Live data from Hacker News

How to minimize procrastination

myelin.io

41–50 of 86 posts

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#41
post #38
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[deleted]

> are so naive to waste electricity on collossal scales. I know right? The last time I had to use 20 watts for an extra 5 seconds nearly bankrupted me

That's the kind of naivety i meant.

Lots of JS nowadays will have continuous and ongoing activity, keeping the CPU spinning even on tabs that are not in the foreground and actively being used.

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#42
post #30

What do you do when procrastination becomes more serious and develops into life avoidance? (You procrastinate on everything, regardless of how you frame a task, regardless of the difficulty of it). In the extreme case procrastination isn't a obstacle to task competition but a learned habit of avoidance. It becomes an addiction in the same way that gambling, drugs, etc do. How do you beat an addiction whose very natur…

Discipline is habit, habits are like muscles, you need to use them regularly to keep them.

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#44
post #29

The Pomodoro Technique, which is mentioned on the page, has been helpful to me when I need to concentrate on solo work privately. I'd recommend it. It's an effective technique, and the only one I've discovered that's been significantly helpful. To summarize: When you start on a task, set a timer for 25 minutes. Work exclusively on that task for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break and repeat. That unit is "a pomodo…

I found the Pomodoro technique as a life saver as well. The ability to focus also improved immensely with practicing daily meditation for 15 minutes. Both are now daily habits.

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#45
post #36
post #30

What do you do when procrastination becomes more serious and develops into life avoidance? (You procrastinate on everything, regardless of how you frame a task, regardless of the difficulty of it). In the extreme case procrastination isn't a obstacle to task competition but a learned habit of avoidance. It becomes an addiction in the same way that gambling, drugs, etc do. How do you beat an addiction whose very natur…

External pressures help. I've been trying to learn more about data science through MOOCs but starting a Masters degree is what really forces me to spend my time engaging with it rather than procrastinating. It's an extreme case but you can create external pressure for most things. For example if you're trying to stop procrastinating on a side project, set up a demo with someone in 2 weeks' time and you'll suddenly fi…

> "External pressures help..."

They can but not always. I've used this tactic often, placing myself in difficult situations sometimes forces me to act when nothing else will.

One time I was out of work, all I had to do was make a few phone calls but I didn't. I kept putting it off until tomorrow; then tomorrow turned into next week, next month and so on...

To cut a long story short I stopped paying the rent thinking hassle from my landlord would force me into action. As luck turned out he had his own problems and collecting the rent wasn't a priority for him.

2 years later I was in a very embarrassing situation, as was he. It worked out OK that time but it shouldn't have.

If you suffer from procrastination FFS just accept you're acting out of fear and confront it. The longer you leave things the worse they get.

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#47
post #30

What do you do when procrastination becomes more serious and develops into life avoidance? (You procrastinate on everything, regardless of how you frame a task, regardless of the difficulty of it). In the extreme case procrastination isn't a obstacle to task competition but a learned habit of avoidance. It becomes an addiction in the same way that gambling, drugs, etc do. How do you beat an addiction whose very natur…

I actually was at that stage a couple of years ago - I couldn't get anything done, which made me feel bad and depressed, which made me not get anything done. I couldn't even start doing something in a meaningful way.

It's such a bizarre thing to think back on that I can't even fully empathise with my former self..

This is what made me realise what was going on and rectify the situation, it all just "clicked". I had been doing this since early high school at the time.

Why: http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastin...

How to beat it: http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/11/how-to-beat-procrastination.ht...

The thing which really worked for me was realising that if I really work and try hard to work on something for even lie 10 minutes, I can get into a flow state and then it's easy. And from there it was just baby steps forward over a matter of a couple of months until I remember getting into a flow state all the time and thus my mind thinks of it as "easy" and it is.

This is exactly the same experience I had when I was younger and learning to feel confident talking to girls. It's really hard, but when I'd done it all the time for a while I have enough semi-recent memories of me doing the thing, that the thing seemed like an easy and normal thing to do.

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#48
If you procrastinate a lot, it usually means that you really want to do something different with your life. Go find out what it is, rather than submitting yourself to all sorts of masochist self-discipline schemes.

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#49
post #45
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

External pressures help. I've been trying to learn more about data science through MOOCs but starting a Masters degree is what really forces me to spend my time engaging with it rather than procrastinating. It's an extreme case but you can create external pressure for most things. For example if you're trying to stop procrastinating on a side project, set up a demo with someone in 2 weeks' time and you'll suddenly fi…

> "External pressures help..." They can but not always. I've used this tactic often, placing myself in difficult situations sometimes forces me to act when nothing else will. One time I was out of work, all I had to do was make a few phone calls but I didn't. I kept putting it off until tomorrow; then tomorrow turned into next week, next month and so on... To cut a long story short I stopped paying the rent thinking…

Fair enough, my advice and experience relate to things that aren't of such consequence as what not paying rent could cause.

"Just confront it" is something you have to figure out yourself as a procrastinator. You can read all the advice in the world, but you have to actually come to the realisation yourself that your only option is to "do things". Once you've done one thing you have a reference point to look back to.

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#50
post #49
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "External pressures help..." They can but not always. I've used this tactic often, placing myself in difficult situations sometimes forces me to act when nothing else will. One time I was out of work, all I had to do was make a few phone calls but I didn't. I kept putting it off until tomorrow; then tomorrow turned into next week, next month and so on... To cut a long story short I stopped paying the rent thinking…

Fair enough, my advice and experience relate to things that aren't of such consequence as what not paying rent could cause. "Just confront it" is something you have to figure out yourself as a procrastinator. You can read all the advice in the world, but you have to actually come to the realisation yourself that your only option is to "do things". Once you've done one thing you have a reference point to look back to.

I didn't mean to detract from your comments, which are entirely valid.

It just resonated with me that I have previously adopted an extreme version of this tactic and thought other people may do the same?

Post reply on HN