Question

Case Study 4

Chris is a nursing student and a self-proclaimed procrastinator. She describes herself as waiting until the last minute to complete projects and study for exams. She is currently taking one online course and three courses in a classroom. Chris tells her academic advisor that she tried color-coding her files, making out schedules for studying, and blocking out time, but she was afraid she'd get caught up in the act of doing those tasks and then wouldn't have time to study. She describes having difficulties finding time to complete her online course work and staying current with the discussions. Chris is already feeling the consequences of her actions, as reflected by her falling grades.

1. What strategies could Chris's advisor explain to her that might help her overcome procrastination?
   
   
2. Chris explains to her advisor that although she procrastinates, she is also a perfectionist, always wanting to earn A' on all her work. What guidance should her advisor give her?
   
   
3. Chris's advisor tells her to try positive affirmations to boost her self-esteem. What is a positive affirmation, and how would it help Chris in this situation?
   
   
4. Chris explains how the online course is a lot harder than what she expected and she is having trouble keeping up with the class. She tells her advisor that she often forgets about the assignments because the course is more self-directed than her other classes. How should her advisor help her?
   
   

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Answer 1

strategies to overcome procrastination

Write a to-do list to set goals. Make a record of all the tasks you need to accomplish. The list should include both short-term tasks you need to finish daily and weekly, as well as long-term goals that may take months or even years to accomplish. Seeing it written down will help you plan out the various actions needed to meet all your goals

Prioritize different goals with set deadlines. Use a planner to schedule your time. Write short-term tasks in daily or weekly lists that include deadlines for each item. Set deadlines for long-term goals by listing them in monthly entries

Avoid multitasking to focus on one goal at a time. Multitasking makes you feel like you’re accomplishing a lot, but it prevents you from finishing tasks quickly and effectively. Keep your attention on one goal at a time, and give it you're all.

Get a buddy to keep you honest. It’s hard to stay away from distractions and do your work on time when you’re doing it alone. Luckily, everyone struggles with procrastination. Ask a friend or family member if they’d be willing to partner up with you to check in on each other’s work habits and accomplishments.

Remove your phone from the space if you need to. If you can’t handle being in the same space as something that’s going to tempt you, address that problem by keeping it in another room or turning it off. This also goes for other devices, including iPads, Kindles, or even computers.

Use a program or browser add-on to avoid internet distractions. If constant browsing is your biggest issue, download an application to address your internet addiction. There are a variety of programs available for both Windows and Mac operating systems

Pick a workspace that works for you. Figure out where you’ll be doing most of your work, and make it the best environment for limited distraction. It’s especially important to have a dedicated space for work that’s different from the one where you relax. This may be the library, a coffee shop, your local bookstore, or a home office.

Download an app to avoid phone distractions. Smartphones are usually the black holes that suck up all of our time and attention. Of course, there’s an app for that! Quickly download whichever app sounds like it will best address your particular procrastination problem

stop punishing yourself for procrastinating. The more stressed out you are, the harder it’ll be to get your work done. Don’t be angry with yourself. Move on and focus on what you’ve got to do instead

Tackle your most important task for 15 minutes. Instead of thinking about the total number of hours you’re about to work for, just start. Tell yourself you’ve only got to do it for 15 minutes. This will deal with the intimidation factor, and you’ll likely spend much longer than 15 minutes on your task before you stop working again.

Break tasks down into small chunks. It can be overwhelming to think about finishing a whole essay or getting through an entire week’s worth of tasks. Instead of thinking about everything you have to do like one big obstacle, break it all down into tiny pieces. You’ll be able to get started on the smallest crumb and go forward from there

Start your day with the hardest tasks. Make yourself a plan in the morning and pick the hardest task first. You’ll be most energized in the morning once you’ve eaten breakfast and woken up fully. Tackle the hardest thing on your docket right then

Give yourself a pep talk for motivation. “Self-talking” is a great way to calm yourself down, get focused, and meet your goals. Talk to yourself, using your name. Tell yourself that you can (and will) do this

promise yourself you’ll get a reward when it’s done. You’re probably dreading the next however many hours you need to finish this task. Just tell yourself that when it’s over, you get to celebrate with one of your favorite things. Use that anticipation to push yourself through the pain

B. Advice To The Perfectionist

Aim for done over perfect. Imagining the perfect essay, assignment, or project could be what’s holding you back. It’s nothing at all if it’s not finished, so abandon your vision (or fears) of the perfect product. You also can’t fix what doesn’t exist yet.

Perfectionism becomes a career-limiting behavior as you move up through the ranks. Once they got started, the perfectionist spent way too much time researching, improving, and polishing. That took time away from other important projects as well as time to prepare how they would present their material powerfully in the meeting

Take some time to listen to your inner monologue. What are you saying? Are you saying things like, “I can’t do this right now because I want it to be perfect.” Quit that! Instead, remind yourself exactly why finishing that task is important and why you need to do it now.

The first step to letting go of perfectionism is to acknowledge that you’re doing it in the first place. Look at the worst-case scenario, and how (un)likely it is to occur. And to realize that there’s probably something you can do in that remote situation anyway.

C. Affirmations

Affirmations are positive statements that can help you to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts. When you repeat them often and believe in them, you can start to make positive changes.

keep your affirmations and keep on repeating that. Eg: "I am well-prepared and well-rehearsed, and I am going to have good grades in the coming exams" " I can do this!"

To use affirmations, first, analyze the thoughts or behaviors that you'd like to change in your own life and career.

Next, come up with positive, credible, and achievable affirmation statements that are the opposite of these thoughts. Repeat your affirmations several times a day, especially when you find yourself slipping into negative self-talk or engaging in negative behavior.

Remember that affirmations are most effective when you use them alongside other strategies, such as visualization and goal setting.

D Dealing with excuse seeking mentality

Finding excuses will not solve the problem. We have to identify the solutions for that. Analyse whether any of these difficulties are true or they are just part of the procrastination behavior? If you find that course is hard then find solutions like getting peer help, discussing with the teachers, etc. If there is something else wrong with the course form a blueprint for the solution and execute it. Being a victim will not help you. you have to analyse the obstacles and ponder and do what you have to do.