While the school year has only just begun, if you’re already getting tired of the “Did you do your homework yet?” tug-of-war–you’re not alone!
Procrastination impacts not just the procrastinator, but the other people in their life too! It can lead to high stress and anxiety, while increases cortisol levels for everyone involved. It can also impact sleep, which kids and teens so desperately need.
INTERESTING FACT: Procrastination is often linked to PERFECTIONISM.
Perfectionistic students are critical of themselves and afraid of making mistakes, so they will often postpone doing homework to avoid negative emotions. They might be so worried about their work being criticized, that they delay turning things in for feedback.
Lastly, they never feel that anything is “perfect enough” so they have trouble stopping their assignment admitting it is complete or done. With this logic, if they start an assignment too early, they fear they’ll work on it for hours on end. If they wait until they’re almost at the deadline, it naturally limits the time spent on a task.
There are many ways to overcome procrastination and perfectionism, so kids and parents can avoid unnecessary stress and get the sleep they need!!
One tool is Solution-Based Therapy, which is a type of treatment that highlights a person’s ability to solve problems, rather than why or how the problem was created. It’s a positive type of approach, which is very effective with perfectionistic people who are already very hard on themselves. It has a focus on goal-oriented questioning to assist people in moving into a future-oriented direction, creating a strong sense of independence and self-control.
If you’d like to learn more about Solution-Based Therapy or to schedule, contacting us at [email protected] or (847)-919-9096 x1.
