I’ll Start Writing Tomorrow

 
 
 

Booklet Description

Writing a thesis, but it’s going too slowly? Are you spending more time watching cat videos than working on that final paper? Are you binging on Netflix instead of writing? Do you find yourself with so many tasks, that you have an uncontrollable desire to nap?

If so, try this article. It delves into the psychology of capstone procrastination—why we can’t resist the siren call of the cat videos when that giant paper is hanging over our heads. It looks at the three primary reasons we procrastinate, and you can take an inventory to see which reason is most problematic for you. You can explore the wide variety of hints, helps, and tips to get out of your procrastinatory funk and get that thesis done once and for all.

  • 1. Introduction to Thesis Procrastination
    2. What is Procrastination?
    3. The Really Hard-Core Procrastinators
    4. The Occasional Procrastinators: The Rest of Us
    5. Inventory: What’s Your Procrastination Source?
    6. Scoring the Inventory
    7. A Theory of Capstone Procrastination
    8. Foundation #1: I’m Not Really Sure How to Do It (Low Task Self-Efficacy)
    9. Foundation #2: I Don’t Feel Like Doing It (Self-Regulation Insufficiency)
    10. Foundation #3: It’s Next Week Guy’s Problem (Present-Future Self-Discontinuity)
    11. Conclusion
    12. References
    13. For Further Reading
    14. Quotations

  • Introduction to Thesis Procrastination


    “I wanted to read that article, but I spent the night binge-watching Game of Thrones. I wish I hadn’t done it, but the show is really good. I’ll have the motivation to read the article tomorrow.”


    “I was planning to start the literature review today… but I’m really busy at work, and the laundry has to be done. I can delay the capstone for now.”


    “I could get started on the capstone, but it’s not due for a couple months. I have plenty of time to work on it.”


    The capstone. Thesis. Dissertation. Position paper. That final paper of your graduate program. The paper most prone to procrastination. Some students, perhaps 20%, procrastinate to the point of never finishing their degree. They finish all their courses but don’t finish their final paper. Is that final paper really an unbearable, impossible, eye-wateringly difficult challenge?


    My contention is that the capstone is not an insufferably difficult academic challenge. After all, it’s just another paper. You’ve been writing papers for a long time. You’re probably an expert in writing papers. The capstone is maybe a bit longer than most papers, but it’s just another paper. So why does the capstone create such anxiety, stress, tears, and incontinence? Why do many students have such a difficult time finishing the final paper?


    Here’s a definition of procrastination: It is the intentional delay of necessary action. This delay of necessary action puts extra pressure on the future self, and it creates various problems for the long term.

    This article looks at the social psychology of procrastination, particularly as it relates to the capstone paper. There has been a spike in research in the topic of academic procrastination, but few studies deal specifically with the capstone. So, with limited research studies, I’ll try to give some informed applications on the social psychology of procrastinating the capstone. And if procrastination is a problem for you, I hope to give you a few tips and principles on how to escape its talons.


    For many people, working on the capstone is slightly unpleasant. It’s those people who are most prone to procrastination. If you’re a person who is really engaged in your capstone, and you love working on it, then you probably won’t procrastinate much. I’ve written this paper for the first group, who find the capstone a somewhat aversive task.


    And yes, it took me forever to finish this paper.