You've got to ask Tim Pychyl, Carleton University professor and expert on procrastination: "Do you procrastinate?"
"No," he laughs. "Not anymore." As an undergraduate, putting off assignments was "the bane of my existence," but as a procrastination researcher, he long ago had it beat.
"When the temptation strikes to put something off to tomorrow" -- he admits the appeal never completely disappears -- "I just get started on it right then."
So, even in the darkness of 6 a.m. when another 15 minutes in bed sounds great, he says to himself: " 'Get your sorry little butt out of bed. The horses are hungry. Get up!' And when I'm up, I'm happier."
He and his wife, Beth Rohr, have two horses, eight sled dogs and two children under three at their country home near Kinburn.
Add in research and teaching and it's an exceedingly busy life. He readily supplies anti-procrastination tips.
1: Simple honesty with yourself is "huge, huge."
Identify clues you're about to put off writing a paper, exercising, picking something up off the floor or flossing your teeth. If you're checking e-mails instead of doing the real job, he says, don't take refuge in the "It-will-only-take-a-minute" rationalization.
People "keep going and going" on these only-a-minute jobs. "Turn it around. Realize that many jobs literally only take a minute, so let's do it right now. It's only going to take a minute."
2: Prime the pump. "Once we get started, we wonder 'Why did I put it off'?" Make a deal with yourself to work on a task for 15 minutes -- almost anything is endurable for that period -- and with resistance overcome, momentum to continue usually takes over.
3: (useful for the easily-distracted, impulsive and instant-gratification seekers): Shut off your e-mail, msn and your phone. Don't have Facebook open. Make a deal that two hours later you can check them.
4: Individuals weak in emotional steadiness, conscientiousness or organization need to break down tasks into pieces, and finish one piece at a time.
5: Listen to what psychologists term "self talk," what you're saying to yourself. A person plagued with self-doubt -- not living up to other people's standards -- needs to say "This isn't the end of the world. This is just the way I react emotionally" instead of moving away from the task.
6: Use mindful meditation by focusing on your breath. A recent study by Carleton undergraduate researcher Ari Rotblatt confirms that this simple practice builds concentration power.
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Why specialize in procrastination? Tim was fascinated with finding out why people's behaviour breaks down to the point they become "their own worst enemy -- the only person standing in their way."
He majored in biology, intending to specialize in animal behaviour, but his graduate thesis adviser was studying how personal projects affect people's happiness. Tim interviewed graduate students only to find many of them in procrastination paralysis as they pursued their degrees.
As an undergraduate, he so disliked university that he left after his third year. Procrastination played its part, but mostly he skipped classes and assignments because he lacked direction. "That's why I'm so understanding of students who lose their way."
In fact, he says he struggled for many years to find out where he "belonged." It took him, briefly, to an Anglican seminary at London, Ont.'s Huron College and afterwards, also briefly, to an Upstate New York Roman Catholic monastery where he considered the life of a contemplator. He rose at 4:30 or 5 a.m. and lived under a vow of silence.
After a stint as a tennis instructor, a wilderness instructor and a manager of an Ottawa outfitting business, he returned to university to study linguistics, education and psychology and wound up with five degrees and a job as a professor.
He's been an associate dean, adviser to undergraduate and graduate thesis students, winner of teaching awards and a pioneer in bringing technology into the lecture hall and classroom.
But he still does exams the old-fashioned way: In December, he graded 320 undergraduate essay finals, often after his family was in bed, until 1:30 a.m. "It's a brutal task, takes a week." Multiple choice exams are easier to grade, he says, but adds "I don't think an intellectual life can be done without writing. It's not just about knowing; it's about being able to communicate."
Director of the Procrastination Research Group at Carleton University, Tim created the research-rich procrastination.ca website with its Carpe Diem cartoon strip, illustrated by Paul Mason, and the iProcrastinate Podcasts.
He records his lectures and uploads them as podcasts for his students. On Wednesday, podcast requests totalled 103,541 from around the world -- 284 alone on Tuesday. His topics include: Cyberslacking and the Procrastination Superhighway; Mindful Mindfulness Meditation and Procrastination; Fear of Failure and Procrastination, The Positive Side of Planning: Why a time management approach might work, and Personality and Procrastination.
But the intellectual life needs balance. He credits his sled dogs -- he has eight now, but once had 20 after being smitten by mushing mania in 1987 -- with helping keep his life in equilibrium.
"In fact, when I wrote my PhD thesis in 1995, I drove my dog team up to a cottage near Cobden (between Pembroke and Renfrew) and basically all I did is write and run dogs, write and run dogs."
(Affectionately known by fellow mushers as Dr. Procrastinator, Tim set the record straight after last week's column wrongly stated that his two Alaskan huskies -- Fishhead and Vulka -- came directly from Lance Mackey. Mackey last year became the first musher ever to win the Iditarod and Yukon Quest. Fishhead was bred by Zoya Denure and John Schandelmeier, a former Yukon Quest champion and a dog musher who excels at dog care and rescue. Zoya bought Vulka from Mackey, who sold her to Tim.)
On the intellectual side, Tim has conducted more than a dozen studies with the help of graduate students and colleagues. Some conclusions:
? A Carleton University study found that students who procrastinate eat less nutritiously, sleep less and drink more alcohol than those who finish assignments fast. (U.S. studies show that up to 70 per cent of students admit to procrastination.)
? Individuals with a weak ego or sense of identity -- who react rather than assess and who avoid problem-solving and decision-making -- procrastinate more.
? Procrastinators are more likely to describe themselves as stressed or ill, to delay seeking medical treatment and to not eat well or to exercise.
? Procrastinators use drugs and alcohol more often than people who take initiative -- possibly to reduce stress created by procrastination .
? Forty-five Carleton University students paged over several days ("What are you doing right now?") gave 1,800 separate responses. Students who were playing pool or watching TV instead of studying for a statistics exam unsurprisingly rated study as more unpleasant, stressful, difficult, important and confusing than their escapist activity.
The procrastinators registered high on guilt and low on motivation. But if paged during study, they ranked it as more pleasant and less stressful than they had before hitting the books.
? On a Carleton Internet questionnaire, North American respondents said they spent an average 3.5 hours on the Internet and nearly half of it procrastinating. Tim says the 2001 study probably underestimates today's online procrastination by a factor of three.
Or, using new vocabulary: "Cyberslacking" is producing "mouse potatoes" stressed by "cyberguilt."
Tim says he sees projects in wilderness-training and childhood-scouting terms.
He recalls "gruesome portages when the air is full of mosquitoes, the canoe is cutting into your neck and it's muddy. When you get to the end, you will have this beautiful swim.
"So you say 'This is tough, but I can do it'."
DONNA JACOBS is an Ottawa writer; her e-mail is donnabjacobs@hotmail.comOriginal here
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