The Procrastination Cycle Exercise

Today’s Tasks

• Fill in Your Procrastination Cycle(s)

Select a task/goal and fill in your procrastination cycle. Repeat this exercise for other tasks/goals if you believe your answers would differ depending on a task/goal at stake. 

Approach Task/Goal

e.g. Work, Household, Study

Unhelpful Rules or Assumptions Are Activated

Choice #1

e.g. Pleasure Seeking: I can’t tolerate boredom. I need pleasure and interest.

Choice #2

e.g. Depleted Energy: I can’t do a good job when I am unmotivated 

Discomfort Driven

Detect Discomfort

e.g. Frustration, Boredom, Exhaustion

+ Detest Discomfort

e.g. I hate feeling like this

= Dodge Discomfort

e.g. Urge to avoid my frustration by procrastinating builds

+ Procrastination Excuses

e.g. I’ll just do my other paperwork first because it doesn’t take much time and it’s easier to do.

Procrastination Activities

e.g. Clear old emails, watch some youtube, start cleaning the house.. 

Positive Consequence

frustration, broedom. Gain some pleasure from procrastination activities.

Negative Consequences

e.g. More discomfort (guilt, anxiety, overwhelm). Take pile up…

Continue to Procrastinate…

e.g. Next time I approach ‘Put Off Procrastination’ modules, it’s likely I’ll do the same all over again…

Approach Task/Goal 

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In the previous lesson, we studied an example of a procrastination cycle. Now let’s fill out one or more of our own procrastination cycles.

Putting All Elements Together

Combine needing to avoid discomfort about taking action (arising from unhelpful rules/assumptions about ourselves or the world), procrastination excuses, self-critical talk, more fun procrastination activities, and various procrastination consequences, and you’re more likely to engage in a vicious procrastination cycle.