Procrastination: All In The Mind
/'Experts say the study, in Psychological Science, underlines procrastination is more about managing emotions than time.’
The science reveals that ‘the amygdala - an almond-shaped structure in the temporal (side) lobe which processes our emotions and controls our motivation - was larger in procrastinators. "Individuals with a larger amygdala may be more anxious about the negative consequences of an action - they tend to hesitate and put off things," says Erhan Genç, one of the study authors, based at Ruhr University Bochum.’ (Source)
Mindfulness training and meditation alters parts of the brain where procrastination stems from. In the past and when my mindfulness practice waned, I struggled with procrastination. I have felt frustrated by what felt like an inability and a character flaw. It was at odds with my desire to pursue my goals and passions. My training in mindfulness coaching included dedicated self-practice, and it was with this one tweak of my daily habits that I started to notice a big shift in my movement torward what I wanted for my life.
The mindfulness practice was reducing the size of my amygdala and strengthening my prefrontal cortex, enabling me to process emotions in more empowering ways; thereby, relieving the obstacles that would normally lead me to procrastinate. This is really fascinating. It is likely one of the reasons why my clients often feel that adding a mindfulness practice to their day seems to open up more time and spaciousness in their days.
Mindfulness has a positive affect on how well we use our time.
It’s important for us to know this so that we may work smarter not harder. Just like a daily exercise practice (a walk, run, lifting, or stretching) makes it easier for us to do the physical things we want to do, mindfulness practice makes it easier for us to do the mental things we want (maintain a healthy habit, focus better, respond to emotions). It’s generally ineffective to simply will ourselves to be more productive, attentive, or emotionally-resilient. Believing that we just need better time-management skills is also working uphill. We drag around the weight of this criticism and falsely believe that we are addressing the cause when actually this tends to be a symptom of unhelpful thinking, which we an make the work of righting much easier with a short (comparatively to other daily tasks), consistent mindfulness practice.
Mindfulness practice is a foundation for a healthy and strong mind, allowing for more ease with cognitive and emotional tasks.
Additional Resources:
Scientific American: What Does Mindfulness Meditation Do to Your Brain?
Yet until recently little was known about how a few hours of quiet reflection each week could lead to such an intriguing range of mental and physical effects. Now, as the popularity of mindfulness grows, brain imaging techniques are revealing that this ancient practice can profoundly change the way different regions of the brain communicate with each other – and therefore how we think – permanently.
Mindfulness intervention for academic procrastination: A randomized control trial
This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness training on academic procrastination. The results showed that mindfulness training significantly reduced academic procrastination and increased self-regulation and mindfulness in procrastinating students. Mindfulness training effectively reduced all of the three components of procrastination, including procrastination behavior, negative emotions, and perceived negative consequences.