$\"procratination1\"$ <\/a>

Procrastination is a debilitating mindset that often turns \u201clater\u201d into \u201cnever.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 Police psychology deals with many issues that are unique, but working in law enforcement also has many issues that other stressful jobs do. Procrastination<\/strong> is a problem that affects a huge number of people in the world. It is a debilitating emotional disease that renders you incapable of performing to your greatest capacity. And yet, like many diseases today, there is a cure.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Procrastination<\/em> is easy to do. And it\u2019s fun! In fact, just now as I\u2019m supposed to be writing this blog post, I\u2019ve got 12 tabs on my internet browser open\u2026my mind is wandering to what I\u2019m going to make myself for lunch\u2026yes, I think I\u2019m going to go take a break and get lunch now\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026So where were we? Oh, yes. \u201cProcrastination\u201d is easy. Whether you are a student, working in a fast-paced corporate environment, dealing with a stressful job or boss, or even a stay-at-home parent, there are always things that you would rather be doing. Why write this report today, when I\u2019ll have all day to finish it tomorrow? Why type up the analytics for my boss now\u2014they\u2019re not due until next week? Why clean the basement today, when I can just do it next weekend? And so on\u2026and so on\u2026. Coming up with excuses to avoid work is easy, and sometimes internally creative. Some are even inventive excuses (Why write this today? What if there\u2019s an apocalypse tomorrow? Do I really want my last thoughts to be: \u201cGee, I\u2019m so glad I submitted that report on time.\u201d). \u00a0All preferences to doing actual work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two Work Strategies for Procrastination<\/span><\/h2>\n
So what do you do about it? Maybe I\u2019ll answer that in the next blog post. No Wait! Back to task. When people sit down to work on something, there are two strategies they can pick from. The first one involves sitting there, meticulously forming and reforming the words in the first sentence until they glide off the tongue in a satisfying swish of perfection. <\/span>It involves rewriting the sentence until it meets even your own demanding standards<\/span>. It involves rewording the sentence until you are completely satisfied with the way it turned out<\/span>. You get the point. It is easy to get bogged down with this strategy because you will be stuck working on one sentence, reorganizing, rearranging, rewriting, until you are completely satisfied. This is extremely time-consuming, and then after a couple of hours or so, all you have to show for yourself is one little usually imperfect sentence, but nothing else. \u201cIs that really worth it?\u201d you say to yourself. \u201cNah, might as well wait until tomorrow.\u201d You know how it goes. This is a disheartening strategy, and should be avoided at all cost.<\/span><\/p>\n
The second strategy is to get a piece of paper, or sit before the computer screen, and just start writing. Get down as many ideas, words and sentences as possible even if it is crap. Let the work just flow from your fingertips. Expect it to be 80% awful, but they\u2019ll be 20% in there that makes sense. See writing, or building a computer program or whatever you do, is about editing, about the tweaks you add later. You just need to get started and, then when you finish, you go back and revise. This is where you rework wordy sentences, take out unnecessary information and tighten up the whole piece. The key to writing is in the editing not the first draft.\u00a0 And this strategy works for all types of projects. If you are procrastinating cleaning the basement, just get yourself to go down and put things away. Even if it is haphazard at first and nothing is neatly organized, at least you have gotten started. In order to resist procrastination<\/strong>, you need to move forward, and then the momentum of the movement will carry you on continuously in that direction.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
$\"Simple$ <\/a>Three Tips to Help Fight Procrastination<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
Avoid Perfectionism. <\/strong>There is never going to be a perfect time or a perfect place for you to begin. You are never going to avoid criticism<\/a>. If you keep waiting for the perfect moment, you\u2019ll be waiting forever. Listen to your self-talk.<\/a>\u00a0 If you keep waiting until you are completely satisfied with your first sentence, you will never make it to the second one. Don\u2019t tell yourself that something needs to perfect right now\u2014tell yourself perfection is a process that you will have to arrive at over time. People tend to think being a perfectionist is good, helpful even. But perfectionism can be incredibly debilitating, and even lead to procrastination<\/em>. Avoid thoughts such as, \u201cI can\u2019t go on until this is perfect\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m scrapping the whole thing and doing it over.\u201d\u00a0 Remember, \u201cLater\u201d becomes \u201cNever.\u2019
\n<\/span><\/li>\n
Set manageable goals. <\/strong>If you try to commit to doing something insurmountable, it is impossible to begin. Just get started.\u00a0 Remember though, time is relative<\/a>.\u00a0 Time schedules are relative also.\u00a0 Get into the pace of the task<\/a> you are doing.\u00a0 Set yourself small and manageable goals and make sure you stick with them. Don\u2019t tell yourself you need to write the entire paper, design the entire magazine spread, or catch up on all your reports in one day. This can psych you out and then you will never begin.<\/span><\/li>\n
Reward yourself.<\/strong> Often. <\/strong>After you accomplish your small goal, reward yourself with a snack, a TV break, social media time, or whatever else you enjoy. Just make sure this break doesn\u2019t last too long. Tell yourself you only have 20 minutes, and then when you accomplish your next small goal, you will get another 20. Keep up this pattern until your entire task is completed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Site Editor:\u00a0 Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D. ABPP<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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Save<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Police Psychology | Procrastination:\u00a0\u00a0 When Later Becomes Never by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D. ABPP \u00a0\u00a0 Police psychology deals with many issues that are unique, but working in law enforcement also has many issues that other stressful jobs do. Procrastination is a problem that affects a huge number of people in the world. It is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17168880],"tags":[17168797,17168831,17168945],"class_list":["post-3919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-effort","tag-police-psychology","tag-police-stress","tag-procrastination"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":549,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=549","url_meta":{"origin":3919,"position":0},"title":"Police Psychology | You Change Your Underwear, Don\u2019t You","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"August 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | You Change Your Underwear, Don\u2019t You \u00a0 Police psychology is about change (and police stress\u00a0is often about dealing with change). It could be changing an officer\u2019s life, changing the behavior of a perpetrator, or choosing the officer who will go into an academy and have to deal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mastering Change"","block_context":{"text":"Mastering Change","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168881"},"img":{"alt_text":"Police Psychology Change 2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Police-Psychology-Change-2-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4987,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=4987","url_meta":{"origin":3919,"position":1},"title":"Police Psychology | Symptom Stress","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"December 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Symptom Stress by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.\u00a0 ABPP Police Psychology has a strong cognitive element. Thoughts are very powerful. They have the ability to shape your reality and create a world that is completely different than anyone else\u2019s. They can provide you with questions and solutions that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mastering Thoughts"","block_context":{"text":"Mastering Thoughts","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168878"},"img":{"alt_text":"anxiety, Police Psychology","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/anxiety-275x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":778,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=778","url_meta":{"origin":3919,"position":2},"title":"Police Psychology |Memories, May Be Beautiful, but then\u2026Wait! What was I Singing!","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"October 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Memories, May Be Beautiful, but then\u2026Wait! What was I Singing! \u00a0 We are servicing an aging police population and thus police psychology has to consider topics that escape younger people. For example, how many times have you put down your car keys for just a few minutes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mastering Thoughts"","block_context":{"text":"Mastering Thoughts","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168878"},"img":{"alt_text":"figure with ribbon","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/figure-with-ribbon.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5750,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=5750","url_meta":{"origin":3919,"position":3},"title":"Police Psychology: Parkinson\u2019s Law","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"April 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Parkinson\u2019s Law by Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.\u00a0 ABPP \u00a0 In 1955, a year before my birth, an English historian who had worked in civil service was written up in the magazine \u201cThe Economist\u201d about a law of nature that would control my life, in fact, controls many\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mastering Effort"","block_context":{"text":"Mastering Effort","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168880"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DUMSTRS-233x300.bmp","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":386,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=386","url_meta":{"origin":3919,"position":4},"title":"Police Psychology | The Police Candidate Interpretive Report","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"June 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Police Candidate Interpretive Report \u00a0 I had one of the first cell phones for public consumption.\u00a0 It fit in a bag.\u00a0 The battery lasted minutes not hours, and it was essentially a car phone that could be moved around.\u00a0 But visions of Dick Tracy\u2019s watch and Agent 86\u2019s shoe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tests"","block_context":{"text":"Tests","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168877"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":825,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=825","url_meta":{"origin":3919,"position":5},"title":"Police Psychology | Sleep","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"November 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Sleep By Doug Gentz, Ph.D., Psychological Services Chapter 1 of the excellent book on sleep Wide Awake at 3:00 A.M. by Richard M. Coleman describes the \u201cbiological clock\u201d that all organisms have built into their nervous systems. 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