Procrastination
Cats: Training|We all know what procrastination is- and we all do it! But when we are always procrastinating, we need to start to do something about it, otherwise we can suffer anxiety attacks which can lead to bad performance, and sometimes dismissal from our jobs.
So WHY do people procrastinate? Well, there are lots of reason, but some of them are:
1. Difficulty: What you’re doing might be just too hard for you with your current skill base.
2. Fear: If you’re afraid for whatever reason that you might fail, then you might procrastinate doing the task.
3. Priorities: Maybe when it’s a Thursday night you would rather go out with your friends then stay at home studying, which is fair enough, but which is going to get you to your goal?
4. Perfectionism: Maybe you think that you simply HAVE to get 100% on the exam, and so you put off doing it because you know deep down you won’t make it there.
5. Confused?: This is the one that stops me sometimes- I just don’t know where to start!! (tip: the beginning is always a good place to start- thanks Maria).
6. It justs sucks: You just don’t like what you have to do.
Want to know if you’re a procrastinator?? Well, saying yes to five or more of these means you are. 
I often put off starting a task I find difficult
I often give up on a task as soon as I start to find it difficult.
I often wonder why I should be doing a task.
I often have difficulty getting started on a task.
I often try to do so many tasks at once that I cannot do any of them.
I often put off a task in which I have little or no interest.
I often try to come up with reasons to do something other than a task I have to do.
I often ignore a task when I am not certain about how to start it or complete it.
I often start a task but stop before completing it.
I often find myself thinking that if I ignore a task, it will go away.
I often cannot decide which of a number of tasks I should complete first.
I often find my mind wandering to things other that the task on which I am trying to work.
So you’ve found out that you are a bit of a procrastinator, and you know WHY you do it, but what can you do to stop??
1. Motivate yourself. Realise that it’s okay to make mistakes, and that with our course, there’s always a second try.
2. Reward yourself. Maybe you need to say to yourself, if you finish a chapter of study, then you can go our with your friends, or treat yourself to a pizza while you study the next chapter.
3. Break it down. Can you swallow an entire steak without taking a bite? I think not. You cut it up and eat it slowly. So the same with your study. Work on a learning outcome at a time.
4. Commitment. Be commited that if you start a task, you will finish it. This way you have a much higher moral because you know you are actually achieving things.
5. Get Help. Not sure how a question is meant to be worked out? Send us an email, or come see us for help! Or if you know someone who’s doing the same subject as you, or has already done that subject, as them for help!
6. Rotate. If you do a hard task, do an easy task next, then a hard one again, etc. etc. This will help you to acheive without being really over, or under whelmed.
