Tips to Avoid Procrastination - Tense-Afraid Procrastinators

Procrastination can be a major problem for any individual that is attempting to prepare for a particular exam, interview, or other similar situation. However, there are certain techniques that an individual can use to avoid the temptation to procrastinate. In order for an individual to find the best techniques for his or her situation, however, it is important for an individual to identify the underlying cause that has led the individual to procrastinate in the first place. In other words, is the individual procrastinating to avoid the stress associated with the task or is the individual procrastinating because he or she cannot handle the excessive stress that he or she feels as a result of the task?

If the individual is procrastinating because he or she is unable to handle the excessive stress that he or she feels due to the task, then the individual is a tense-afraid procrastinator and the first thing that the individual should try to do is to put the task in perspective. This means that the individual should try to answer perspective questions such as "if I fail this task, is it really going to affect me that much?" or "if I fail this task, will everyone really think less of me?" In virtually every situation, the answer to both of these questions should be "no" as most tense-afraid procrastinators are making the task seem much more difficult or much more important than it actually is. This does not in anyway mean that the task is not important, but rather that the individual may be blowing the difficulty or importance of the task out of proportion and, as a result, the individual is increasing his or her anxiety about the task. Secondly, the individual should try to set realistic goals and standards for the task. In other words, the individual may be adding undue stress if he or she is attempting to complete a task that the individual has made impossible. For example, it is certainly possible to write a 15-page paper, but it may not be possible to write that paper in an hour or to write it without a single mistake. Basically, the individual needs to separate realistic expectations from ridiculous expectations. Finally, the individual should focus on finishing the task at hand and try not to focus on events that might happen as a result of the task or on other tasks that the individual may need to complete after the task.