Psychology

Procrastination refers to the habit of delaying or putting of what needs to be done to the future. Procrastination is a problem that several people experience. However people experience it to varying degrees. While some people are able to function relatively well with their procrastination, others find it really hard and have had major problems due to this issue.

To best assist someone with a procrastination problem, it is necessary to understand procrastination as well as the person in question. Combining the two improves levels of success. If I were to assist a junior colleague, I would concentrate on helping her especially in the area of her class work. The three strategies I would use would be personality understanding, reducing task aversiveness and raising conscientiousness.

Understanding Personality.
My first task would be to help my colleague understand her personality. Personality plays a major role in how someone is disposed to respond to the world, (Timothy 2008). It is by this understanding that we would know how to best minimize her risk to procrastination.

If my colleague is extraverted, I would know her level of energy is high. I would therefore discourage from giving in to them feeling that she can achieve anything. I would encourage her to count on what she has actually done as opposed to what she feels she can do.

As she may be prone to apply herself to many projects, I would encourage her to take one task at a time. Taking on more work than she can finish at a given time might be counter productive. She may end up not finishing any work on time, get bored or have a burnout. My focus would be helping her stick to a rule where she finishes a project before she signs up for another one. If she has multiple assignments I would help her learn to how prioritize. Then she can should start with the most pressing and work down. 

If my colleague is introverted, I would help become more assertive. I would aim to help her grow more comfortable asking for what she needs. I would also help her learn to reduce the level of anxiety she feels when she gets out of her shell by practicing her social skills. I would ask her to be more involved in class participation, group work, study-buddy system and the like. That way she would see that other people are not as judgmental as she might fear. I would ask her to be more accepting of her failures and take pride in every success or achievement.

Reducing Task Aversiveness.
The greatest reason why people succumb to procrastination is because they view the work at hand as boring, unpleasant or hard, (Timothy 2008). Making work enjoyable and worthwhile decreases levels of procrastination. My goal would be to help my colleague make her activities fun and something she comfortably be engaged in. Homework, for example, does not have to be done in traditional settings like in the library. I would ask her to do it in areas comfortable to her. If she enjoys nature for example, she could take it outdoors. She can also involve others like college mates or family in her work. I would ask her to employ unconventional methods of doing things as long as they are good get the job done.

Whenever she has a project, I would ask that she look for meaning in it and personalize it. Even boring work can be tolerated as long as it can be linked to her life goals. Doing well in an assignment for example, is part of her goal to graduate with a great GPA.

I would teach her to organize her projects into pieces whenever she approaches them. She can then concentrate on one piece at a time instead of facing the daunting task all at once. Research work, for example, can seem especially daunting. She can break it up into parts and give her all to each at a time. If she believes the task is enjoyable and doable, she will be less prone to procrastinate. 

Raising Conscientiousness
A person who is deliberate, efficient, orderly and disciplined evades falling victim to procrastination, (Timothy 2008). I would ask my colleague to organize her life around what is important. For example, leisure should be organized around her school work. She should be mindful of keeping time, managing her resources well e.g. books, laptops, managing her finances and such. With her life organized and stress free, she can concentrate on her work.   

I would encourage my colleague to be more efficient by better applying herself to every school work with the seriousness it deserves. For example, the more she studies, the easier it will be to tackle assignments. Conducting herself as a student will enable her to be a successful student. The more competent she feels, the more productive she will get.

To curb impulsive behavior, I would ask her to get into the habit of making goals. Every week and every month, she should make tangible goals. If she can identify her goals and the purpose of her goals, she is most likely to stay the course. She can then share her progress with me and reward herself for success. If she diverted from her goals, she should examine what drove her to abandon her goals and find a way to counter that impulse in future. For example, if she went out and never finished an assignment, she should examine how she ended up going out and how she can avoid that situation in future.

To increase her self discipline, I would ask her to examine her life and identify personal habits that are hurting her commitment to her work. This exercise in self awareness will be helpful in identifying instances where she is being lazy. I would have her enlist the help of her family members and friends in addition to mine, so as to be held accountable for her lazy actions. If she tends to oversleep, for example, she should use an alarm clock or have an early riser wake her up.