Time Management & Procrastination

Time Management/Procrastination

Time management is an essential skill at home, school, and work. Both children and adults regularly find themselves struggling to balance multiple projects, activities, and other obligations. For some individuals, staying organized and completing tasks in an efficient way is very difficult. They may fail to meet deadlines at work or school, or be persistently late to appointments. Certain individuals recognize that they procrastinate, or actively put off tasks, which may cause them to experience anxiety later on when they need to complete the task. Sometimes, procrastination leads to loss of sleep when the individual must stay up late to complete a task that was formerly put off. Skills can be learned to improve overall time management and to reduce procrastination.

Difficulties with time management and procrastination can develop due to a variety of different reasons. Sometimes, people are unaware of the quantity and time required to fulfill all of their obligations, and are therefore left putting off activities when they find that there are simply not enough hours in the day. Relatedly, recent research has shown that people who are chronically late tend to be overly optimistic about the amount of time they need to complete a task, and more likely to engage in ineffective problem solving behaviors, such as multi-tasking. Other people struggle with feelings of anxiety when approaching certain tasks, and may therefore chronically avoid them as a way of trying to reduce this distress. Regardless of the reasons for these difficulties, cognitive behavioral therapies have been shown to be a very effective way of addressing these problems, thereby allowing individuals to more effectively manage their time and achieve their personal goals.