30. Overcoming Procrastination and Hyper-Productivity

This month on TITW, Liza and Molly share their personal experiences with procrastination (Molly) and, on the other side of the dialectic, hyper-productivity (Liza). We believe that procrastination and hyper-productivity are opposite responses that function to avoid similar feelings of anxiety. 

We define procrastination as knowing a task needs to get done and choosing to do something else instead. Hyper-productivity is a term we invented based off of Liza's experience of feeling the urge to constantly be productive and complete tasks immediately.

Through an impromptu chain analysis Liza conducts on Molly's procrastination behavior, we learn about what drives this behavior and how to change it. We work together to identify factors that increase vulnerability to procrastination; thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that lead up to the procrastination behavior; as well as the short- and long-term consequences associated with procrastination. 

Make sure to listen to our skills review at the end of the episode, where we give ourselves homework and offer concrete suggestions for how to overcome urges to procrastinate or engage in hyper-productive behavior. 

We hope you enjoy!