Fall semester topics

• Week 36. Benefits of volunteer work
• Week 37. Living with learning disabilities
• Week 38. Personality disorders
• Week 39. Setting up healthy boundaries
• Week 40. Learning to improve concentration
• Week 41. Suicide prevention – learning to help
• Week 42. Phobias – dealing with fears
• Week 43. Sleep disorders
• Week 44. Sexuality – the biochemistry
• Week 45. Addictive relationships
• Week 46. UNESCO day of tolerance
• Week 47. Improving self-confidence
• Week 48. Helping friends or others in distress
• Week 49. World AIDS day – living with illness
• Week 50. Value based decision making
• Week 51. Being assertive in a diverse world
• Week 52. Spirituality – spiritual growth

Spring semester topics

• Week 1. Dynamics of intro- & extraverts
• Week 2. Orientation – a career that fits!
• Week 3. Living in a foreign country
• Week 4. Overcoming test anxiety
• Week 5. Understanding dysfunction in a family
• Week 6. Smoking – giving up methods
• Week 7. Valentine’s day – commitment
• Week 8. Communication – focusing on skills
• Week 9. Domestic violence
• Week 10. Work-life balance – expectations
• Week 11. Loneliness and feeling alone
• Week 12. Understanding of joy and happiness
• Week 13. Racial discrimination
• Week 14. PTSD
• Week 15. World health day
• Week 16. Panic disorders
• Week 17. Academic honesty – authenticity
• Week 18. Death and dying
• Week 19. Job interviews – good impression
• Week 20. Characteristic of sound families
• Week 21. Celebrating cultural diversity
• Week 22. Growing up in a single parent home
• Week 23. Act of love (self and others)
• Week 24. Focusing on personality tests
• Week 25. Childhood traumas
• Week 26. Relating to the elderly
• Week 27. Grief – dealing with loss
• Week 28. Drug and substance abuse
• Week 29. Dealing with depression
• Week 30. Procrastination
• Week 31. Recovering from shame and guilt
• Week 32. Perfectionism
• Week 33. First generation university students
• Week 34. Compulsive obsessive behaviors
• Week 35. Body image – eating disorders
• Week 36. School bullying – mobbing concerns

Procrastination

Procrastination technically refers to the avoidance of a specific task or work which needs to be accomplished. But this technical explanation doesn’t begin to capture the emotions triggered by the word. For most of us, the word “procrastination” reminds us of past experiences where we have felt guilty, lazy, inadequate, anxious, or stupid or some combination of these. It also implies a value judgment; if you procrastinate, you are bad, and as such, you lack worth as a person.

Procrastination and Its Causes
In order to understand and solve your procrastination problems, you must carefully analyze those situations where your work is not being completed. First, determine whether the cause is poor time management; if so, you will need to learn and develop time management skills. If, however, you know how to manage your time but don’t make use of those skills, you may have a more serious problem. Many individuals cite the following reasons for avoiding work:

– Lack of Relevance – If something is neither relevant nor meaningful to you personally, it may be difficult to get motivated even to begin.

– Acceptance of Another’s Goals – If a project has been imposed or assigned to you and it is not consistent with your own interests, you may be reluctant to spend the necessary time to see it to conclusion.

– Perfectionism – Having unreachable standards will discourage you from pursuing a task. Remember, perfection is unattainable.

– Evaluation Anxiety – Since others’ responses to your work are not under your direct control, overvaluing these responses can create the kind of anxiety that will interfere with work getting accomplished.

– Ambiguity – If you are uncertain of what is expected of you, it may be difficult to get started.

– Fear of the Unknown – If you are venturing into a new realm or field, you don’t have any way of knowing how well you’ll do. Such an uncertain outcome may inhibit your desire to begin.

– Inability to Handle the Task – If through lack of training, skill, or ability you feel that you lack the personal resources to do the job, you may avoid it completely.
Source info: Counseling Center at University of Illinois

Recommended books

William J Knaus: The Procrastination Workbook: Your Personalized Program for Breaking Free from the Patterns That Hold You Back – 2002.
Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen: Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now – 2008.
Gregg Krech: The Art of Taking Action: Lessons from Japanese Psychology – 2014.