’Tis a good talk: Workshop on overcoming procrastination in Chennai

CHENNAI: Have you struggled with procrastination all your life? Or do you think the pandemic had a role to play? Whatever may be the reason, explore yourself at an experiential workshop in the city on ‘Overcoming Procrastination’ by The Good Talk on October 30 at The Garden Café, Chetpet.

Speaking to DT Next about the inception of The Good Talk, its founder Ezhil Meena, who is also a psychologist and assistant professor, says, “Only people who study psychology or have something to do with it professionally are able to benefit from the subject. I felt psychology offers a lot of strategies and techniques that can be applied in everybody’s life but people don’t have the means to get their hands on this knowledge.”

Ezhil started The Good Health in 2018 to make psychological resources available to everyone to learn and apply in life. Being a movie buff and an avid reader, she finds coping mechanisms and psychological themes in any form of art.

“Sometimes I curate my workshops around a movie, a book, or even a show. It could be Harry Potter or FRIENDS or anything that’s popular at the moment so that people immediately relate to it and are able to incorporate it into their lives. We started this when the film Inside Out was released,” she recalls.

Ezhil says when the film was released people began acknowledging and talking about emotions, emotional awareness and the role and effect they have on our lives. “We thought why not curate a workshop, especially when people are finally talking about it and becoming self-aware. The workshop was called ‘Inside Out’ and we talked about emotional awareness and how each emotion is driven by a hidden reason behind it.

“We had a lot of group activities and individual reflecting sessions. We also gave the participants worksheets and habit trackers to ensure they continue practising what they learnt at the workshop,” she adds.

She says she always gives the participants worksheets and habit trackers so that they are able to reflect on their actions and change them if they feel the need for it. Another special practice at The Good Talk workshops is, participants are given special postcards on which they need to write a heartfelt notes to their loved ones who live far away.

“We have more themed workshops coming up like an intimacy workshop for couples, a Rajinikanth-themed workshop which will use dialogues from his films as a form of psychological resource, and a self-compassion workshop,” she says.Previous workshop by The Good Talk

Previous workshop by The Good Talk.

Talking about the upcoming workshop, ‘Overcoming Procrastination’ she says, “Firstly we’ll understand what procrastination means. Because there is this general notion that procrastination has to do with time management. However, that’s not always the case. There are people who do not know how to emotional manage themselves or might even get overwhelmed with anxiety. So, understanding and identifying the reason will be discussed.

“We’ll also be looking at what leads to procrastination, different kinds of procrastinators, and how to deal with it effectively. Participants will be given worksheets and the workshop will be fun and interactive and definitely helpful.”

The registration fee for the workshop is Rs 699. For details contact 9943377749 or get in touch via Instagram @goodtalk_mentalhealth.