How to Help a Procrastinator Get Work Done

By Margo Fourman

The first question that really needs to be asked is about motivation.

When there’s no motivation (and perhaps waiting long enough means someone else will do the dishes / fix the fence) then we’re actually not talking about procrastination.

When a person is motivated to take on the task but keeps postponing it, then yes, we need to figure out what is getting in the way. Procrastination, or putting things off, is a multi faceted problem.

By Margo Fourman

The second question you need to ask is whether you (whose task is looming) can actually make it happen in a reasonable time frame.

People with dyspraxia, dyslexia, ADHD or those on the spectrum (or any combination thereof) often see their peers spend minutes on things that take them hours. That is disheartening and depressing. When we really don’t think there’s any way we’re going to succeed, we all tend to procrastinate and put things like that off. Alas, it can lead to a disengagement with learning and very low self-esteem.

Here’s one trick that we’ve seen used but we really don’t support. Sometimes helpers would do a task for the procrastinator, but this simply encourages learned helplessness and does nothing to foster robust self esteem.

Every procrastinator would benefit from an exploration about the issues that are getting in the way.

Here’s a helpful question number three, then: Do you fully understand the task?

Often instructions are given assuming prior knowledge. If that prior knowledge is not fully in place then the instructions become meaningless. Do you know what kind of production is required? Have you seen good examples at your level of study? Do you know who the presumed audience is? Do you know what the purpose of the writing is? Sometimes the challenge is that you don’t know what to write about. Sometimes it is the task of explaining what you know in a way that answers the right question.

And here’s another common challenge: Do you know how to start?

Here’s a technique that can be helpful both with the challenge of what to write about, and with the challenge of where to start. This requires a careful unpicking of the question and creation of a research scaffold.

The scaffold will be designed not only for the assignment but also for the individual writer. For example, following a museum visit, children may fill a questionnaire.

To help them expand on their knowledge, a scaffold would break down the hunt for more information by adding more question. See the bullet points in the example below.

Truths and Myths about Pirates in Florida in the 17th century

Were there many pirates in the 17th century in Florida?
— Who were they?
— Where did they come from?
— Why?
— Who did they attack?

What did they look like?
— How do we know?
— How can we check if this is true?
— Did they have peg legs, hooks for hands and eye patches?
— Why?
— Did they have talking birds?

How did they successfully attack bigger ships than their own?
— What weapons did they use?
— Were they quicker?
— What shape were their sails?
— what advantages did that provide?

Think of it as a long, structured list, with each line beginning a micro-topic associated with the essay. And then when all the above is in place, you can write down the beginning of every sentence. There’s a technique to that, which can be learned.

Here’s another variation: the timeline

So if you want to talk about the history of blacksmithing, say, that sounds like you’d start with a timeline.

Before we go into the timeline, let’s think about the introduction: You want to be clear about your layout, the big picture. Is your topic blacksmithing the whole world over, or blacksmithing in one country or one area or one phase of time?

And how are you going to discuss it? It could be a debate, it could be an outline, it could be a description.

And when you put down a timeline, you’ve got a really clear first, then what’s next.

With that timeline, as you go through, consider telling A what happened, why it happened, and what the implications were.

So make a table with the time line event in the left hand column then add details in the next columns. Say why it happened and then in the next column, what was the advantage they were seeking. Then you talk about what impact that invention had. If you are at a higher level you need to include a justification of your opinion – a column for positives, a column for limitations or alternate view and finally a column for your ‘balanced view’.

Be clear about the questions you want to answer. How, when, where, what, why? What were the advantages of that? What were the challenges and what happened next.

Clearly, sometimes procrastination is not with written tasks, but many of the problems are the same:

Do you understand the end goal?
Do you understand the purpose?
Do you understand the process?
Do you believe you can do it in a reasonable time frame?
Do you know exactly where to start?

A lot of people struggle with do-it-yourself tasks. Think of what’s involved: What kind of tools do I need? I need to assemble the tools. Do I know the steps involved? Do I need someone to help me by holding or lifting?

You’ve got to work out how you’re going to fix it up. Just not knowing where the tool is, is enough to make you go off and do something different entirely.

What if the person you’re helping has a label, such as being on the spectrum or dyslexic or having ADHD – does the advice to the procrastinator change?

The challenges with procrastination likely have a lot to do with an individual’s thinking patterns. Often a person’s neurodiversity label gives us clues about their thinking patterns. Either way, we ask. Even more important is to find out what the underlying challenges may be.

I asked one student, how can I help you?

And she said, I’m lazy. I asked, what makes you think you’re lazy? And she said, well, I won’t sit and work at the computer for more than 10 minutes at a time. So I asked, what happens when you do sit at the computer for more than 10 minutes at a time? And she said, I get a migraine.

I then had to explain that nobody in their right mind would sit at the computer until they got a migraine. So if there’s some sensory overload, it needs to be addressed before anything else can be sorted out.

You may wonder why some people pull an all-nighter just before the deadline.

Some people just seem to manage to work all night before they need to hand in their project. Is it because that’s when they have enough adrenaline in their system to be able to concentrate? Perhaps there are less distractions? Maybe.

But let’s ask a different question. Are they successful? Usually those who spend the night before the deadline working on their project and handing it on time, have actually done the research beforehand. If they didn’t gather all the information in the first place, they can’t make it work.

Starting 24 hours before the deadline is not going to work. Those who try and fail may hear from their peers that that is what they do, so they think – if my friend can, so can I. In reality, students who make this work have usually done the research beforehand and they are processing it “on the back burner” subconscioiusly. And then you wake up in the middle of the night and think, oh yeah, that’s the way. Now those, they can do all nighters. But not everybody can.

Do people with ADHD function better if they get little rewards along the way?

Here’s what may be happening: You’re facing a tricky task and you know it’s going to take some effort. You know you can do it. But there are no rewards during a long, tricky process, so you procrastinate or do poor work. The way to address it is to work for 15-20 minutes and take 5 minutes off.

The deal is that the breaks (whether you get a drink of water, jump on the trampoline or check your cell phone) are only 5 minutes. If you’ve managed to focus more than 20 minutes, you may get a longer break. Teens want to check their social media, they want to be kept in the loop, so they use the 5 minutes for that. Perhaps moving is a better use for that time.

Either way, this is what I’ve seen helpful with procrastinators. I’ve seen students use their break to play a game on their computers, and I talk to them about actually taking a break. That gives the systems that are working (such as the eyes) a rest. For some students this is a big “Aha!”.

Those five minutes can be very rewarding. The accomplishment of whatever you do in the 5 minute break can stimulate dopamine production which can help focus and concentration. So you feel a little better, and can sit at your project again to do some more work.

Find out how a person works most easily.

Start with trying to find out what it is that’s getting in the way. Bring up possibilities. A good way to explore is to say “I wonder”, which provides the option of answering or not. “I wonder if you really know what the very first thing you need to do is”. If the answer is yes, say, “oh tell me”. Chances are they may think that what they need to do is sit down at the desk. “I wonder if sitting at the desk is the best place for you to study…”

Some people sit at the desk out of habit, but they actually would rather be studying in bed or on the couch or lying down on their tummy on the carpet with their computer in front of them. Some would rather stand. Some people would like to be in the kitchen where the action is.

How about taking a walk and listening to text-to-speech on the phone? Do they like to work when it’s quiet? Some people find that headphones with white noise on them helps. That white noise prevents interruptions by anything else. Others choose to have music. Perhaps background music, not something that calls their attention. For those students, sometimes other people talking or moving in the class are a problem. It may be the beats that help the brain to concentrate. Others enjoy working with lo-fi, mellow music, either on headphones or with videos on youtube where they are accompanied by animation with very little movement.

Experimenting with it can provide some way of moving forward.

Don’t look at it as “what’s wrong with me”, but “what’s the best way for me to learn?” Find something to read that’s just at the edge of your ability. You can read it, but it’s tough to follow it and understand. Try it in different conditions. Noise, no noise, quiet, moving, standing, lying, sitting, different lighting, different conditions, such as at home or at the library or at a cafe. It’s worth your while.

If you would like to talk with one of our experts to discuss what would be the best approach to support your dyspraxic child, book a free consultation today.