Give me your best ideas for teaching kids not to procrastinate...

[Percycat]

I don't know if your DS has this issue too, but estimating how long something will take is a common problem that goes along with procrastination. I ask my children to estimate how long it will take them to complete various tasks (doing dishes, completing a math worksheet, coming home from practice, etc) to help them start feeling time. For things like doing dishes, we often measure by songs --- my dd estimates how many songs it will take and she tries to finish before Alexa is finished playing the songs. For homework, we set a short period timer --- if the worksheet will take and hour, we would set a timer for 15 minutes and see if the worksheet was at least 25% complete.... adjustments would be made depending on progress. The goal wasn't necessarily to beat the timer, but to develop an appreciation for how long something would take and develop the stamina to sit and get the work finished.

I do the same thing for me at work. I am a terrible procrastinator for a variety of reasons... sometimes I don't know how I want to do the work, sometimes I spend too much time on research and gathing information, sometimes I am not interested/motivated in doing the work, sometimes I just don't appreciate how long it will take me to do the work. I will often set a time for 15 minutes.... and it helps me to reingage work if I became distracted or pick up the pace if I am taking too long..... there are a lot of things I am good at doing... managing my time is not one, but setting a timer helps.... I'm working on it.....

[bisous]

I just let DS2 totally fail which was hard on both of us. There was an application for a club he really wanted to be part of. I knew it was a lot of work and would require time. Plus I would be needed to proofread. We had an open block of time we set aside to work on it and then I would proofread. He only produced about 10% of what needed to be done after me giving him two check points. He knew he lost my help after this designated time. He did do more work and turned it in solo, but did not make it into the club.

As a procrastinator who is only moderately reformed but is extremely reliable (now!) I agree with this plan, as hard as it is to watch. My reasons for procrastination run the gamut. I'm a poor judge of time and often don't intend to procrastinate but I don't leave myself enough time to fit everything in so I'm doing it last minute. This still happens today! Although I'm getting better all the time it has been slow.
I do have anxieties about beginning things. In that instance, I feel like just giving myself a VERY modest starting goal (sit down and write for 20 minutes) is usually what is needed to get me going.

I also do my best work with a deadline encroaching and like a PP I find that I do some kind of planning as I'm preparing to meet my deadline but I often do my best creative work when I've got a firm deadline breathing down my neck! I'm thinking of my writing project, for example. I do best when I'm given a lot of time to ponder and think about my writing and then I get a burst of energy right before something is due. I've actually tried writing in advance and doing more revisions but believe it or not I usually end scrapping my early drafts ENTIRELY and completely redoing everything at the last minute any way!

I think what helped me was being taught two principles at the same time. The first was that my output mattered. If I was committed to turning in an assignment or holding up my part of something that it was a morally unethical to walk away and leave it unfinished. The other part was that I was left to my own devices to plan my time. It meant that I had sleepless nights and more stress than I liked. It also meant that sometimes I didn't do as well as I should have! But it helped me to figure out how to make it work.

OP, in the case of your DS, it may well be his anxiety/worries that hold him back. If so, I like the idea of teaching him the principle of just jumping in and seeing where things lead for him. Try writing out your assignment. Set a timer on your phone that you'll do it JUST for 20 minutes. Sometimes if the hurdle of starting can be cleared momentum can be kept up.

ETA: I think percycat and I crossposted. Her reply is excellent and expresses many of the sentiments I feel too!

[essnce629]

Some of us do well under that time crunch. Ds1 is the same way. I’m sure it’s hard to watch but I think some people are wired that way. They know all of the tools but still choose to wait. I would focus on the tools but accept that some people won’t change their style.

Yep, I'm a procrastinator and always have been. So is DS1. I don't see us changing.