Good news! Sanctuary Counselling and Consultancy is now on Skype.
This means that you can now have sessions with me via Skype, so it no longer matters where you live!
Skype sessions will run just like sessions in the therapy room, for an hour, and they will be billed at the same rate as sessions in the therapy room.
You can find me by using the Skype search and searching for Sanctuary Counselling and Consultancy, or by searching for the email address contact@sanctuarycounsellingandconsultancy.com.au.
Tuesday, 23 January 2018
Saturday, 20 January 2018
Procrastination
I've been doing some research on procrastination, and I can't tell you how many websites I found that will tell people how to "cure" their procrastination. I wish it was that simple. But it's not.
It is far more than get a diary, make a "to do" list and just do it! If that was the answer to this problem then there would be a lot more constructive people and a lot less frustrated people in the world!
It has been my experience that there is a number of issues at play in the life of the person who procrastinates!!
Let me just stop here a second. There is a lot of websites where the person who procrastinates is called a procrastinator. I find that very unhelpful and in some cases down-right hurtful. Is labelling a person going to help them? I doubt it!
Is procrastination a condition? I don't think so, if it was, wouldn't that make it easier to treat? You go to your doctor and explain that you think you may be suffering a case of procrastination and they ask a few questions then write you out a script telling you to take two tablets twice daily and after a week your symptoms should be gone and you'll be back to your productive self again! It sounds a little far fetched!
My thoughts on the subject...
I believe that there are many reasons why people procrastinate:
1. They believe that they have plenty of time to get the task done, so they can continue doing whatever it is they are doing.
2. They don't enjoy the task or don't see the point of the task.
3. They simply can't be bothered doing the task that needs to be done.
But what about the person who puts off doing something because they are afraid?
What if the person has put off doing something because they feel inadequate, or incompetent?
If solving the problem was as simple as making a list and doing everything on that list then procrastination wouldn't exist.
I have a thought about why people procrastinate. That is that there is some underlying issue going on.
Ok, some procrastinate because it is a habit they have formed, and others have enabled that habit, and now it rules their lives. Others procrastinate because "it's better than doing the task". Others simply can't be bothered, so vegging out will take place over the completing of the task.
But when you look honestly at these - you'll see clearly that they are all excuses. "I did this instead of doing that because I don't like that" is an excuse.
If only ditching the excuses was easy and solved every case of procrastination.
Ditching the excuses requires honesty, brutal honesty. It also requires extremely hard work, persistence, tenacity, determination, a touch of stubbornness, and perseverance.
Feeling inadequate or incompetent are a little harder to deal with. Inadequacy has to do with your self-worth and your identity and dealing with this may require help. Feeling incompetent may require some encouragement or education. Simply learning how to do a task will make doing it much easier. Having some help with the task will also make it much easier. Being brave enough to say you need help is going to be your biggest hurdle there.
What if the procrastination is due to an underlying medical, emotional or mental health issue? To deal with the procrastination these issues will need to be dealt with.
Let's go back for a second to the belief that there is still enough time to get the task done... This one is interesting. It involves the person lying to themselves. They are lying because they believe that the added stress of getting the task done at the last minute will help them. But stress causes its own issues.
Part of the procrastination issue is an underlying belief that the task isn't worth the time or effort it requires, or that it simply doesn't have a high enough priority.
It's interesting to hear people's reasons for not getting something done."I forgot". "I was too busy". "It wasn't possible to do it in the timeframe given"."My dog ate my homework"!
How many of those excuses seem legitimate? Yet how many of them allow a person to procrastinate? And how many of them state that the task at hand didn't have a high priority for to task doer?
My conclusion that I came to in dealing with procrastination was that you need to not give a diary or "to do" list to a person, but rather, look at the underlying excuses and priorities of the person. Assess the situation and see if there is anything they need help with, are there any mental health or physical health issues that need to be sorted? And lastly, does the person see the need for the task in the first place?
I procrastinated on doing my homework in high-school because I didn't see the point of doing it! (I still don't see the point of homework for school students.)
Some websites that I have looked at (and here I wish I had kept track of them all) have said that they think that procrastination is a mental health issue. I sort of agree, in that for some it is the result of a mental health issue, but I don't believe that procrastination is a mental health disorder in and of itself.
I plan on doing more research on this matter, because it seems to be something that comes up a lot, and a lot of people struggle with it.
If you are one of the many people who struggle in this or other areas of your life, please don't hesitate to contact me, I may be able to help you or I may be able to refer you to someone better suited to help you.
It is far more than get a diary, make a "to do" list and just do it! If that was the answer to this problem then there would be a lot more constructive people and a lot less frustrated people in the world!
It has been my experience that there is a number of issues at play in the life of the person who procrastinates!!
Let me just stop here a second. There is a lot of websites where the person who procrastinates is called a procrastinator. I find that very unhelpful and in some cases down-right hurtful. Is labelling a person going to help them? I doubt it!
Is procrastination a condition? I don't think so, if it was, wouldn't that make it easier to treat? You go to your doctor and explain that you think you may be suffering a case of procrastination and they ask a few questions then write you out a script telling you to take two tablets twice daily and after a week your symptoms should be gone and you'll be back to your productive self again! It sounds a little far fetched!
My thoughts on the subject...
I believe that there are many reasons why people procrastinate:
1. They believe that they have plenty of time to get the task done, so they can continue doing whatever it is they are doing.
2. They don't enjoy the task or don't see the point of the task.
3. They simply can't be bothered doing the task that needs to be done.
But what about the person who puts off doing something because they are afraid?
What if the person has put off doing something because they feel inadequate, or incompetent?
If solving the problem was as simple as making a list and doing everything on that list then procrastination wouldn't exist.
I have a thought about why people procrastinate. That is that there is some underlying issue going on.
Ok, some procrastinate because it is a habit they have formed, and others have enabled that habit, and now it rules their lives. Others procrastinate because "it's better than doing the task". Others simply can't be bothered, so vegging out will take place over the completing of the task.
But when you look honestly at these - you'll see clearly that they are all excuses. "I did this instead of doing that because I don't like that" is an excuse.
If only ditching the excuses was easy and solved every case of procrastination.
Ditching the excuses requires honesty, brutal honesty. It also requires extremely hard work, persistence, tenacity, determination, a touch of stubbornness, and perseverance.
Feeling inadequate or incompetent are a little harder to deal with. Inadequacy has to do with your self-worth and your identity and dealing with this may require help. Feeling incompetent may require some encouragement or education. Simply learning how to do a task will make doing it much easier. Having some help with the task will also make it much easier. Being brave enough to say you need help is going to be your biggest hurdle there.
What if the procrastination is due to an underlying medical, emotional or mental health issue? To deal with the procrastination these issues will need to be dealt with.
Let's go back for a second to the belief that there is still enough time to get the task done... This one is interesting. It involves the person lying to themselves. They are lying because they believe that the added stress of getting the task done at the last minute will help them. But stress causes its own issues.
Part of the procrastination issue is an underlying belief that the task isn't worth the time or effort it requires, or that it simply doesn't have a high enough priority.
It's interesting to hear people's reasons for not getting something done."I forgot". "I was too busy". "It wasn't possible to do it in the timeframe given"."My dog ate my homework"!
How many of those excuses seem legitimate? Yet how many of them allow a person to procrastinate? And how many of them state that the task at hand didn't have a high priority for to task doer?
My conclusion that I came to in dealing with procrastination was that you need to not give a diary or "to do" list to a person, but rather, look at the underlying excuses and priorities of the person. Assess the situation and see if there is anything they need help with, are there any mental health or physical health issues that need to be sorted? And lastly, does the person see the need for the task in the first place?
I procrastinated on doing my homework in high-school because I didn't see the point of doing it! (I still don't see the point of homework for school students.)
Some websites that I have looked at (and here I wish I had kept track of them all) have said that they think that procrastination is a mental health issue. I sort of agree, in that for some it is the result of a mental health issue, but I don't believe that procrastination is a mental health disorder in and of itself.
I plan on doing more research on this matter, because it seems to be something that comes up a lot, and a lot of people struggle with it.
If you are one of the many people who struggle in this or other areas of your life, please don't hesitate to contact me, I may be able to help you or I may be able to refer you to someone better suited to help you.
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