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1、<p> The Danger of Deep Procrastination And Overcoming it</p><p><b> Abstract</b></p><p> Our friend Leena once told me a sad story. It was about an old high school classmate
2、. This guy was a certified math whiz: he took college-level courses while still in high school, then, after arriving at Stanford, jumped into upper-level subjects and advanced research. Somewhere around his junior year,
3、however, his drive began to falter. As Leena recalls, his energy for math mysteriously faded away. He told her, at one point during this period, that he looked forward to surviving until graduatio</p><p> H
4、e wasn’t overworked: he could easily handle his classes. And he wasn’t lonely: he had plenty of friends. Something inside him just petered out.</p><p> Leena’s friend burnt out, and he’s not alone. An incre
5、asing number of students suffer from this mysterious affliction, which is marked by a sudden, unexpected drop in enthusiasm and academic performance in a once promising student.</p><p> In this article, I w
6、ant to talk about a common cause of burnouts — a cause I call deep procrastination — and provide some understanding for why it happens and how to prevent it.</p><p> 1. The Danger of Deep Procrastination<
7、;/p><p> Deep procrastination is not the standard urge to goof off that afflicts every college student. It’s much more powerful. A student suffering from deep procrastination will delay important work to an ex
8、cessive degree. He won’t start studying until late the night before or will delay paper writing until the sun is about the rise. After a while, he might begin to chronically miss deadlines, and find himself constantly ne
9、gotiating with professors about extensions. Sometimes it gets so bad that he mis</p><p> I’ve advised numerous students suffering from deep procrastination of various levels of severity. In all cases, the c
10、auses were basically the same:</p><p> A major and/or post-graduation job aspiration that doesn’t match the student’s real interests, combined with a difficult (though not necessarily unmanageable) workload
11、. </p><p> Many students, of course, have difficult workloads. But when the hard work is motivated by a goal that’s misaligned with their real interests, students can develop resentment toward the work. The
12、y begin to see the effort required to keep up with their double major or crazy activity load as an intrusion from an outside entity — almost a literal attack on their happiness. Eventually a deep psychic aversion to the
13、work develops, and they find themselves mired in deep procrastination.</p><p> This might be what happened to Leena’s friend at Stanford. His entire life, he had been told that he was a math whiz. But at so
14、me point, he began to resent the work required to live up to other people’s expectations. Eventually, the resentment boiled over: he was through with math.</p><p> 2.Overcoming procrastination: a practical
15、approach</p><p> While it is true that everyone procrastinates, it is not true that we all do it to the same extent. An occasional postponement of a task is not a major problem. There are those, however, fo
16、r whom procrastination has become a way of life, and in these cases it is serious indeed. If you think that you fall into the former category (the occasional procrastinator, that is) you should look closely to be sure th
17、at this is truly the case. The signs of procrastination are sometimes more subtle than we m</p><p> 2.1Reasons for Procrastinating</p><p> Like many issues involving time management, procrasti
18、nation is a behavioral problem, and like all such problems it can, with sufficient motivation, be changed. In order to change a behavioral pattern, however, it is necessary to understand the reasons for that behavior. Yo
19、u don't procrastinate because you're a bad person, or because you're a bad librarian. There are any number of reasons why perfectly good librarians and information services managers procrastinate, and examini
20、ng those reasons, a</p><p> 2.1.1Don't know where to start</p><p> If you think about it, the tasks which you tend to postpone will generally fall into two categories. The first of these i
21、s the fairly large or complex task. Such tasks are generally important in their outcome, which only adds to the pressure to do a good job, and yet their very complexity makes it difficult to know just where or how to beg
22、in. The result is that the task is put off until it simply has to be dealt with.</p><p> 2.1.2An unpleasant task</p><p> The second category of task commonly postponed is that which is either
23、unpleasant to do, or which may have unpleasant consequences. This may be some aspect of your work that you simply don't enjoy (after all, we don't all like everything we do), or it may be something like a negativ
24、e job appraisal for an employee, for which you know there will be repercussions. Again, the task is put off until other pressures make it necessary for it to be tackled.</p><p> 2.1.3Fear of failure</p&g
25、t;<p> On a bit more "psychological" note, there are those who put off tasks because they have a subconscious fear that they will not be able to perform them satisfactorily. Related to this are those wh
26、o hold themselves to the standard of perfection for all work they do. If they suspect that their work will be less than perfect they may be inclined to put it off.</p><p> 2.1.4Excusing sub-standard perform
27、ance</p><p> At the opposite end of the spectrum are those who use procrastination (again, generally not on a conscious level) as a means of excusing work which they know is of poor quality. "I could h
28、ave done better if I'd had more time," is the general refrain of such people, though on closer examination it may be found that they didn't have time because they chose to procrastinate. Keep in mind, of cou
29、rse, that there are some projects which do come up as emergencies and for which you really don't have suf</p><p> 2.1.5Starting too soon</p><p> As strange as it may seem, procrastination
30、sometimes results from starting a project too soon. If you begin work on a project before you have a good idea of what needs to be accomplished and how you are going to go about accomplishing it, the project may have to
31、come to a halt, or more commonly it won't really get under way to begin with. Similarly, if you begin before you have gathered all of the information that will be necessary to complete your work, you may find that yo
32、u must "temporarily" </p><p> 2.1.6Negative delegation</p><p> While legitimate delegation can be a powerful tool in getting things done in a timely manner, there are those who seem
33、to have the idea that if they put something off long enough it will either not have to be done, or it will be done by someone else. Unfortunately this informal, negative delegation is often reinforced by co-workers who s
34、imply say, "Never mind," when the requested work is not completed, or worse yet, they do the work themselves. Such "kindness" on the part of others only insures </p><p> 2.1.7Over-commit
35、ment</p><p> We all face times when we have simply committed to do more than is humanly possible. If this happens only occasionally it is not a serious problem, and the memory of it will hopefully prevent u
36、s from doing it again in the near future. There are those, however, who actually enjoy being over-committed. These are the people who suffer from what might be called the "frazzled librarian syndrome." They nev
37、er miss an opportunity to let people know how hard they're working, and it's important to them th</p><p> Lack of focus. There is a certain need for instant gratification in us all. Accordingly, the
38、re are times when we procrastinate simply because it is difficult for us to concentrate on a project, the benefits of which will not be realized until some time in the future.</p><p> 2.2Overcoming Procrast
39、ination</p><p> There are many more reasons why people procrastinate. It is not necessary to describe all of them here, but it is important that you take the time to recognize which reasons apply most to yo
40、u or to your staff members. By doing so you will be able to select from the solutions that follow, the one or more that will best help you to overcome procrastination.</p><p> 2.2.1Use the SWAP approach<
41、/p><p> There are very few large tasks which must be tackled as a single piece. If you analyze an overwhelming task that is currently facing you, you will probably find that it can broken down into a number of
42、 smaller, more manageable pieces. A logical order will emerge for completing each part, or you may have to impose such an order on the component parts. You can then SWAP - Start With A Part. And if you've listed the
43、various parts in writing - which is recommended - you can have the pleasure of cros</p><p> 2.2.2The importance of deadlines</p><p> We tend to see deadlines as a cause of stress rather than a
44、s a solution. This is because they are often unrealistic, and they are often imposed by others. Actually, when you face a project for which no deadline has been established, you should establish one. This helps you to fo
45、cus on a project, and it helps you plan your time. Deadlines should not be set only for the completion of the project, but for the various steps along the way as well. Be sure, however, that your deadlines are realistic,
46、 </p><p> 2.2.3 The power of priorities</p><p> When is procrastination not procrastination? When you have postponed low priority tasks in order to complete tasks of a higher priority. Not eve
47、rything we do has the same importance and we must recognize this and use it in setting priorities. We must also remember that priorities must constantly be re-evaluated and reordered as circumstances change. If you find
48、that the tasks you are postponing are consistently of low importance, don't worry. Sometimes, though, you may find that high priority it</p><p> 2.2.4 Give yourself a reward</p><p> It may
49、 sound trivial, but it works. This doesn't mean that you should go out and buy yourself an expensive gift every tune you finish a major project (though if you can afford it, why not?). Your reward may be as simple as
50、 allowing yourself to work on a task that you particularly enjoy, only after you've completed a project that you've been putting off.</p><p> 2.2.5 Tell someone else</p><p> If you hav
51、e a big project to work on, let someone else know about it, and let them know what your deadline is. It may be a co-worker, it may be a family member, it may be a friend. The fact is that while we often don't mind di
52、sappointing ourselves, we are far less likely to disappoint others. Thus, we have the incentive to work on the project, if for no other reason than that we would be embarrassed to have to admit to a friend, family member
53、 or co-worker, that we have failed.</p><p> 2.2.6 Avoid momentum busters</p><p> It is imperative that you build - and maintain - momentum in working on a project. As Newton tells us, "A
54、body at rest tends to remain at rest, while a body in motion tends to remain in motion." Newton wasn't talking about procrastination, but he might have been. Surely the most important step in completing any proj
55、ect is to start it, by whatever means necessary. Once you've started, then you have to try to avoid things that will bring you to a halt again. The worst of these is interruptions. If</p><p> 2.2.7 The
56、great myth</p><p> When it comes to ending procrastination, perhaps the most important step to be taken is to recognize that there is no truth to the belief that you - or anyone else for that matter - work
57、best under pressure. All procrastinators cite this as part of their creed. They insist that the pressure of a looming deadline helps them to focus their attention, makes them more alert, allows them to perform better, an
58、d gives better results in the end. At its best this is simply wishful thinking, and at its wo</p><p> This may seem like an overwhelming list of possible solutions to the problem of procrastination. If you
59、want to do something about procrastination, however, the one thing you can't do is to put it off. Keep in mind that like any other overwhelming project, the project of overcoming procrastination should be broken down
60、 into manageable pieces in order to enable you to SWAP. As stated earlier, behavioral change is necessary in order to break the habit of procrastination. Breaking habits requires t</p><p> The surest route
61、to failure is to look at this list of solutions and attempt to put them all into effect at once. Select a single solution which seems to have the greatest impact on your specific pattern of procrastination behavior, and
62、begin to put that into effect immediately. Recognize that it will take some time before these new behaviors become ingrained in your regular work process. Once they have, however, you can add additional solutions and cha
63、nge additional behaviors, always being care</p><p> Of course, any solution that you choose to pursue requires that you recognize that what you are dealing with is a serious problem and one that merits a so
64、lution. Procrastination isn't harmless, and it isn't something that affects only you. True, you are the person working under pressure - unnecessary pressure generally - but others are affected as well. Co-workers
65、 have to take up the slack while you work to complete a project on an "emergency" basis. Clients and users of the library may suffer b</p><p> 深度拖延症的危险及克服办法</p><p><b> 摘要</b
66、></p><p> 我的朋友Leena曾经给我讲过一个关于她高中同学的很可悲的故事。此人是一个公认的数学奇才。他高中的时候就修完了大学的课程,进了斯坦福以后,直接进修高级课程,并进行研究。然而,大二的时候,他的脚步忽然停滞了。Leena回忆说,忽然他的数学天分神秘的消失了。他告诉Leena,就从某一天开始,他只期盼着赶快熬到毕业,这样他就能找一份银行的工作赚钱了。</p><p>
67、; 这并不是因为他工作过度——他应付功课轻松自如;也不是因为孤单——他有很多朋友。是他心里有些东西在蜕化。</p><p> 像Leena的朋友这样忽然对某件事情失去兴趣的情况并不少见。不断有学生经历这种苦恼——一个本来被认为很有前途的学生,忽然间对学业失去了热情,成绩大大下降。</p><p> 在这篇文章中,我想要讨论的就是中途失去兴趣的一种常见原因——我称之为深度拖延症;我会解
68、释一下这种症状症产生的原因以及避免措施。</p><p> 一、深度拖延症的危险</p><p> 深度拖延症并不是每个大学生都会经历的那种想要逃避任务的恼人感觉。它要更为强大。一个受深度拖延症折磨的学生会把一个重要的工作拖到很紧迫的程度。他非得拖到深夜才愿意学习,天快亮了才开始写论文……不久,他开始错过最后期限,不停地跟老师要求再拖延些时间。有时候,他甚至错过了延长之后的期限,情况就
69、很糟糕了:有可能会完不成任务,考试过不了。但是无论任务有多紧急,开始工作都成了不可能跨越的任务。</p><p> 我曾经辅导过许多遭受不同程度拖延症折磨的学生。在所有的案例中,起因都是基本相同的:所学专业或是就业前景和真正的兴趣不符,而工作量偏偏很大(其实也没有到无法驾驭的程度)。</p><p> 当然,许多学生都会有很重的工作量。但是,当这个工作通向的目标和学生真正的兴趣不相符时
70、,他们就会出现对工作的恼恨。他们开始把双学位的功课或者繁重的劳动看作外界的侵犯,是对他们幸福生活的侵犯。最终,一种对工作深深的厌恶感在心里形成了,他们发现自己患上了深度拖延症。</p><p> 这可能正是Leena的朋友在斯坦福时遇到的问题。他一直都被人当做数学天才,但是有些时候,他开始厌恶自己要做那些工作才能达到别人的期望。这个愤怒最终爆发,就是他彻底放弃数学了。</p><p>
71、 二、克服拖延的实用方法</p><p> 事实上每个人都会拖延,只是程度不同罢了。偶然推迟一个任务没什么大碍。然而,对有些人来说拖延成了一种生活方式,这样一来问题就真的严重了。如果你自认为属于偶然拖延那一类的,那么你有必要扪心自问一下——真是如此吗?拖延症的前兆有时候比我们预期的更加微妙。比如说,你是否发现自己经常在信件的开头写下这样的话:“真对不起这么久才给你回信”或者“很抱歉拖了很久才回复”?这可能就是你
72、已经习惯了拖延的信号。类似地,一大堆尚未开始或半途而废的计划也是一个不好的征兆。如果你坚持为了开始一个主要计划而清理掉所有微不足道的计划,那么你实际上已经因陷入琐事而拖延却不自觉。甚至在工作中遇到问题而中断可能实际上是一个消极拖延的迹象,如果借口这个而推迟必要的计划的话。分析到最后,更能证明拖延是个严重的问题就是,你经常发现自己在工作在压力下以完成一个你已经了解了一段时间的计划。</p><p> 2.1拖延的
73、原因 像时间管理等很多问题一样,拖延是个行为方面的问题,并且有足够的动因时也是可以改变的。但是要改变一个行为模式,就有必要了解一下那个行为的原因。一个人总是拖延不是因为他本质上糟糕透顶。很好的图书馆和信息服务管理员也因为各种原因而拖延,找出这些原因并搞清楚哪些适用于你(或适用于你所管理的员工),这是避免继续拖延的第一步。</p><p> 2.1.1不知道从哪儿开始 如果你仔细思考一下,就能把待
74、完成的任务分成两类。第一类是相当艰巨和复杂的任务。这类任务通常很重要,这给做好工作带来了一些压力,但是这些任务复杂得使人不知从哪开始或怎么开始。结果就是任务被拖到不能再拖为止。</p><p> 2.1.2一个烦人的任务 第二类经常被拖延的任务是那些做起来很不爽的或者可以产生不愉快的结果的任务。这可能是你不能尽情投入工作的某些方面的原因(毕竟我们不会喜欢我们做的每件事情),或者这也可能是对职员的某种负面
75、评价,因为这个会有所反弹。而且,任务被推迟到其它方面的压力使它必须被处理。</p><p> 2.1.3害怕失败 从心理学上说,喜欢拖延的人是因为他们潜意识里担心不能使任务做得令人满意。这样的人对他们的所有工作都要求完美。如果他们觉得某个工作没办法做得那么完美就会倾向于推迟这个任务。</p><p> 2.1.4差劲表现的借口 有些人不自觉地反而用拖延作为糟糕的工作表现
76、的托辞。这样的人经常有这样的抱怨:“如果我有更多点时间的话我会做得更好”,尽管用心反省一下就会发现他们没有足够的时间恰恰是因为他们选择了拖延。当然了,有一些紧急事务的确是没有足够时间来处理,所以这也不总是拖延症的征兆。</p><p> 2.1.5开始得太仓促 很奇怪,有时候拖延是因为计划开始得太仓促。如果你在着手一个计划时对于具体要做些什么和怎么去完成都没有一个成熟的想法的话,那计划多半会停滞不前或者
77、干脆不能真正开始进行运作。类似地,如果你的计划在收集到所有必备资料之前就开始,那你可能会发现你必须临时中止这项计划,而且你会很难再次启动这项计划。</p><p> 2.1.6责任不明确 责任明确的委托能促使诸多事情适时完成,很多人好像总想着如果他们把事情拖得足够久就可以不须要再做或者会被其他人搞定。不幸的是,在这种非正规的、责任不明的委托相应的工作没有完成或搞砸的时候,委拖者总是说“没关系”,然后他们就
78、只好自己搞定了。这种“善意”只会使这种情形持续下去。</p><p> 2.1.7任务过重 我们都经历过面对一堆人类不可完成的任务的情况。如果这只是很偶然发生的事倒也没什么大不了,只要记得下次不要再做同样的蠢事就行了。然而,有些人却喜欢任务过重的感觉。这些人得了所谓的“疲惫图书管理员综合症”。他们不放过任何一个向他人展示自己工作如何努力的机会,而且很重要的是他们看来来好像很苦恼。对这样的人来说拖延是一种
79、生活方式,因为这使他们看起来总是很忙,虽然他们总是在做那些早就应该完成了的项目。事实上,他们有时用更多的时间来保持一个很忙的表象而不是完成实际的工作。</p><p> 很难专注。毫无疑问,我们都需要即时的满足感。相应地, 我们多次拖延只是因为一旦做一件工作要很久以后才能有现实的好处,这样就很难集中精神到这件工作上。2.2克服拖延 人们拖延的原因有很多,没有必要在这全部列举出来。但是花一些时间找出那
80、些切实符合你自己或者你的员工的原因还是相当重要的。通过这么做你能够在下面提到的解决办法中选择出对克服你的拖延症的最佳方法。</p><p> 2.2.1使用分而治之的办法 很少有很大的任务必须整个完成的。如果你分析一下你当前的一个紧迫的任务,你也许可以把它分解成几个较小的并且易于执行的部分。这些部分会有一个逻辑上的完成顺序,你 可以把这个顺序加到各个组成部分上。然后从第一部分开始个个击破。如果你把各个部
81、分列成一个表单的话,你在一步步的工作中划掉它们的时候会很开心的,而且这表示你在实际上每完成一部分就离完成整个任务更近了一步。</p><p> 2.2.2截止期限很重要 我们总把期限当作压力而不是动力。这是 因为期限不是看得见摸得着的实体,而且它总是被其他人施加的。实际上,当你面对一个没有期限的项目时,你应该自己制定一个期限。这会帮助你集中全力在一个项目上,而且还能帮你计划一下时间。不仅要设置完成项目的
82、截止期限,而且要在每个不同步骤上都设置完成期限。这样一来,确保你的截止期限实体化之后,你仅仅增加了一些可以因此而很快一步步减轻的压力。</p><p> 2.2.3事分轻重缓急 当你为了完成一些高优先级的任务而推迟了一些低优先级的任务时,这就不算是拖延了。我们做的每件事不是都同等重要的,我们必须认识到这一点并且用以设置任务的优先级。我们也必须时刻记得随着情况的变化而修改更新优先级设置。如果你推迟的都是些
83、不太重要的事情,那就不用担心。当一心想安排些舒服些的事务做时,你会发现高优先级的事务正好是你想要避开的很棘手的那些事务。在这种情况下你可以按下面的建议做。</p><p> 2.2.4给自己一个奖励 这看起来毫不起眼,但却真的有用。这不是说要在每次完成主要任务后给自己买很昂贵的礼物。奖励可以很简单,比如只要完成了一个你推迟了许久的计划就让自己随后做你特别喜欢做的任务。</p><p&
84、gt; 2.2.5告诉其他人 如果你有个大计划要启动,让别人知道并了解它的最后期限。这个人可以是同事、家人或者朋友。实际上虽然我们不介意经常使自己失望,但却不愿让别人失望。这样一来,我们就有了工作的动力,就是因为我们不想将来在朋友、家人或同事面前承认自己的失败。</p><p> 2.2.6防止丧失动力 在计划中建立和保持动力是必需的。就像牛顿说的那样,“静止的物体将会一直保持静止,运动的物体
85、能保持运动状态。”牛顿并不是在说拖延症,但是他可能有类似的说法。无疑完成任何计划的最重要一步是开始,这无论如何都是必需的。一旦你开始了,就不得不努力避免使你再次停下的事情。最严重的事情就是半途中止。要尽一切可能避免。如果不可能做到,至少区别对待正常工作因素的中断和社交原因的中断。要完全避免后者。可以告诉你的朋友你因为一项重要的工作而没空聊天。一旦你不能避免中断时,要确保在处理完那些事情后尽快返回到工作中。因为最重要的计划不可能一次完成,
86、要保证在完成一个阶段后再停下来,不要在面对一个难题的时候停下来,因为下次继续工作时你会更加不想面对同样的难题。停在一个明确的地方且能在下次合理地开始。事实上,如果你能给自己写个备忘便条,对下次再开始工作会很有用。</p><p> 2.2.7虚构的假象 当要终结拖延的时候,可能最重要的一步就是要认识到任何人都不可能在压力下工作得最好。所有爱拖拉的人却把这当成信条。他们坚持认为一个逼近的期限帮他们更好地集
87、中精神,让他们更警醒,使他们表现得更好并且最后有个不错的结果。这不过是简单的一厢情愿的想法,这种思维方法是相当有害的,尤其是把消极的应对方法说成是积极的。在压力下没有人能做到最好。在紧迫的最终期限逼近的时候工作的人只能利用最容易获得的资料,甚至可能用的不是最新和最准确的资料。他们没时间好好准备、检查和分析最终的计划。最糟的是他们没时间想一下墨菲定律是怎么说的——凡事只要有可能出错,那就一定会出错。由此我们还能得出一个推论:事情偏偏会在最
88、不合时宜的时候出错。电脑可能会当机,打印机可能坏掉,文件可能找不到,还可能大病一场(某些时候肯定是因为压力太大)。只要逻辑清楚地想想就能明白这不是做事的最佳方式。那些认为在这种情况下能做到最好的人只是在自欺欺人,这只能使虚幻的假象一直持续下去。越快克服这种心态,就能越早摆脱拖延症的羁绊。 以上这个拖延症解决方案列表看起来像是无从下手的。但其实如果你真想在摆脱拖延症上做</p><p> 当然,选择上面任
89、何的拖延症解决方案就得认识到实施它也是个挑战性的问题,也需要相应的实施方案。拖延有害,并且不只影响你自身。真的,你在不必要的压力下工作时,其他人也会受到影响的。当你要完成一个紧急项目时,你的共事者不得不占用休息时间来帮你。客户也会因为你不能提供高质量的服务而不爽。更严重的是,你的上级机构会因为你的工作不像在足够时间下做得那么好而遭受损失。而且,要知道拖延是个恶性循环。它迫使你拖延其它任务直到你完成了你已经拖了很久的另一个任务。它让你不能
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