"Leave me alone! Can't you see I'm resting my brain? I'll write later...." yawned Patty-Boy as he closed his eyes and wheezed human-like snores.
Poor Patty-Boy, always sleeping rather than out about town, looking for tasty shrews to eat or fluffy baby bunny "tales" to chase. As a writer, the temptation to take a cat nap, wash the dishes, waste time on Facebook or other social media forums, or clean the kitty litter box are always present. How many times have you set-aside a block of time to write but end up procrastinating?
Why do we procrastinate? According to an article: Procrastination: Ten Things to know written by Hara Estroff Marano in Psychology Today, Marano researches ten important things to consider when procrastination takes over.
1. A whopping 20% of people identify themselves as a procrastinator. That's quite a few "maladaptive" people out there, who continually lose out on opportunities for success.
2. Our culture accepts procrastination and does not identify it as a problem. Instead of holding one another accountable for his or her lackadaisical ways, we politely accept the behavior. When was the last time someone called you on procrastinating and told you to wake up and get busy? Most likely you were ten and would not clean your room, right? As an adult, we need to hold one another accountable and define procrastination as a problem rather than accepting it.
3. Recognize that the procrastinator does not have a problem with time management, but rather the root of the problem is much deeper. Marano offers the analogy of telling a person, who is suffering from chronic depression to cheer up, juxtaposes the state of mind found in a procrastinator.
4. Procrastinators are "not born" this way; instead the cause seems to lie in the familial relationships. In other words, procrastination is an acquired mental state due to the "family milieu." Marano suggests that procrastination could come as a form of rebellion towards a harsh authoritarian style, thus causing the procrastinator to turn to friends rather than from an elder. This, in turn, allows the behavior to continue, since friends are more accepting.
5. Marano states that due to the effects of procrastination, such person will consume more alcohol than intended: "a manifestation of generalized problems in self regulation." In Patty's case, more catnip!
6. Procrastinators are liars. This statement sounds pretty harsh. After all, the procrastinator will write tomorrow, right? At least this is reassuring self rather than admitting the truth: the procrastinator needs help with self assurance issues. Instead of "working better under pressure," the procrastinator squanders his or her resources.
7. Why is it important to respond to a Facebook post or send an email to your third cousin twice removed? It is not, but to a procrastinator, who "actively looks for distractions" to help "regulate their emotions such as fear of failure," these types of excuses serve such a purpose.
8. There are three types of procrastinators, according to Dr. Ferrari (Associate Professor of Psychology at DePaul University in Chicago, IL) who fit one of three basic definitions:
* Arousal types, or thrill seekers, who wait to the last minute for the euphoric rush.
* Avoiders, who may be avoiding fear of failure or even fear of success, but in either case are very concerned with what others think of them: they would rather have others think they lack effort than ability.
*Decisional procrastinators, who cannot make a decision. Not making a decision absolves procrastinators of responsibility for the outcome of events.
9. Procrastination is bad for your health. How many of you writers waited until the night before the designated deadline to turn an article in? This creates unnecessary stress, which can alter your overall well-being.
10. This is the best one of all: Marano states that "Procrastinators can change their behavior [through] well-structured cognitive behavioral therapy." Whew! I guess Patty-Boy has a chance after all, eh?
So, the moral of a procrastinator's story is to realize that this is a real problem and then discover a means to help correct the problem. When Patty-Boy wakes up from "resting his brain," we'll delve deeper into ways to help the procrastinator. That is if he ever wakes up from his cat nap...or maybe he is procrastinating? One never fully understands the behaviors of a cat!
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