Potholes
Potholes, setbacks–they happen. Tools for getting out of the pothole, for overcoming the setback involve first recognizing that they happen to everyone. Today I’m going to share a real life anecdote about one of the biggies: procrastination.
The person this happened to shared it at a seminar–and he is really the last person you would expect to be a procrastinator! This psychology professor is the expert on procrastination, with peer-reviewed published research and a text that ranks within the top 30 on the subject on Amazon.
His interest in procrastination came from his own procrastination, which seriously got in the way of his academic performance from high school on. Computer gaming addiction was one of his biggest challenges, and the work he did in studying, researching and overcoming procrastination was the foundation of his internationally acclaimed expertise.
Having got his procrastination beaten, it was time for more research, and more writeup–the book. Now the master of his procrastination, it was safe to play a computer game.
“Just one game.
Just one more game.
After this next game, I’ll . . .
Okay, tomorrow I’ll start right in . . .”
You know what happened. The months went by, twenty-four of them, if I’m remembering accurately here.
Fortunately, he had tenure, earned by his previous track record. And fortunately, he applied his own tools to the problem, and got back on track, finishing the book, writing up new research–a wiser, humbler man.
The take-home for me that I share with my students–especially when they are self-blaming (not one of the tools) for not maintaining perfect time management–is four-fold:
- It happens to everyone.
- There are tools for dealing.
- It can happen again.
- And be recovered from again.
If you are interested in the research, or want to talk about the tools, contact me [email protected]