How to Defeat Procrastination in the New Semester？新学期如何战胜拖延症？

钱润荷

拖延症（procrastination）指的是非必要、后果有害的推迟行为。目前这个词并不是一个严格的心理学或医学术语。单纯的做事拖拉或是懒得去做，只能定义为“拖延”，也仅是一种坏习惯，改正它并不难。但严重或经常的拖延行为，常常是一些深层问题的表现。拖延现象现已成为管理学家们和心理学家们研究的一个重要课题。

拖延症就像个小偷，偷走了我们的时间，让我们活在焦虑、烦躁、不安中。新学期刚刚开始，我们应该如何战胜拖延症呢？一起来看看专家的提示吧！

As the new semester begins， millions of students across the country are trying hard to remember how best to do the homework — or， more likely， how best to delay the homework.

新学期伊始，全国成千上万的学生都努力谨记如何交出一份像样的作业，或者，大多数人都在想如何尽量拖延时间。

Procrastination is the thief of time and a lot of students suffer from （遭受） it. They can spend whole days in the room doing nothing but staring into space， eating snacks， surfing the Internet， watching videos and playing computer games.

拖延症就像偷窃时光的小偷，令许多学生深受其害。他们整天窝在房间里无所事事，只是发呆、吃零食、上网、看视频或是玩玩电脑游戏。

Paralyzed （使……麻痹） by their habit to procrastinate （拖延）， they write micro blogs about their fears， asking their online friends if they sometimes have the same issue. But this does nothing to break the spell.

拖延习惯令人麻痹无力，他们写微博来表达自己的恐惧，询问网友是否有时也会遭遇相同状况。然而，这种做法无济于事，无法打破拖延症的魔咒。

According to a recent report by the BBC， 95 percent of us procrastinate at some point and 20 percent of the worlds population are chronic （慢性的；习惯性的） procrastinators， complicating their lives with their incessant （无休止的） delaying of tasks.

BBC（英国广播公司）最新的一份报告显示，95%的人只是偶尔拖延，20%的人则是习惯性拖延，不断拖延工作令他们的生活变得一团糟。

The figures are dismal （令人沮丧的）. Procrastinators are less wealthy， less healthy and less happy than those who dont delay. Just look at Hamlet， who is perhaps the worlds most famous procrastinator. And his indecision （犹豫不决） leads to tragedy on an epic scale （史诗级的）.

这些数据是令人沮丧的。与旁人相比，拖延症患者囊中羞涩，健康堪忧，苦恼也更多。来看看哈姆莱特吧，他可能是世界上最著名的拖延症患者了。而他的极度优柔寡断酿成了悲剧史诗。

Procrastinators like to find excuses to justify their behavior， but BBC columnist （专栏作家） Rowan Pelling says they are all wrong.

尽管拖延症患者喜欢为自己的行为找借口，但是BBC（英国广播公司）专栏作家罗曼·佩林则表示他们都错了。

Many procrastinators tell themselves they are perfectionists （完美主义者） who work best under pressure. Pelling says this is nonsense （胡说）， as work done at the last minute is more likely to have mistakes than work done on time.

许多拖延症患者都会告诉自己，他们是在压力之下才能高效工作的完美主义者。佩林称这完全是胡说八道，因为与按时完成工作相比，拖到最后更容易出错。

She says the behavior of procrastinators often makes them feel flustered （慌张的） and ashamed， inconveniences others， and annoys loved ones.

她说，拖延症患者的行为常常令他们感到慌乱和惭愧，令他人不安，也惹恼了爱人们。

Pelling also points out that procrastination feels particularly delinquent （有过失的） in a society that views swift （迅速的） action as commendable （值得表扬的）， and， at times， even as a moral good.

佩林还指出，在一个盛赞雷厉风行、有时甚至以此为道德标准的社会中，拖延症尤其令人产生过失之感。

Fortunately， social scientists have thrown their weight behind efforts to understand this behavioral flaw （缺陷） and offer strategies （策略） to control it.

好在社会科学家们已经联手致力于破解这种行为缺陷，并提出一系列防控策略。

Piers Steel， a Canadian social scientist and author of The Procrastination Equation， believes humankind is “designed” to procrastinate. Nevertheless， he suggests a couple of good ways to get through the task at hand.

加拿大社会科学家、《拖延等式》一书的作者皮尔斯·斯蒂尔认为，人类生来就患有拖延症。不过，他提供了几种尽快完成手头工作的好方法。

The first one is obvious： Break the task down into small pieces and work your way through them methodically （有条不紊地）.

第一种方法显而易见：把你的任务分成小份，并用你自己的方法有条不紊地完成它们。

The second is ingenious （巧妙的）： Give a trusted friend a sum of money and tell them that if you dont complete the task you have undertaken by a specific time， they can keep it or donate it to a cause （事业；目标） you hate.

第二种方法十分巧妙：给你信得过的朋友一笔钱并告诉他们，如果你不能在规定时间里完成手头的工作，他们可以归为己有或是把钱捐给那些令你不爽的事情。