsened by a lack of planning or an underestimation of time.
I know I am guilty of procrastination but I would not regard myself as a procrastinator. I think a procrastinator could be described as someone who procrastinates over every task big or small, urgent or not.
Every university holds classes or presentations about recognising and overcoming procrastination. Some of the standard topics are writer’s block or perfectionism and some of the strategies proposed are useful and do assist PhD researchers to overcome their procrastination.
Discovering what works for you is very simple and you should explore these solutions to make you feel more in control and less overwhelmed so that you can progress your research. Below are some of the techniques I use and hopefully they will be useful for you to.
Curtail distractions in your environment
I do not own a smart phone. I have the Nokia 105. I do not have any apps installed on my MacBook Air that is used solely for my PhD. I do not login to my YouTube id so when I search for a playlist of classical music, that is the only result that comes up. I do not get distracted watching videos.
If you cannot do without your smartphone, then set rules for yourself. Put your phone in a draw somewhere away from you so that you cannot be distracted by it.
Items such as phones are designed to be far more stimulating than reading and writing about the requirements of The Investment Company Act of 1940. However, I need to read and write about this.
So I set a rule for myself, I would not use or be distracted by my phone and in a draw it went in a different room. Of course, I failed miserably, so the phone had to go. My PhD is more important to me than WhatsApp, Instagram or any other electronic stimulus.
Be careful of the environment surrounding you and the stimuli that can affect you. If you are a chatty Cathy, love video games or are planning you next holiday abroad, all these things (and millions of others) can exacerbate your tendency to procrastinate. Do not give in to it, set your rules.
Start slowly and keep going
If you are a procrastinator, start slowly. Just do something. Be aware that you will probably do something that saps the foundations of your new found eagerness. Do not give into the thoughts in your head such as ‘if I do not do this perfectly then I should not do it, so what is the point of starting’? Or ‘if I do not have the motivation to do this, then I should not do it, it is not for me’.
Stop these thoughts straight away. I would do something small and simple. I would force myself to read the first 5 pages of the paper I had to read. If it was writing that I was struggling with, I would never end a sentence so I knew what I had to write next when I continued the next day.
There is superabundance of literature to read (if you are so inclined) on self-efficacy and performance spirals. I did not need to read any of these, I just started slowly.
I did not listen to the voice of doubt that rages in my mind. I would not give in to it. I picked up a paper or a book and just began. It was not easy at first, but you will be surprised at how soon the voices stop.
Another thing that benefitted me, was being around Phd students who are further along or nearly completing their journey. Some of them scare you into the realisation that you have to get this done now so you are not like them in the future, but some of them are calm and relaxed and they are who I needed to be like.
However, you do it, just start slowly and keep going, it will get better and easier.
Make everything you do a habit
I know I am the sort of person who has to regimented. Sometimes I wish I could fly by the seat of my pants, let the creative juices flow and then perform as and when required. But that is not me.
I need a routine, a schedule. More than that, I have to be able to adhere to it religiously. I am not spontaneous, I am not artistic and I have no flamboyance whatsoever. I am a plodder, following my own orders, sticking to the plan and working towards my goals.
It is this approach that has worked for me. I attend the post-graduate research room our faculty has provided everyday and I work towards my goal one step at a time. I have to write a thousand words a week. That is the decisive factor for me.
Some weeks, I write more as I have finished my reading, other weeks I have to read so that my word count decreases. But I still take lots of notes even though I am reading. This means my written content is always improving and growing.
I cannot work from home, maybe you can. But for me there are too many distractions. I know when I go to the PhD room I will begin to work. At home I can procrastinate. So make sure your surroundings are beneficial to your goals. That might mean you go to the library or somewhere else. Wherever it is, keep going there.
Remember your obligations
There are multiple distractions in our modern lives. If you are susceptible to being easily distracted and this is adding to your procrastination, it is important to remember what you are here for.
I am here to complete my PHD and so I have certain obligations that I have to fulfil. I have to plan my work, read papers and articles, analyse the information and write the content. That’s it!
I am not here to volunteer for tasks the faculty believe is beneath them. I am not there to volunteer for anything and I know how to say no to requests for my time when I know I should be fulfilling my obligations. Forget about administrative tasks, forget about all the other university based distractions and focus upon the obligations you have.
Do not worry about seminars, attending conferences, teaching gigs or anything else if you are procrastinating over your obligations. Stop all the distractions and concentrate on what you have to do not what someone else thinks you should do.
Do not be fearful – change your mindset
The first year of my PhD was supposed to be full of doubts, imposter syndrome and concerns over not being perfect. It has been anything but like this because I know how to reset my mind.
Most of these fears come about through the fear of failure. Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” Edison believed that failure was fundamental. My PhD is in law, if your PhD concerns doing experiments, do not be afraid of failure, welcome the failures like Edison.
I have written about imposter syndrome in a previous blog so I will not cover it again here, but one subject I must discuss is perfectionism. This will extirpate any momentum or enthusiasm you have for your subject matter. You will not write a perfect thesis, so do not do try to be perfect.
I know a PhD graduate who was ready to submit at the end of their third year, yet kept fettling and improving it for another 18 months. When I met them I was curious about why they had not submitted. “Because I have to make it perfect” they replied.
They had extended their PhD by 50% because they were terrified of submitting a piece of work that was not perfect in their eyes. That is a classic example of how to procrastinate and waste time. My derision at their reply enabled them to submit their thesis. Their search for perfection was futile as following their Viva they had to do corrections.
Do not be afraid, failure is part of it. Do your best when you are supposed to, do it to the best of your ability and present your work. Welcome the criticism and the findings, Edison did.
Face your fears
As Edmund Burke wrote in ‘Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents’ – ‘No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear’, so I say, face your fears.
If you do not like writing, you have to write. If you need a technique or process for overcoming this fear, look to resources such as Cal Newport’s ‘Deep Work’. There is a myriad of these resources available and there will be one that hopefully will aid you.
The essence of all these resources will be to start small. Just take the first step. This might be writing for 5, 10 or 15 minutes and then having a 5 minute break. In a few months, you will be able to write for an hour at a time.
One of my favourite reasons for doing a PhD is the mental challenge that is so prevalent during the research. I could not let that challenge beat me and allow me to procrastinate because I may have a fear or two about failing. I urge anyone reading this not to allow fear to grip you. As Nike said, “Just do it”.