Dr. Timothy A. Pychyl, associate professor of psychology and director of the Procrastination Research Group (Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada), provides a series of short talks, interviews and question/answer podcasts that explain why we procrastinate and what we can do about it. An award winning educator, Dr. Pychyl challenges his listeners to explore their daily choices to act or postpone acting on their intentions. Do we head to the gym as intended, or slouch back on the couch thinking "I'll feel more like a workout tomorrow"? Do we tackle the task now, or do we avoid it arguing to ourselves that "I work better under pressure"? From losing 10 pounds to changing personal habits, Pychyl, a personality psychologist, focuses on the breakdown of intentional action - a problem commonly called procrastination. This series expands on three main themes: 1) irrational delay that sabotages personal productivity, 2) personality attributes that contribute to self-defeating behaviours, and 3) situational factors that undermine our ability to take or sustain action...
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Cyberslacking and the Procrastination Superhighway
Although we all believe that information technology makes us more productive - it's our belief that technology is progress - it's not a one-sided issue. Along with the benefits provided by our new information technologies, particularly Internet-based communication technologies, there are potential drawbacks. In this podcast, Dr. Pychyl discusses how email, Facebook and other Internet tools can lead us to make poor decisions about time use and cause us to procrastinate on our more important tasks. For more information on this topic, see: Lavoie, J.A.A., & Pychyl, T.A. (2001). Cyberslacking and the procrastination superhighway: A web-based survey of on-line procrastination, attitudes, and emotion, Social Science Computer Review, 19, 431-444.