Programmes for putting things off helped people put things off less, on average

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   24 studies with 1,173 people, mostly students. Across the studies, the share of women ranged from 0 to 79 percent.

2. 02

   What they did

   Programmes taught ways to stop putting things off, such as planning, challenging unhelpful thoughts and building on strengths. Most of the other groups were on a waiting list, and eight did another activity instead. Programmes ran from one hour to 24 hours in total.

3. 03

   What happened

   Compared with the other group, people put things off much less after the programmes, a large change on average. The studies differed a lot, and some studies with weak results seem to be missing. Therapy that challenges unhelpful thoughts seemed best, though the authors call that early.

What the review found

1. Helped

   Across 34 comparisons, programmes helped people put things off less than the other group did.

   Pooled analysis of 34 studies · vs people who waited or did something else · they rated themselves · ⚠ signs that small negative studies went unpublished; the studies disagreed a lot; whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited; mixes trials with other kinds of study

2. Helped

   In 11 comparisons, challenging unhelpful thoughts helped people put things off less than those who waited.

   • Action: Challenge unhelpful thoughtstested
   • Action: Learn how the problem workstested

   Pooled analysis of 11 studies · vs people who waited or did something else · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited; mixes trials with other kinds of study

3. No difference

   Across 12 comparisons, the gains were still there later, with no extra change against the other group.

   Pooled analysis of 12 studies · vs people who waited or did something else · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited; mixes trials with other kinds of study

Source