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iProcrastinate Podcast — Health
iProcrastinate Podcast

Dr. Timothy A. Pychyl, associate professor of psychology and director of the Procrastination Research Group (Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada), provides a series of short talks, interviews and question/answer podcasts that explain why we procrastinate and what we can do about it. An award winning educator, Dr. Pychyl challenges his listeners to explore their daily choices to act or postpone acting on their intentions. Do we head to the gym as intended, or slouch back on the couch thinking “I’ll feel more like a workout tomorrow”? Do we tackle the task now, or do we avoid it arguing to ourselves that “I work better under pressure”? From losing 10 pounds to changing personal habits, Pychyl, a personality psychologist, focuses on the breakdown of intentional action – a problem commonly called procrastination. This series expands on three main themes: 1) irrational delay that sabotages personal productivity, 2) personality attributes that contribute to self-defeating behaviours, and 3) situational factors that undermine our ability to take or sustain action. Drawing on the research literature, topics include: self-handicapping, anxiety, self-regulation, perfectionism, will power, coping styles, effects on health and well-being, impulsivity, temporal discounting, motivation and even purpose in life. Of course, Dr. Pychyl doesnâ€™t leave his listeners with the problem itself. Once these key factors have been established, he turns his attention to techniques that facilitate self change, habit-breaking implementation intentions, as well as strategies that help each of us to â€œcarpe diem!â€? The emphasis is on self-understanding, practical advice and tools for change. We guarantee that you will find this an engaging series of podcasts that will provide you with tactics to increase personal productivity and well-being.

Copyright: © 2005 Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D.

Latest Episodes:

Worry helps me cope: Another problematic metacognitive belief Nov 16, 2009

Show notes

A recent study indicates that both behavioural and decisional procrastination are related to maladaptive beliefs known as metacognitions. In this podcast, I relate two listeners' comments to this study and discuss how our thinking can create problems for us in terms of procrastination.

Quirks of the Brain: Procrastination's Perfect Storm Nov 10, 2009

Show notes

Hey, a second podcast for November 10th. Yes, I'm trying to make up for my absence last week :-) In this short podcast, I discuss some summary statements related to neuroscience that describe what David Rock calls "quirks of our brains." I think these quirks of our stone-age brain in the modern world help explain why we're vulnerable to self-regulation failure.If you want to read David Rock's original posting on this topic, check out his posting on Psychology Today for August 30, 2009. Here's my blog posting in reply to his writing. It may interest you, as I provide links to each of the topics I mention in the podcast (in case you want to follow up on one topic in more detail).As always, you can keep up with our research at procrastination.ca

Old habits die hard: Why do we procrastinate? Nov 10, 2009

Show notes

In this, the first podcast for November, I reflect on a listener's questions about advice to new faculty members by Robert Boice, and I answer a few short questions about why we procrastinate and what we can do about it. The emphasis is on practical knowledge related to self-change. I hope it's useful to you.

Not helpful: Thoughts on irrational thoughts Oct 26, 2009

Show notes

This week I discuss three things: 1) a listener's comments about meaning and decisional procrastination, 2) a useful "mantra" in life - Not Helpful, and 3) some research on irrational beliefs (where I draw on the "not helpful" mantra as a strategy for change).You can learn more about Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) in my Psychology Today blog posting. If you want to know more about our research, check out procrastination.caFinally, if you want to think more about Jai Pausch's "not helpful" strategy, check out my blog about Randy's "Last Lecture."

A procrastinator's story Oct 16, 2009

Show notes

This week, I'm sharing a letter from a reader of my Psychology Today blog, Don't Delay. It's an insightful, well-written (at times painful) first-hand account of coming to grips with procrastination. I comment on this story in relation to other listeners' notes to me, as I discuss the process of change for chronic procrastinators. Want to learn more about procrastination? Check out our Procrastination Research Group Web site.

I'll look after my health later: How procrastination undermines our health Oct 05, 2009

Show notes

Every procrastinator knows the stress associated with that needless delay. The question is, does this relate to increased illness as well? In fact, it's not just the stress associated with procrastination that may affect your health. Treatment delay and fewer wellness behaviors have been implicated in the procrastination-illness relation. In this podcast, I discuss the research of Dr. Fuschia Sirois (University of Windsor) who has been exploring the relation between procrastination and health. Note: Although I say otherwise in the introduction to the podcast, I end this podcast with a practical strategy to make your health-promoting behaviors a daily habit. Bear with me today please, as I recorded this during a bout of the flu, so I do "wander" a bit. If you want to know about Dr. Sirois, you can check out her Health and Well-being Web site.For more about procrastination, check out the Procrastination Research Group (including our Psychology Today blog, podcasts, cartoons and research). Here are a few of the studies I refer to today:Sirois, F.M., Voth, J., & Pychyl. T.A. (under review). "I'll look after my health later": A longitudinal study of the linkages of procrastination to health and well-being. Sirois, F. M. (2007). "I'll look after my health, later": A replication and extension of the procrastination-health model with community-dwelling adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 43 (1), 15-26.

Sirois, F. M., Melia-Gordon, M.L., & Pychyl, T. A. (2003). "I'll look after my health, later": An investigation of procrastination and health. Personality and Individual Differences, 35 (5),1167-1184.

Two hundred toenails: Strategies to get going on avoidance goals Oct 01, 2009

Show notes

Avoidance goals create a focus on avoiding or eliminating undesired outcomes. For example, avoid failing my exam. Approach-oriented goals involve reaching or maintaining desired outcomes; get an "A" on my exam. Although approach-oriented goals are related to more happiness and goal success overall, we all have avoidance goals in our lives. In this podcast, I discuss one of my avoidance goals and some strategies I use to help me get going on the task that is ripe for procrastination.By popular request, I end this episode with my dog team howling good night after the evening feeding. If you'd like to learn more about my "other life" as a dog musher, check out this story from Mushing Magazine (Note: This is a 6 MB PDF document).To learn more, see procrastination.ca. Our latest Carpe Diem cartoon has a focus on approach and avoidance goals.

Thoughts on goal pursuit from Viktor Frankl Sep 28, 2009

Show notes

In his autobiography published (in German) in March of 1995 to coincide with his 90th birthday, Dr. Viktor Frankl reflected on the "Manner of my Work." His reflections are simple and clear, speaking directly to two habits that defeat procrastination. His advice is the focus of this week's podcast.The image of Dr. Frankl that appears in this podcast was taken from the Official Web site of the Viktor Frankl Institute Vienna. If you're interested in Frankl's well-known book, "Man's Search for Meaning" you can find it Amazon (and just about any used book store)If you want to learn more about procrastination, see my Procrastination Research Group. I welcome your comments at tpychyl@gmail.com. If you have a minute, please review the podcast on iTunes.

Tackling Procrastination: Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy Sep 21, 2009

Show notes

While we all desire to reach or release our full potential, we often face deep internal struggles with perfectionism, excessive self-doubt, lack of persistence, self-depreciation and procrastination. This week, I discuss a REBT therapy approach that you may find useful.If you want to access the references to the research I discuss, see my Psychology Today blog on the topic.Want to know more about procrastination? Check out procrastination.caFinally, if you listen to this podcast and get interested in Lance Mackey, the world's foremost long-distance dog musher, you can listen to a Traildancer Kennels' Trail Talk podcast of his recent presentation. And, you can learn more about my own "other life" as a dog musher.

Go with the flow: Why procrastination undermines these optimal experiences Sep 14, 2009

Show notes

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