Procrastination

Discussion & video activity

Do you know that time when you need to do something important but you can’t even start, and engage in other activities and finally waste a lot of time?That's called:Procrastination!

Procrastinate (V): to delay doing something until later, usually something that you do not want to do. macmillandictionary.com

Pair Work : Discuss the following questions with a partner.

1. Why do people procrastinate?
2. When is it OK and when is it really bad to procrastinate?
3. Do you think people in some cultures work too much or are very ambitious? 
4. What kinds of things do you like putting off or not doing right away?
5. Think about at least 5 examples of procrastination. e.g. “Playing  games like Candy Crush when I have to study.”, “Not taking out the trash.”  Use the –ING in affirmative and  negative as in the examples.

Video Short

Length: 4.28 minutes

Story, Animation, Direction: Johnny Kelly  -  Voice Over: Bryan Quinn

Source:  http://vimeo.com/9553205

A-Watch the short once. Were any of the activities mentioned similar to your answers to question 5 in the conversation segment?

Procrastination from Johnny Kelly on Vimeo.

B-Go over the list, check any necessary terms with your dictionary and discuss whether you consider the activities mentioned as good examples of procrastination?  Which ones would you say are not examples of procrastination? In which context?

·        Procrastination is avoiding doing something ·        Procrastination is not being able to get started ·        It's reading a book ·        It's descaling a kettle ·        It's colour-coordinating your shelves ·        It's sharpening your pencil ·        Procrastination is spending thirty minutes looking for the right pen ·        It's spending ten minutes getting the right pen to work ·        Procrastination is making a cup of tea ·        Procrastination is finding the most difficult way of doing something ·        It's jumping from one idea...to another...to another ·        It's checking your e-mails...  writing your e-mails ·        Procrastination is thesaurisizing words in your e-mails ·        Procrastination is making a cup of tea ·        Procrastination is staring at the window, it's... watching the neighbours ·        It's watching television ·        It's being unable to stop watching television ·        It's smoking a cigarette ·        It's doing the dishes ·        Procrastination is tidying your desk ·        It's creating...a fire-escape plan ·        Procrastination is rearranging your furniture ·        It's playing computer games ·        It's playing imaginary computer games with your furniture ·        Procrastination is pairing up your socks ·        It's writing thank you letters, ·        it's not writing thank you letters ·        Procrastination... is daydreaming ·        Procrastination is petting something ·        It's watering a plant ·        It's doodling ·        Procrastination is trying to grow a moustache ·        It's chasing a fly ·        It's chopping your pencil ·        It's doing eight things at once and not getting one done ·        Procrastination is taking a nap ·        Procrastination is getting drunk ·        It's scratching yourself ·        It's making a cup of tea ·        It's cutting your finger ·        It's oiling the bike ·        It is picking your nose ·        It's waiting for the postman ·        It's trying to avoid the inevitable ·        Procrastination is writing lists ·        It's not being able to decide what way to do something ·        It's overcomplicating things for yourself ·        It's being afraid to finish something ·        It's not knowing when to finish something ·        It's not knowing how to finish something