Detecting and overcoming procrastinating

Question

When the deadline is far away, I start procrastinating, not by not doing it, but by doing slowly; it is not by intention. I observe it by how it is always near the deadline when I get things finished. Another situation is when I set a time table; I always used time longer than I originally allocated.

How can I overcome this?

Answer 1

Set intermediate deadlines for parts of your project that are much sooner. That's the overall generic answer.

A more complete answer is to look at fully managing your personal productivity. There are a number of systems that are well defined, including Getting Things Done (GTD), Pomodoro Technique, Do It Now, just to name a few to get you started. I personally use GTD, with some intermittent Pomodoro, and I'm quite happy with how these systems help me make better choices about what to get done and when.

Answer 2

Another situation is when I set a time table; I always used time longer than I originally allocated.

I understand this as "I think I will need X minutes to complete task Y, but instead need e.g. double the time". I think here this is a matter of practice. Planning ahead and creating a realistic timetable will get easier each time IMO.

I start procrastinating, not by not doing it, but by doing slowly

I think you are already on the right track if you make a timetable. If you e.g. have to hand in a paper 4 weeks from now, then you could do a timetable on a week basis, like 1 week for research, 1 week drafting and 1 week finishing. Then add a "buffer time" of 1 week. Then break down the research into work units for that first week and so on.

I found the book "The Procrastinator's Digest" to be a short, but helpful primer of causes and strategies about procrastination. The ebook is available for a reasonable price.

Answer 3

By far the best thing for me has been to set very small goals for each day. Like "Write for 5 minutes" - use some sort of system to track it, and then commit to the tiny goal no matter what. And even think that it can be terrible work that you throw away - but just get in the habit of doing something, anything, regularly.

Most of the time I end up writing (or doing whatever) for longer than the 5 minutes - once I get over the hurdle of sitting down and starting, most things are pretty easy, it's that initial hurdle that is so hard to get over.