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...
http://iprocrastinate.libsyn.com
Backsliding and Weakness of Will
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 brilliant scholar, prolific writer and an important philosopher who helps us understand why we act contrary to our better judgment. I know you'll enjoy the interview, as he draws on everyday examples from our lives to explain the concepts.
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.