49. Top 6 ‘Best of’ episodes: How to tackle procrastination

Let's Talk SciComm

Welcome to Season 7: for something a bit different, we’re excited to be revisiting our 6 most listened-to episodes. Each episode has a new introduction in which Jen and Michael reflect on why the topic resonated so much with our listeners and what we’ve learned about the topic in the interim.

Coming in at number 6 is ‘How to tackle procrastination’. It comes as no surprise that many of us want advice on how to procrastinate less! It’s one of the biggest challenges many of us come up against in our day-to-day work. And it can certainly be a major barrier to effective science communication. Whether you’re trying to write a thesis, an assignment or a blog post, chances are you’ve found yourself delaying getting started.

We share our experiences of procrastination and evidence-based advice on how to stop. Two of our wonderful UniMelbSciComm alumni, Caitlin Minney and Lily Ahlemeyer also share their experiences and advice.

Here are some useful resources to support you in tackling procrastination:

Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator - Tim Urban’s TED talk

James Clear’s Atomic Habits – a book well worth reading

James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter - which we also mention in the podcast

Why You Procrastinate (It Has Nothing to Do With Self-Control) - if procrastination isn't about laziness, then what is it about? Hint: it's more linked to you emotions and moods!

Why we procrastinate – Jen’s take on why we procrastinate, with tips on how we can stop procrastinating and start working

The Procrastination Doom Loop—and How to Break It - what it means to be caught in the procrastination loop, and how to get out of it

Why Procrastinators Procrastinate - a look into the procrastinator's brain

5 Types of Procrastination (And How To Fix Each of Them) - procrastination can look different depending on what type of procrastinator you are. Figuring out which type you are will help you beat your procrastination!

Plus a couple of tools we use to help beat procrastination:

Forest App – focusing on your work helps you build a virtual forest

Write or Die - an online word processor that forces you to write... or else suffer the consequences you choose - from spiders crawling across your screen, to your words erasing themselves

Cold Turkey Writer - this turns your computer into a typewriter - so you can't use it for anything other than writing. Great if you struggle with distractions!

toggl - a productivity and time tracker that might help you keep an eye on how you spend your time