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There's Always Tomorrow
Wednesday, December 7, at 2:30 p.m., U.S. Eastern time
Conventional wisdom holds that procrastinators are just plain lazy. But psychologists who study chronic dawdling say the behavior is much more complex than that. Researchers have found that college campuses are hothouses of procrastination, with an estimated 70 percent of students saying they typically postpone starting or finishing their assignments. Some of those students feel incapable of changing their behavior, which can sink not only their grades but also their self-esteem.
Many colleges offer time-management workshops to help students overcome procrastination, yet some experts say treating chronic procrastinators requires intensive counseling that gets at the root causes of habitual dillydallying.
Why do some students waste their time when they should be working? Should American universities offer cognitive and behavioral therapy for the problem, as many European ones do? Is there hope for a cure? If not, what is to be done?
» Tomorrow, I Love Ya! (12/9/2005)
Joseph R. Ferrari is a professor of psychology at DePaul University and a leading researcher of chronic procrastination.
Eric Hoover (Moderator):
Welcome to The Chronicle's live chat with Joseph R. Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University and a leading researcher of chronic procrastination. Thanks for joining us today. We will now take questions.
Question from Mark Grechanik, University of Texas at Austin:
Do you think frequent quizzes may help students to engage in the learning process faster?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Good point; it may. But the issue here is that folks wait to study not that they don't study. Still, you are right. Generating a system that reduces procrastination is the solution.
Question from Anon, small NY college:
Intensive counseling doesn't sound like it would fit into a college student's schedule. How can we lessen procrastination if we can't provide intensive counseling? If time management tips/workshops don't work, what does?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
For the CHRONIC PROCRASTINATOR, therapy. Even small NY towns (and I lived and worked at several) have professional clinical and counseling psychologists in the area. They need to get a student rate and seek professional help. Also, the college counseling center could have a staff person trained to hold sessions. Good luck!
Question from Maryann P. county college in NJ:
How can I solve my problem of often being late for appointments, term papers, kids appointments, car-pool? I am getting worse at it lately.
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Do you schedule back to back? Give yourself 20 minutes between tasks so if one takes longer, you are not overloaded. Remember, to prioritze is not the same as procrastinating.
Question from Laura Wennekes, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands:
Isn't "procrastination" a natural response to artificially imposed notion of "deadline"?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
"Natural." Wow, no. It is learned. There is NO gene for procrastination. I hear a little rebellion here - like 'imposed deadline.' Look, life is full of commitments. We have responsibilities to meet those deadlines.
Question from Evan, University of Delaware:
Are you aware of the book "The Now Habit" (Niel Fiore) and the related "lifehacker" movement popular among IT professionals for over-coming procrastination? What do you think of them?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Yes, there are many 'self-help' books out there. Most don't use good research to support them. Read the scholarly stuff for good science.
Question from Nora, big state university:
In my experience, procrastination is directly related to anxiety around writing. I sit down to write, and have bodily "symptoms" and have found psychoanalysis to be helpful. Have you considered the psychoanalytic treatment of writing blocks and procrastination?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
If analysis works for you, great. I recommend cognitive-behavioral therapy because it changes the way a person THINKS and BEHAVES instead of thinking about why one's mother acted a specific way.
Question from Kris, MIT:
Could you please explain how research into procrastination differentiates between depression-related procrastination, and procrastination in someone who would not be clasified as depressed? Is such a distinction even possible? Thank you from a chronic procrastinator, second generation.
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Yes, this is a learned thing and for you you had a model. Yes, there is a relation between procrastination and depression, but correlational. Does procrastination lead to depression? Or does depression lead to procrastination? No causal experiements have been done.
Question from Kathleen, U. of Rochester:
What does evidence suggest regarding a genetic contribution to chronic procrastination?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
None! It's too easy to blame things on one's genetics. If that is the case, then one can't change, and that is foolish.
Question from Mark, NGO Abroad:
The people I know who do not procrastinate are ones who get a great sense of satisfaction finishing things and checking it off the list. They tend to enjoy throwing things away rather than keeping them around in case they need them. Basically they have greater throughput. I don’t really enjoy finishing things, I worry that they are not perfect. My question is what makes them get such satisfaction from completion?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
You are right about non-procrastinators (myself included). And you are right about the link to perfectionism. Procrastinators try to be perfect to have others like them. Nonprocrastinators try to be perfect to do a good job.
So, stop focusing on what others will think of you as reflecting your self-worth. You are a good person even if the project is a B or B+.
Question from Erica, NYU:
Recently, I've seen a bunch of web pages advertising "coaches" who help a person get over their procrastinating habits. Does your research suggest that coaching is effective?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
In my 2004 book, Counseling the Procrastinator in Academic Settings, there is a chapter on digital coaching. Good luck.
Question from Evan, University of Delaware:
Sometimes I am much more productive on projects that have no deadline than those that do. Do you think the deadline itself is the culprit as much as the task at hand? How are they related?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Sounds like a little rebellion against having an external deadline here. Ask yourself why you work against it, instead of work with it.
Question from Marla, U. of Texas:
Do you think the internet has worsened the problem of procrastination, or that it is just a different form of an ongoing problem?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Worsened. Now we email at the last minute instead of placing a letter in the post 3 days before.
Question from Erin McLaughlin, University of Pennsylvania:
What are the indicators of a chronic procrastinator versus a student just uninterested in a project or class?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Hmm, I think they would look the same and act the same. But the procrastinator would get anxious about not working on the target project.
Question from Carmen, Northeast Iowa Community College:
The Chronicle article about procrastinations makes no mention of Adult ADHD,a likely cause for at least 5% of procrastinators, and possibly many, many more, as there would be a natural selection bias toward procrastination in the ADHD population. What are your thoughts about this?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Nice. I have a paper in press in "Clinical & Counseling Psychology" where we examined procrastinators with adult ADHDs. There was a link. Look for the article. Cheers.
Question from Tammy, mid-size East Coast univ.:
How can I know if a therapist is good at working with procrastination?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Good point. Look for a PhD psychologist with a cognitive-behavioral style. If they try time management on you, walk away.
Question from Michelle, Washington University:
What is your viewpoint on freshman transition programs? Do you think they could be useful in heading off patterns of underachievement due to procrastination? And did you find anything that indicated how to prepare for independent study?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Good point. No data here, but anything that tries to get students to examine what and why they do or do NOT work is good. Just don't hope that the 20% who are chronic procrastinators will be 'cured' by a week-long section of a freshmen course.
Question from Laura, large eastern university:
How do you get a procrastinator to actually go to therapy, however? Especially if they already feel they don't have enough time for everyday commitments.
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Can't make anyone do anything they don't want to. As my old Italian grandmother said (loses something in translation, but...) "for some folks, they will not get off the beach until the water hits their behind."
Question from Donald, small Rhode Island College:
Is procrastination a result of executive processing disorders?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
No data. Unlikely for most people. Remember, there is a difference between correlations and causality.
Question from John Gault, Missouri Valley College:
Are you saying there is nothing that can help these students except professional counselors? Is there nothing the professor or the school can do?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Professors can design their classes to give extra credit for doing assignments EARLY, instead of punishing for being late.
I'm not saying there is nothing. Remember, 80% of us procrastinate, but 20% are procrastinators. Programs can work for most folks, but for the 20% who are real procrastinators, where this is their lifestyle, they need therapy.
Question from LLC, The University of Akron:
I work in a career center, and see another side of chronic student procrastination related to making life decisions, applying for jobs, preparing for life after college. It seems like it takes a "crisis point" to motivate the truly chronic procrastinators ... are there some other tools, tips, techniques, resources you'd recommend to help us "kick-start" those that need the assistance?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Right, some folks need a crisis to kcik them into moving.
Question from Pat, Shorter College (small private):
My husband just gave a bunch of low grades to students who failed, all semester, to turn in assignments. Do you think there's a group behavior/dynamics factor in procrastination?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Probably not. They may have been having some group planned strategy to delay for other reasons. But we do know that in group assignments where performance is rated for everyone, procrastinators will engage in loafing--and the non-procrastinators in the group don't like them.
Question from Constant Beugre, Delaware State University:
Can having a 'to do list' and stick to it help in reducing procrastination? I have tried this technquen with some procrastinators in the past and it seems to work for some but not for others.
Joseph R. Ferrari:
You are again making my point - for 80% of us who procrastinate on some things, a to-do list system and other things will work. But for the 20% procrastinators who do this as a lifestyle, they will reshuffle the list and come up with excuses why they can't do something.
Question from LLC, The University of Akron:
Although genetics may not make us procrastinators, our personalities may help us be more prone to procrastination. MBTI perceiving types, for example, like open-endedness, see many options and are not as comfortable choosing only one option, are more spontaneous ... are certain personality types more prone to procrastination?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
MBTI has very poor reliability and validity, if one reads the scholarly literature. We found it did not relate to proc tendencies. So drop that party game!
Question from D.S., large research university:
Most people are surprised to hear I procrastinate because I am amazingly good at coming through in the clutch, and when I work with focus, I get a lot done, and so, the pattern continues. Do I need to have a big failure to motivate change in myself?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
You sound like a chronic AROUSAL procrastinator, who enjoys working against a clock for a rush experience. Fail enough with no one bailing you out, and you may want to change.
Question from Alaine Allen, University of Pittsburgh:
I work with pre-college students who seem to procrastinate out of fear (ex. anxiety about writing a college application essay). What type of advice would you give to those students beyond the common "just do it" statement.
Joseph R. Ferrari:
To break it down and do just smaller sections, to focus on the goal of getting it done, not what has to be done, look at each TREE and not the FOREST.
Question from Laura, big eastern Univ.:
Sometimes I even procrastinate on enjoyable things. Do you think it may be some sort of rebelliion against "scheduling"? I have often wondered, because sometimes I will have a better chance to get something done if it is "impulsive." Where would you start to fix something like that?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Could be. I have a book chapter on procrastination and impulsivity. They are not as opposite as you think.
Question from Janet, large Long Island college:
Are stimulant medications such as Metadate or Ritalin effective in reducing procrastination.
Joseph R. Ferrari:
No. keep away from the meds. Instead, focus on learning new skills for life.
Question from Alec, University of Cambridge, UK:
Hello, could you please mention a few proven concrete exercises/methods to combat one’s procrastination tendencies, especially concerning very long term, multifaceted goals such as writing up a PhD thesis. Thank you.
Joseph R. Ferrari:
We have several good tested, research-supported techniques in the 2004 book, Counseling the Procrastinator in Academic Settings, as well as the founding book in 1995.
Question from Ed, U. of Kentucky:
I see my earlier questsion was answered. What about heling children out of this who have already caught procrastination from the parent?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Well, it was not 'caught' as much as modeled and learned. So they need to learn alternative ways to handle the situation and how they perceive the situation. Can the parents model 'getting it done'?
Question from Ed, U. of Kentucky:
What questions should you ask when looking for a cognitive therapist? How long should it take to change the habit?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is more short term than psychoanalysis. Listen to how they would work with you. Do they focus on your thinking pattern and your behaviors? Do they offer you skills and new ways to treat your behaviors and thoughts?
Question from Mona Pelkey, United States Military Academy:
My star procrastinator just left my office. He is unhappy because he just can't seem to get motivated enough to put in the effort to get the grades he wants. For the past hour and a half I literally sat over him, pushing him to make a list, prioritize it, and start the tasks. I am exhausted and so is my student. Help!
Joseph R. Ferrari:
He is still trying to be PERFECT. Life is not perfect, neither should he be. Clincial folks talk about an 80% rule where the client is 'cured' if they reach 80% of their life goal. So get this student to be happy with 97% then 95% then 90%, etc.
Procrastinators would rather others say that they lacked EFFORT than lacked ABILITY. By never finishing they can protect their self-views and say have the ability but that they never tried hard enough. He needs to stop thinking his self worth is tied only to getting an A.
Question from Bonnie, Huston-Tillotson:
Regarding that 20% - what is (are) the pay-off (s) for procrastination?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
Protecting one's self-esteem and social-esteem (how others feel about your ability). Never finish, never get judged by others. Let others decide and act for you.
Question from John Gault, Missouri Valley College:
What criteria can be used to determine if a student is one of the 20% that needs counseling or just a “normal” procrastinator like the rest of us?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
In the 1995 text we have several reliable and valid self-report measures that assess one's procrastinator tendencies. Buy the book and take the measures!
Question from Nina, Duke University:
I have bipolar disorder and am having a hard time determining if I'm procrastinating and using BP as an excuse, or am really having trouble getting things done because of of rapid cycling. Any thoughts?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
I can't play therapist here, but remember procrastinators are great excuse makers, blaming it on others, parents, genes, other disorders.
Question from Eric Hoover:
Looking ahead, what are some new avenues you would like to explore in your research on procrastination? What are some questions you would like to see addressed in future studies?
Joseph R. Ferrari:
I want to continue to look at the cross-cultural meanings of procrastination. And funny you should ask, I have been asked by a reader of a publishing house to write a pop book based on scholarly research outcomes. So, I think I will take them up on that offer...
Eric Hoover (Moderator):
That wraps up our chat. Thanks to everyone who sent questions today. And Prof. Ferrari, thank you for your responses.