Picture this: you’re sitting at your desk, ready to conquer that important task that you’ve been meaning to get around. But somehow you find ourself falling into the rabbit hole of Youtube videos or with a sudden urge to clean your house. Yep, we’ve all been caught by that monster of procrastination. Although procrastination is such a common problem, we still have lots of misperceptions about it. We tend to think that procrastination is a time-management issue. But – as we’ll learn in today’s episode – procrastination is actually a little more complex. By understanding the psychology nature of what procrastination is and why we procrastinate, we might be in a better place to reduce or even overcome procrastination.

My guest today is Dr. Fuschia Sirois, professor of psychology at Durham University. Before she came to the UK, Fuschia was a Canada Research Chair and the Co-ordinator of the multidisciplinary Psychological Health and Well-being Research cluster at Bishop’s University (2010-2015). Dr Fuschia’s interest stretch from self-regulation — exploring how we manage our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors — to their impact on our health and wellbeing. Above all, Dr Fuschia is probably most well-known for her work on procrastination. Her recent book explores what procrastination is, why we procrastinate, and what we can do about it. What I really admire about about Fuschia is that she believes in the power of psychological science as a tool to improve lives, and she has an uncanny ability to communicate these complex ideas in a way that is both engaging and easily comprehensible. Her work’s been features in many news outlets including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the BBC. I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Season 6 Episode 12

Intro

Why procrastination is a problem

Are you a procrastinator?

Cultural differences

Is procrastination a time management issue?

The emotional causes of procrastination

Is motivation the answer?

What is discipline?

Techniques for beating procrastination