1 . Like many writers, I’m an expert at procrastination (拖延). When I ought to be working on an assignment, I’ll sit there ______ pointless videos.

According to traditional thinking, my problem is ______management. Increasingly, however, psychologists ______ this is wrong.

Tim Pychyl at Carleton University in Canada has proposed that procrastination is an issue with ______ our emotions, not time. The ______ we’re putting off is making us feel bad – perhaps it’s boring, too difficult or we’re ______ failing – and to make ourselves ______ better in the moment, we start doing something else, like watching videos.

One of the first investigations to inspire the ______ view of procrastination was published in the early 2000s by researchers at Case Western Reserve University, Ohio. Researchers first made people feel bad (by asking them to read sad stories) and showed that this ______ their possibility to procrastinate before an intelligence test.

Further research has also highlighted the ______ of procrastination. A study has shown that regular procrastination can affect mental and physical health due to a build-up of ______and frustration over avoiding important work.

Over time, high ______ and poor health behaviors are well known to have an effect on health that can increase the ______ of serious and chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and even cancer.

All of this means that ______ procrastination could have a major positive effect on your life. The next time you feel the ______ to procrastinate, make your focus as simple as “What’s the next ______ — a simple next step — I would take on this task if I were to get started on it now?” said Pychyl. “Doing this ______ your mind off your feelings and onto ______ achievable action. Our research and personal experience has shown us very clearly that   ______ we get started, we’re typically able to keep going. Getting started is ______.”