Looking for an overview of how to stop procrastinating? Got an hour? In this podcast, Dr. Pychyl walks through the major factors related to our procrastination as well as strategies to overcome issues such as lack of commitment, defeatist attitude, weak intentions, distractions and low energy. It's a good podcast to end 2012, as we look ahead to the resolutions we'll make for the new year! If you want to learn more about procrastination, visit procrastination.ca or The Procrastinator's Digest: A...
Dec 06, 2012•55 min
An interview with award-winning professor and best-selling author Dr. Kelly McGonigal . In this interview, Dr. McGonigal explains her teaching and writing about willpower, with a particular focus on her latest book, The Willpower Instinct: How self-control works, why it matters, and what you can do to get more of it . What a joy it was to interview Kelly. She is thoughtful, articulate and precise in her explanations. I know this is an interview that you'll enjoy and review. She brings a differen...
Sep 19, 2012•56 min
An interview with Mohsen Haghbin ( Carleton University ) about his most recent publication relating fear of failure and procrastination. I had interviewed Mohsen in 2010 when he helped Adam McCaffrey finish the study, but I wanted to do this again with the published paper, because the final analyses revealed some interesting findings about what affects the apparent relation between fear of failure and procrastination. Mohsen explains that whether or not fear of failure is related to procrastinat...
Jul 18, 2012•57 min
An interview with Dr. Alfred Mele , the William H. and Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University, and author of Backsliding: Understanding Weakness of Will. I've been looking forward to this interview for quite awhile, as I have read most of Al's books up to this point (he has 7 other books focused on topics such as human agency, motivation, free will and self-deception), and his work speaks directly to the weakness of will we commonly call procrastination. He's a...
Jun 18, 2012•1 hr 9 min
An interview with Max Leibman author of Higher Process: The Art & Science of Personal Productivity . Max helps us consider what we really know about the science of time management and how to be more productive. If you want to learn more about procrastination, visit procrastination.ca or The Procrastinator's Digest: A Concise Guide to Solving the Procrastination Puzzle . I close the podcast with a song entitled "Procrastination" by Matt Weidinger ....
May 29, 2012•58 min
ChangePower! - 37 Secrets to Habit Change Success - that's the title to Meg Selig's new book , and in this podcast I interview Meg to learn how we can develop changepower. This is a great conversation about habits and habit change. We all have lots to learn from Meg. You can read her Psychology Today Blog - Changepower - or you can learn more about her book . If you want to learn more about procrastination, visit procrastination.ca or The Procrastinator's Digest: A Concise Guide to Solving the P...
May 01, 2012•44 min
"There seems to be something about computer technology and Internet connectivity that distracts us, that tempts us towards procrastination." This is the opening line of a paper co-authored by my guest today, Nick Breems. Nick is an assistant professor of Computer Science at Dordt College (Iowa) and a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the University of Salford (Manchester, England). In this podcast, Nick brings his focus to the intersection of philosophy and computer science in a discussion of ...
Apr 10, 2012•1 hr 10 min
Dr. William (Bill) McCown discusses his latest research projects - each is fascinating. Bill is a researcher, clinical psychologist and university administrator. He has been doing research on procrastination for over 25 years, and he has lots to offer in this podcast. We discuss what procrastinators think about, how procrastination affects the elderly and the analysis of textual data in procrastination research. Our conversation is wide ranging including issues related to development, cognition,...
Mar 28, 2012•50 min
Bright Side Up is the title of a new book by Amy Spencer . In this podcast, I interview Amy who explains that you don't need to reinvent your whole life to be happier - you just need to turn it "bright side up!" Our conversation focuses on the why and what of her latest writing project. We touch on many topics in positive psychology including optimism and happiness. I know you'll find it interesting and useful as Amy has lots of practical examples from her book. If you want to learn more about B...
Feb 14, 2012•46 min
Procrastinating? Me too. Today, I talk about the "art of living" and how we're like all other people, some other people and no other person. I do this by reading and responding to listeners' emails. Lots of ground covered as we think about the doings, and "not doings," of our lives. If you want to learn more about procrastination, check out procrastination.ca or The Procrastinator's Digest: A Concise Guide to Solving the Procrastination Puzzle ....
Jan 12, 2012•1 hr 2 min
What we might consider procrastination varies around the world. Take the word mañana for example - that notion that a task belongs to some indefinite time in the future. Do we all think about delay and procrastination the same way? Obviously not! In this conversation with a colleague from Peru, Professor Karem Diaz, we get a different perspective on the nature of our delay. We discuss some differences between collectivist and individualistic cultures, the influence of economic development, socia...
Nov 24, 2011•56 min
Is procrastination the same everywhere? A recent email from a listener (check out her blog at incurable-hippie ) provided an example of two cultures (the Britsh and the French) where it seems to differ. I discuss this issue in relation to published research as well as the work of one of my doctoral students, Mohsen Haghbin ( Carleton University ), who joins me to present his perspective. It's a wide-ranging discussion of what words mean in relation to psychological constructs across cultures and...
Nov 17, 2011•1 hr 1 min
Illusions abound about procrastination. This week, I consider 10 of the most common illusions, explaining why we might think these things, but what research reveals as the "truth" of the matter. This episode of the podcast is a version of a talk that I gave recently to students and faculty at Fanshawe College, London, Ontario. I close the podcast with a song entitled "Procrastination" by Matt Weidinger . I think I've found a new theme song for this podcast! Let me know what you think at tpychyl@...
Sep 29, 2011•1 hr 13 min
Existential themes of autonomy, authenticity, agency, freedom, choice and the will are at the center of the discussion in this podcast. In response to listeners' requests, I explain this existential perspective on procrastination with reference to very interesting further reading. To learn more, visit procrastination.ca or The Procrastinator's Digest: A Concise Guide to Solving the Procrastination Puzzle...
Jul 19, 2011•1 hr 2 min
A recent study underscores the importance of executive function in self-regulation and procrastination. In this interview with Dr. Laura Rabin (Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College and Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Brooklyn), we get to hear from an outstanding young neuropsychologist who also has a clinical practice. As you'll hear, Dr. Rabin's research focus is not normally on procrastination, but she brought her neuropsychological expertise to bear on how we might b...
Jun 24, 2011•39 min
My title for the podcast today is taken from a recent study published in the International Journal of e-Collaboration by Dr. Anabel Quan-Haase of the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario, Canada). Her focus is on how students use instant messaging for their social networking and how, as she writes, "instant messaging is disruptive and multitasking can lead to losses in productivity." Anabel's research revealed that students use a number of different techniques to self-regulate their us...
May 27, 2011•1 hr
Here's an interview with psychologist and author, Dr. Guy Winch ( guywinch.com ). Guy explains how we can learn new strategies to more effectively complain constructively, much like we might learn to provide constuctive criticism to foster more positive outcomes. The power of this perspective is in dealing with important issues more effectively whether these be complaints to a retailer, bureaucrat, coworker or partner. When we learn to deal with our complaints more constructively we are less lik...
May 18, 2011•49 min
This week, I'm sharing an interview I did on Philosophy Talk . As explained on philosophytalk.org , Philosophy Talk is a weekly, one-hour radio series produced by Ben Manilla . The hosts' down-to-earth and no-nonsense approach brings the richness of philosophic thought to everyday subjects. Topics are lofty ( Truth , Beauty , Justice ), arresting ( Terrorism , Intelligent Design , Suicide ), and engaging ( Baseball , Love , Happiness ). This is not a lecture or a college course, it's philosophy ...
May 01, 2011•57 min
Agency, freedom, responsibility, choice, bad faith, death, life and love - all of this and more in today's podcast as I reply to a listener's thoughts about the existential aspects of procrastination. In this podcast, I refer to an article in the New Yorker . You can access the full article here (thanks Chris!). If you want to learn more, see procrastination.ca or The Procrastinator's Digest: A Concise Guide to Solving the Procrastination Puzzle ....
Apr 13, 2011•1 hr 15 min
This week, I chat with a listener from England, Jessica Shailes. Based on an earlier podcast about the "unschedule," Jessica developed an Excel spreadsheet to help her plan more effectively. The podcast includes an introductory section reviewing the concept of the unschedule with direct reference to Neil Fiore's book, The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play . You can find Neil's books on Amazon here . You may download the sample spreadsheet ...
Mar 22, 2011•50 min
An interview with Dr. Elliot Cohen provides insight into how our irrational worry can undermine our well-being as well as how reason can be harnessed to help us break free from this "dutiful worry." You can learn more about this by reading Elliot's new book, The Dutiful Worrier . To learn more about procrastination, check out procrastination.ca or The Procrastinator's Digest: A Concise Guide to Solving the Procrastination Puzzle ....
Mar 08, 2011•28 min
Clinical psychologist Dr. Bill Knaus and philosopher Dr. Elliot Cohen explain how we can more effectively deal with the irrational thinking that defines procrastination. Dr. Cohen is a founder of philosophical counseling in the U.S., and Dr. Knaus is one of the original directors of post-doctoral training in rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT). Together, these counseling experts provide an important perspective on how to reduce procrastination and worry in our lives. To learn more about p...
Feb 22, 2011•1 hr 13 min
This week, I am posting an interview that I had with Laurel Graham, a journalism student in the Journalism and Media Studies program at Griffith College in Ireland. Laurel contacted me after reading an article in The New Yorker that discussed my research on procrastination. Our conversation covered many topics that I thought would interest listeners of these podcasts, so Laurel gave her permission to post the interview as part of the iProcrastinate podcasts. I hope you enjoy it. To learn more ab...
Feb 18, 2011•39 min
Dr. Fuschia Sirois (Bishops University) joined me to discuss one of her recent studies entitled, "Lost in the Moment: An Investigation of Procrastination, Mindfulness and Well-being." This was a fascinating discussion of how we often focus on short-term mood repair instead of our intended goal pursuit, and how mindfulness may help us cope more effectively with the discomfort we feel when faced with an aversive task. To learn more about procrastination, visit procrastination.ca ....
Feb 04, 2011•56 min
In this fascinating interview, Dr. Joel Anderson (Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences ) explains the notion of distributed willpower. Successful people arrange thier lives in such a way as to economize on willpower and to scaffold their willpower strategicially with environmental support. Willpower is not simply an issue of self-control located solely within the person! Professor Anderson explains how importa...
Jan 22, 2011•1 hr 15 min
Not everyone makes New Year's resolutions, and certainly not everyone who does make one, keeps it. What does it take to be successful with the change we hope for with a New Year's resolution? A readiness for change, realistic goals, a concrete plan, perhaps an implementation intention or two, social support, the strategic use of willpower, a little self-forgiveness and a good dose of courage to try at all. In this podcast, I discuss each of these issues as they pertain to what it means to have i...
Jan 03, 2011•36 min
What is weakness of will? Is procrastination a special instance of a weakness of will? These are questions that I pose to the guest this week, Dr. Sarah Stroud , Associate Professor of Philosophy (McGill University). I sought out Dr. Stroud as she wrote an excellent chapter in the recently published book, The Thief of Time: Philosophical Essays on Procrastination (Oxford University Press). I stole the title of her chapter as the title for this podcast, "Is Procrastination Weakness of Will?" I kn...
Dec 14, 2010•1 hr
Strengthening our motivation towards our goals while weakening our motivation towards temptations is important to successful goal pursuit. In this podcast, I summarize strategies that help us make a precommitment to change the choice situation and change the psychological meaing of our choice options. It's not as complicated as it sounds, and the strategies are discussed in relation to practical examples from everyday life. To learn more, visit procrastination.ca or T he Procrastinator's Digest:...
Dec 02, 2010•27 min
Note: Poor audio quality. I finally sat down to record a short podcast. Unfortunately, the audio quality isn't very good. It's my fault. I hand held a new recorder that created noise and inconsistent sound levels. In addition, I didn't use a pop filter. You'd think I'd learn! I decided to post this in any case, because I simply don't have the time to re-record it. The topic is about the nature of our intentions and how making indeterminate or "anemic" intentions may be part of the problem with o...
Nov 16, 2010•22 min
This week, we discuss the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in understanding procrastination. Eric Heward joined me for an interview about his recently completed Master's thesis research in which he explored the relation of measures of EI and measures of procrastination. Eric does an excellent job of defining the key terms and providing a summary of his findings. Together, we discussed what this focus on emotions means to our understanding of procrastination and our own work at self-change. If...
Oct 15, 2010•44 min
