110
Yellow highlight | Location: 63
understand the nature of self-regulation failure, how we can structure our intentions to more successfully meet our goals,

Yellow highlight | Location: 152
All procrastination is delay, but not all delay is procrastination.

Yellow highlight | Location: 161
Procrastination is the voluntary delay of an intended action despite the knowledge that this delay may harm the individual

Yellow highlight | Location: 163
Procrastination is a needless voluntary delay

Yellow highlight | Location: 172
Procrastination, in contrast to other forms of delay, is that voluntary and quite deliberate turning away from an intended action even when we know we could act on our intention right now. There is nothing preventing us from acting in a timely manner except our own reluctance to act.

Yellow highlight | Location: 176
To understand the procrastination puzzle—that voluntary but needless delay in our lives that undermines our goal pursuit—we need to understand this reluctance to act when it is in our best interest to act.

Yellow highlight | Location: 181
for as much as 20 percent of the population, this procrastination habit is quite chronic

Yellow highlight | Location: 182
Habits are not easy to change. We need to make conscious effort with specific strategies for change to be successful. Throughout the book, I argue that we need to make predecisions to act in a different way, counter to the habitual response.

Yellow highlight | Location: 191
begin to identify which delays are truly voluntary delays that undermine your performance and well-being,

Yellow highlight | Location: 202
Procrastination is failing to get on with life itself.

Yellow highlight | Location: 215
The regrets of omission related to our procrastination were most troubling in the grieving process.

Yellow highlight | Location: 232
Procrastination seems to affect health in two ways. First, procrastination causes stress, which is not a good thing for our health for many reasons (e.g., stress compromises our immune systems).

Yellow highlight | Location: 234
Second, chronic procrastinators needlessly delay health behaviors such as exercising, eating healthfully, and getting enough sleep.

Yellow highlight | Location: 240
The day-to-day delay on small but cumulatively important tasks affects us in other ways as well. A good example is retirement savings. It is easy to put off saving to another day, but this procrastination costs us in the long run.

Yellow highlight | Location: 244
Procrastination is a problem with not getting on with life itself. When we procrastinate on our goals, we are our own worst enemy. These are our goals, our tasks, and we are needlessly putting them off.

Yellow highlight | Location: 248
When we procrastinate on our goals, we are basically putting off our lives. We are certainly wasting the time we could be using toward our goal pursuit. The thing is, the most finite, limited resource in our lives is time. We only have a finite amount of time to live. Why waste it? Why waste it running away from tasks that we want or need to do?

Yellow highlight | Location: 252
importance of dealing with procrastination as a symptom of an existential malaise, a malaise that can only be addressed by our deep commitment to authoring the stories of our lives.

Yellow highlight | Location: 255
When we learn to stop needless, voluntary delay in our lives, we live more fully.

Yellow highlight | Location: 256
It is time to make a commitment to engaging in your life, achieving your goals, and enjoying the journey. Time is too precious to waste.

Yellow highlight | Location: 274
To strengthen a goal intention, it is important to recognize the benefits of acting now, not just the costs of needless delay.

Yellow highlight | Location: 290
I won’t give in to feel good. Feeling good now comes at a cost.

Yellow highlight | Location: 295
procrastination is a form of self-regulation failure.

Yellow highlight | Location: 300
Why do we fail to self-regulate? Although there are many factors that contribute to this, the most important thing to understand is that we “give in to feel good.” That is, we want to feel good now and we will do whatever it takes for immediate mood repair, usually at the expense of long-term goals.

Yellow highlight | Location: 307
task aversiveness.

Yellow highlight | Location: 310
chronic procrastinators, short-term mood repair takes precedence. Chronic procrastinators want to eliminate the negative mood or emotions now, so they give in to feel good.

Yellow highlight | Location: 317
feel good is at the heart of self-regulation failure, and it is important to develop strategies for change.

Yellow highlight | Location: 324
Emotional intelligence is the ability to effectively identify and utilize emotions to guide behavior.

Yellow highlight | Location: 330
What we really need to do is to come to terms with our negative feelings about a task. We need to find a way to cope with these negative feelings so that we can continue to pursue our intended goal. The question is, how?

Yellow highlight | Location: 338
However, the first step at the moment of procrastination is to stay put.

Yellow highlight | Location: 343
THINK: IF I feel negative emotions when I face the task at hand, THEN I will stay put and not stop, put off a task, or run away.

Yellow highlight | Location: 353
working from some other part of our “inner landscape.”

Yellow highlight | Location: 355
If we choose to acknowledge our fear but find “the courage to be” in spite of this fear,

Yellow highlight | Location: 365
I won’t feel more like doing it tomorrow.

Yellow highlight | Location: 379
Forecasting our future mood is known as affective forecasting.

Yellow highlight | Location: 385
Focalism is the tendency to underestimate the extent to which other events will influence our thoughts and feelings in the future. Presentism, as you might guess, addresses the fact that we put too much emphasis on the present in our prediction of the future.

Yellow highlight | Location: 396
The real catch here is that when we intend a future action, our affective state is often particularly positive.

Orange highlight | Location: 404
Happiness now, pay later (or not, as the case may be).

Orange highlight | Location: 409
STRATEGY #1—Time Travel

Orange highlight | Location: 411
For example, a person who is procrastinating on saving for retirement might imagine as vividly as possible living on his or her potential retirement savings.

Orange highlight | Location: 418
STRATEGY #2—Expect to Be Wrong

Orange highlight | Location: 418
and Deal with It

Orange highlight | Location: 424
When we are tempted to procrastinate on a current intention or task, thinking that we’ll feel more like it tomorrow, we need to stop and think, “No, that’s a problem with my forecasting. There is a good chance I won’t feel more like it tomorrow.” AND it is important to add the following:

Orange highlight | Location: 426
“My current motivational state does not need to match my intention in order to act.”

Orange highlight | Location: 435
When we set an intention to act tomorrow, and tomorrow comes, expect that you probably will not feel overly enthused to get started.

Orange highlight | Location: 438
Now the thing to do is to remember that this is a transient mood

Orange highlight | Location: 446
The problem is pretty obvious, as is the solution: Let go of the misconception that our motivational state must match the task at hand.

Orange highlight | Location: 454
I need to be aware of my rationalizations.

Orange highlight | Location: 491
chronic procrastinators in particular prefer not to have feedback about self if they have the choice.

Orange highlight | Location: 545
“we only work under pressure.”

Orange highlight | Location: 556
IF we say “Ah, it’s not that important,” THEN we stop and remind ourselves that this is a form of self-deception, a bias in our thinking, and we just get started on the task instead.

Orange highlight | Location: 558
This form of implementation intention puts a cue in the situation (even in our thinking) to help us break a habit.

Orange highlight | Location: 569
“IF I say something to myself like ‘Oh, I’ll feel more like doing this tomorrow,’ I will catch myself in this self-deception and add “THEN I will just get started on the task” instead.

Orange highlight | Location: 574
Just get started.

Orange highlight | Location: 581
Once we start a task, it is rarely as bad as we think. Our research shows us that getting started changes our perceptions of a task. It can also change our perception of ourselves in important ways.

Orange highlight | Location: 602
First, once we get started, as summarized above, we perceive the task as much less aversive than we do when we are avoiding it. Second, even if we do not finish the task, we have done something, and the next day our attributions about ourselves are not nearly as negative.

Orange highlight | Location: 608
if we “prime the pump” by making some progress on our goals, the resulting increase in our subjective well-being enhances further action and progress.

Orange highlight | Location: 612
When you find yourself thinking things like: “I’ll feel more like doing this tomorrow,” “I work better under pressure,” “There’s lots of time left,” “I can do this in a few hours tonight” . . . let that be a flag or signal or stimulus to indicate that you are about to needlessly delay the task, and let it also be the stimulus to just get started. This is another instance of that “if . . . then” type of implementation intention.

Orange highlight | Location: 619
an implementation intention supports a goal intention by setting out in advance when, where, and how we will achieve this goal (or at least a subgoal within the larger goal or task).

Orange highlight | Location: 621
It is not as effective to make ourselves a “to do” list of goal intentions as it is to decide how, when, and where we are going to accomplish each of the tasks

Orange highlight | Location: 626
implementation intentions take the form of “if . . . then” statements. The “if” part of the statement sets out some stimulus for action. The “then” portion describes the action itself. The issue here really is one of a predecision. We are trying to delegate the control over the initiation of our behavior to a specified situation without requiring conscious decision.

Orange highlight | Location: 629
IF I say to myself things like “I’ll feel more like doing this later” or “I don’t feel like doing this now,” THEN I will just get started on some aspect of the task.

Orange highlight | Location: 632
It’s about just getting started.

Orange highlight | Location: 634
you have to just get started many times throughout the day, even on the same task. This is common. Even in meditation,

Orange highlight | Location: 636
All of our procrastination gets stopped short when we just get started.

Orange highlight | Location: 641
The trick is to find something that you can get started on.

Orange highlight | Location: 642
Keep it really simple. Keep it as concrete as possible, too.

Orange highlight | Location: 655
Honestly, if you are not ready to make this first step, to just get started on a day-to-day, moment-to-moment basis, then put this book down now. You are not committed to change yet,

Orange highlight | Location: 659
It will always come down to that movement from not doing to doing. For tasks that we would rather avoid, this is a difficult but wonderful moment.

Orange highlight | Location: 661
“Just get started.”

Orange highlight | Location: 662
“Prime the pump”; “A job begun is a job half done”; and “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Orange highlight | Location: 670
In fact, when you just cannot seem to get started on a task, get started by breaking down the task into subtasks. BUT don’t stop there, as tempting as it may be some days. It is true for many of us that after we make a list like this, we feel better and we think we have accomplished something, so we actually stop—another excuse for procrastination. Don’t forget: The purpose of that list is to get you started. Just get started.

Orange highlight | Location: 677
I need to be prepared to deal

Orange highlight | Location: 677
with distractions, obstacles, and setbacks.

Orange highlight | Location: 686
“If breakfast is done, then I will immediately go to my desk and start working on the third section of my report.”

Orange highlight | Location: 694
we have to recognize other points at which we typically abandon our goal pursuit.

Orange highlight | Location: 697
Procrastination is not just a failure to get started.

Orange highlight | Location: 708
There are two main approaches to predecisions regarding potential distractions. The first involves reducing the number of distractions before we begin to work. The second approach takes us back to implementation intentions to help us decide ahead of time what we will do when distractions, obstacles, or setbacks arise. I outline each of these below.

Orange highlight | Location: 721
from distractions to help maintain your attention and focus on your intended task. This is your predecision to help you work.

Orange highlight | Location: 725
Implementation intentions can work to shield our intentions from competing possibilities, as they can take the form of “if . . . then” statements that anticipate distractions.

Orange highlight | Location: 729
Implementation intentions have effects over and above our motivation to succeed.

Orange highlight | Location: 737
Willpower is a limited resource

Orange highlight | Location: 737
that I need to use strategically.

Orange highlight | Location: 780
Given the role of motivation in self-regulatory failure, it is crucial to acknowledge the role of higher-order thought in this process, particularly the ability to transcend the feelings at the moment in order to focus on our overall goals and values.

Orange highlight | Location: 783
It is exactly when we say to ourselves “I’ll feel more like it tomorrow” that we have to stop, take a breath, and think about why we intended to do the task today. Why is it important to us? What benefit is there in making the effort now? How will this help us achieve our goal?

Orange highlight | Location: 790
So take on some small self-regulatory task and stick to it. This can be as simple as deliberately maintaining good posture or using your nondominant hand to eat.

Orange highlight | Location: 793
Sleep and rest also help to restore

Orange highlight | Location: 796
Be as strategic as possible, and don’t look to exercise feats of willpower later in the day.

Orange highlight | Location: 799
Find things, people, or events that make you feel good to replenish your willpower strength.

Orange highlight | Location: 800
Implementation intentions can be added to this list of willpower boosters. Make an implementation intention as a plan for action.

Orange highlight | Location: 809
how we can strengthen our flagging willpower at the end of a long day. An implementation intention may well be the thing that gets you to exercise in the evening, even though you usually feel much too tired to begin.

Orange highlight | Location: 816
Don’t get hypoglycemic; your self-regulation will suffer. Keep a piece of fruit (complex carbohydrate) handy to restore blood glucose.

Orange highlight | Location: 821
Getting along with others requires self-regulation, so you will need to think about points 1–6 to be best prepared to deal with demanding social situations.

Orange highlight | Location: 823
Finally, so much of our ability to self-regulate depends on our motivation.

Orange highlight | Location: 825
focus on our values and goals to keep perspective on more than just the present moment.

Orange highlight | Location: 830
My personality might put me at risk, but I can adapt.

Orange highlight | Location: 841
Certainly, procrastination has been shown to be related to personality traits. Some people are more prone to procrastinate, and a contributing factor is personality. This is particularly true when the situational pressures to engage in a task in a timely manner are not strong. When the situation is not pushing us to act in a certain way (for example, a supervisor actually monitoring our actions), our personality will have a great deal of influence on our behavior.

Orange highlight | Location: 846
The more we are conscientious, the less we typically procrastinate.

Orange highlight | Location: 849
Socially prescribed perfectionists believe

Orange highlight | Location: 859
the five traits with the mnemonic CANOE: Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Openness (to Experience), and Extraversion.

Orange highlight | Location: 862
meaningful relations with procrastination—Conscientiousness and Neuroticism (which is also known as Emotional Instability).

Yellow highlight | Location: 914
if you are rather impulsive, your predecision with an implementation intention might be “If an alternative intention arises, such as an invitation to go out, I will say that I will make my decision in ten minutes.” This built-in predecisional delay may help to counteract the typical impulsive response to just get going.

Yellow highlight | Location: 918
For example, if you are impulsive, it is particularly important to reduce distractions in the surrounding environment when you are trying to work. Impulsive people have more difficulty resisting these distractions, even with implementation intentions. So, as I discussed in a previous chapter, part of your

Yellow highlight | Location: 942
“It will only take a minute” puts me on a slippery slope toward procrastination.

Yellow highlight | Location: 1,007
Giving in to feel good is a big piece of the procrastination puzzle, and the Internet provides lots and lots of short-term, but specious, rewards to which we can give in to feel good. With a click or two we can leave the task that we feel bad about and seek immediate mood repair. If you understand that this is what you are doing, you are truly on the road to change.

Yellow highlight | Location: 1,014
Self-change is a journey I take daily, and I will persevere patiently as I take two steps forward and one step back.

Yellow highlight | Location: 1,020
Our old bad habits, like procrastination, are hard to change and new habits are difficult to establish. We have to put in a great deal of conscious effort before our new behaviors become routine, nonconscious patterns in our lives. Sometimes we never completely establish a new habit, and we have to put in conscious effort daily to maintain our focus where we choose. The key thing is to be strategic.

Yellow highlight | Location: 1,042
Be kind but firm with yourself, and be willing to forgive yourself when you do not live up to your own expectations.

Yellow highlight | Location: 1,044
What we found was that self-forgiveness for procrastination was related to less procrastination in the future. Specifically, when students in our study had procrastinated quite a bit on their preparation for an exam, if they self-forgave for this procrastination, they were less likely to procrastinate on their preparation for the subsequent exam.

Yellow highlight | Location: 1,047
This finding reflects the power of forgiveness to move us from an avoidance motivation to an approach motivation. If, for example, you had a transgression (e.g., fight or broken promise) with a friend, and you or your friend had not offered forgiveness, you would likely avoid that friend. In the case of procrastination, the transgression is against the self, and we

Yellow highlight | Location: 1,049
end up avoiding the task associated with that transgression.