Program offers offers tips to curb procrastination

By LINDA M. LINONIS

linonis@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

Everyone does it to different extents. Proscrastination does damage when it goes to the extreme.

Mary Hrovatic presented “Tips to End Proscrastination” at Bella Nitesh Spiritual Arts and Education Center in a Lunch and Learn series.

Hrovatic, a retired licensed practical nurse for 33 years, is a certified yoga instructor, a life coach and Reiki master. “I was always interested in the holistic side of medicine,” she said. “I feel I had a career of compassion. I want to help people handle life in a positive way and help with the tools to achieve that.”

“Short-term proscrastination is OK but long-term tends to cause stress,” she said. “Proscrastination does different levels of harm. A person’s procrastination often stresses family members and/or co-workers.”

For students, the speaker said, proscrastinating about studying and completing assignments can lead to low grades, then dropping out.

At work, employees may delay getting work done to the point it stops promotions or results in job loss.

The way to decrease procrastination and make positive moves forward starts with “small, consistent steps,” she said, adding “it has to be a focused effort.” She suggested starting out with setting aside one hour a day to tackle a job that one might be avoiding. She pointed out the time will add up to get the job done.

“Clarify what you want to achieve,” she said.

Hrovatic suggested:

Think about what motivates you. “Is it moving toward a goal or away from punishment?” she asked. “Find your motivation, post it and review it.”

Make a list of no more than 10 things to accomplish. “Grade them by priority,” she suggested.

Consistency will develop a new habit. “If you do something for 21 days, it develops into a habit,” she said.

Start small. If there are housekeeping issues, start with a small task such as cleaning up a dining or kitchen table that might be a catchall. “Your momentum will build up,” Hrovatic said. If it’s a fitness routine, begin with short periods of time.

Recognize excuses. “Negative thoughts don’t help,” she said. “Say ‘I am’ not ‘I wish’ or ‘I would,’” she said.

Self-blame is counterproductive. “Don’t beat yourself up. Start over the next day.”

Hrovatic said to be SMART – specific, measurable, achieveable, realistic and timely – to accomplish tasks. “Develop a goal and see if it meets SMART,” she said.

She said tackling and completing tasks will “free up your time to enjoy life.”

Hrovatic said she based her talk on “Longitudinal Study of Procrastination, Performance, Stress, and Health: The Costs and Benefits of Dawdling” by Drs. Dianne M. Tice and Roy F. Baumeister, Florida State University psychologists who examined procrastination among students in a health psychology class.