1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,580 Unit 9, page 140. Read. 2 00:00:05,380 --> 00:00:06,360 Seize the day. 3 00:00:07,460 --> 00:00:08,560 Picture this scenario. 4 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:11,340 It's late Sunday afternoon. 5 00:00:12,340 --> 00:00:13,540 Jane is making dinner. 6 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,440 Ben needs the paperwork for this year's taxes. 7 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:21,120 It has to be given to the accountant tomorrow. 8 00:00:22,420 --> 00:00:25,440 Jane, have you got the paperwork ready for the taxes? 9 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,580 I have to take it to the accountant first thing in the morning. 10 00:00:28,580 --> 00:00:32,500 Ben, the Garcias are coming in about an hour. 11 00:00:33,060 --> 00:00:35,200 I'm trying to get dinner into the oven. 12 00:00:35,660 --> 00:00:38,680 I can't stop to find the paperwork now. 13 00:00:39,060 --> 00:00:41,000 But, honey, I've got to have it. 14 00:00:41,380 --> 00:00:42,680 You said you'd do it. 15 00:00:43,060 --> 00:00:45,460 Why didn't you tell me you needed it tonight? 16 00:00:46,100 --> 00:00:49,020 I didn't know I had to get it together so soon. 17 00:00:49,480 --> 00:00:53,220 I really did plan to remind you about it, but I forgot to. 18 00:00:53,980 --> 00:00:55,560 What are we going to do? 19 00:00:56,180 --> 00:00:58,100 Can't you stop for a little while? 20 00:00:58,100 --> 00:01:04,020 If I stop cooking, I won't have enough time to finish before the Garcias get here. 21 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:05,720 Tell you what. 22 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:11,260 You go look for it, and if you can't find it, I'll help you later this evening. 23 00:01:12,820 --> 00:01:15,600 Does this kind of situation ring a bell? 24 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,520 It illustrates the problem of procrastination. 25 00:01:20,580 --> 00:01:25,540 I interviewed psychiatrist Robert Stevens to find out more about this problem. 26 00:01:26,540 --> 00:01:27,740 Dr. Stevens. 27 00:01:28,100 --> 00:01:33,340 I want to ask you if there's such a thing as a procrastination syndrome. 28 00:01:34,340 --> 00:01:41,980 Well, I don't know if we can call it a syndrome, but procrastination is widespread and can 29 00:01:41,980 --> 00:01:44,820 be a very serious problem for some people. 30 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:48,660 Can we start with a definition of procrastination? 31 00:01:48,660 --> 00:01:49,780 Of course. 32 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:55,340 To procrastinate is literally to put things off until tomorrow. 33 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:57,860 It's a postponing of events. 34 00:01:58,100 --> 00:02:05,460 It doesn't last until a later time, but unlike the word postpone, which has a neutral sense, 35 00:02:06,020 --> 00:02:10,100 the word procrastinate has a negative connotation. 36 00:02:10,940 --> 00:02:17,060 There are sometimes good reasons to postpone things, but never to procrastinate. 37 00:02:17,860 --> 00:02:21,460 Procrastinating has the sense of avoidance. 38 00:02:22,140 --> 00:02:22,640 All right. 39 00:02:23,260 --> 00:02:26,220 Now, what causes people to procrastinate? 40 00:02:26,540 --> 00:02:27,140 Laziness? 41 00:02:27,140 --> 00:02:27,320 Laziness? 42 00:02:28,100 --> 00:02:34,320 That's a popular idea, but I'd have to say that laziness isn't the major cause. 43 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:42,420 No, I think that fear is really the most important force that motivates people to put things off. 44 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:43,520 Fear? 45 00:02:43,820 --> 00:02:44,900 Can you explain? 46 00:02:45,980 --> 00:02:50,980 Well, procrastinators want to live up to other people's expectations. 47 00:02:51,980 --> 00:02:54,860 They're afraid to fail or make mistakes. 48 00:02:55,140 --> 00:02:57,940 Or maybe they don't want to be rejected. 49 00:02:58,940 --> 00:03:04,200 Interestingly, procrastination has nothing to do with education. 50 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:09,860 Some of the most learned people are among the worst procrastinators. 51 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:12,400 What would be an example of that? 52 00:03:13,300 --> 00:03:14,320 Well, let's see. 53 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:21,920 Suppose a professor, a woman we'll call Blanche, has been planning a lecture. 54 00:03:22,740 --> 00:03:24,920 She's mentioned the lecture to colleagues, 55 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:29,620 but hasn't told them the time and date it will take place, 56 00:03:30,180 --> 00:03:32,800 which would be the straightforward thing to do. 57 00:03:33,660 --> 00:03:38,540 Either consciously or subconsciously, she expects to fail. 58 00:03:39,140 --> 00:03:43,260 So she delays telling people until the very last moment. 59 00:03:44,180 --> 00:03:47,960 Her colleagues expected her to have told them before now. 60 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:53,380 When she didn't, they forgot about the event and made other plans. 61 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:57,220 It's too short notice for most of them to come. 62 00:03:58,260 --> 00:04:02,620 Blanche's fear has caused things to turn out like this. 63 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:07,880 She feels bad about it, but she doesn't know how to change. 64 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:12,120 Well, what if a procrastinator would like to change? 65 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,120 What would you advise that person to do? 66 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:21,260 Getting a procrastinator to change can be a tough nut to crack. 67 00:04:21,260 --> 00:04:23,260 But I recommend three things. 68 00:04:23,380 --> 00:04:25,500 There are three principles for my clients. 69 00:04:26,260 --> 00:04:32,300 The first is never to put off until tomorrow what needs to be done today. 70 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:38,340 Not to avoid painful or difficult things is the second. 71 00:04:39,060 --> 00:04:40,440 They're part of life. 72 00:04:41,460 --> 00:04:48,560 The third is contained in the Latin phrase carpe diem, seize the day. 73 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:53,360 I try to consider every experience an opportunity. 74 00:04:53,380 --> 00:04:58,380 I don't want people to take unnecessary or foolish risks. 75 00:04:59,620 --> 00:05:03,040 But I do advise them not to put off living. 76 00:05:03,900 --> 00:05:06,100 They may not get another chance. 77 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,600 Well, Dr. Stevens, thanks for a stimulating discussion.