Procrastination is a symptom cr character of ADHD I am pretty sure about that because I heard from a specialist. If procrastination is part of mental illness, recovery is only possible by treating the condition.
Research into the reasons for procrastination and how to stop
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Re: Research into the reasons for procrastination and how to stop
#62Without labeling it as a form of ADHD (or anything else), necessarily, but simply recognizing that the impulse to procrastinate is probably tied to the brain's short-term reward cycles (dopamine-based or otherwise) in some way or another -- and hence, that it might legitimately be thought as a kind of micro-addiction, like the tendency to grab for tasty foods or clever-sounding news bites every 10 minutes -- was a big help to me in getting a handle on it.
And teaching me that, at least once in a while, I can, in fact, "just say no" -- and try to get things done for the sake of a much large, multi-faced, and legitimately nourishing neurohormone
Re: Research into the reasons for procrastination and how to stop
#63I'd didn't know WaPo ran blogspam-style rehashes of other sites' content now.
The face study is very difficult to interpret in any interesting way - the control group controlled for the VR setup instead of, say, a non-visual approach to getting people thinking about the future. The only conclusion we might draw is that when people have the future in mind the amount they say they'd save is greater.
Re: Research into the reasons for procrastination and how to stop
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
I didn't even click the article (the pain of reading it seemed too large) so I came directly to the comments. Awesome tips! "Our instincts know what they're doing" is very true. I tend to procrastinate when two conditions are fulfilled 1) the task is boring/painful, and 2) in the back of my mind, I've already calculated out the time and I can afford to push it until later. Trying to force myself just increases my exp…
Isn't procrastination a way of converting painfully boring tasks into fun adrenaline rushes? It seems like a pretty good evolutionary adaption: I perform better when all my senses are elevated, so why not? Problem arises when you don't have a hard deadline (I.e., you are only accountable to yourself).
Re: Research into the reasons for procrastination and how to stop
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
pomodoro is a great technique. its similar to #2
Admittedly I've never tried it, but from the description, the pomodoro technique would drive me mad. It often takes me more than 20 minutes (sometimes an hour or two!) to get "in the zone" but once I've got my head in the game I can smash through work for hours. The idea of just getting some flow going and then being interrupted seems awful. The only thing I can think of which it really sounds good for is boring, eas…
The Pomodoro Technique allows you to get into the flow faster by providing a structure that allows you to ignore distractions and complications.
It meshes exceptionally well with Neil Fiore's "The Now Habit".
Re: Research into the reasons for procrastination and how to stop
#66I read this yesterday, and I didn't realize this before: Procrastination is an emotional issue. To control it you have to control your emotions. That changed how I fundamentally look at the problem.
Re: Research into the reasons for procrastination and how to stop
#67That title sure promises a lot. I read all the way to the end and this is their solution: 1. Forgive yourself 2. Ignore your feelings about whether you're in the mood to work on it 3. Break it down into small steps I would say #2 is easier said than done for an extreme procrastinator. But, decent article. Sometimes it's good just to hear that change is possible. I would add to it that once you adopt new patterns they…
Neil Fiore's "The Now Habit" deals with the emotional baggage and provides techniques (including "time boxing" which is championed by The Pomodoro Technique) for dealing with the emotional baggage.
I have found both books very helpful, especially in terms of dealing with my emotional self-sabotage ("why bother starting, you know you're not going to get it right.")
Re: Research into the reasons for procrastination and how to stop
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
But when you do it (or start doing it), you actually feel good/better.
I procrastinate a lot and will never stop because in so many cases it makes perfect sense and works out well. I can't tell you how many times it turned out I didn't even need to do something I was procrastinating on, or a far easier way to proceed came up. It's so easy to wind up with an infinite list of chores. Continually pushing a lot of them off as late as possible works rather well, in my experience.
Yes! It's incredible how many things we think we need to do that we don't actually need to do.
1) Finding a better solution and 2) Finding out you didn't need to do it at all are two great outcomes from procrastinating.
Re: Research into the reasons for procrastination and how to stop
#692 ways to deal with procrastination: 1. Don't worry about it. We all procrastinate and most of the time it works out OK. Our instincts know what they're doing. 2. Break tough tasks down into very, very laughably small tasks. Don't even worry about doing them. Once the first task in the list is small enough you'll think "sod it" and do it right away. If you try to improve your self control you will fail. Go with the g…
pomodoro is a great technique. its similar to #2
I recently learned of this via a MOOC, and oh man has it been helping me. 25m chunks of work are much easier to push myself through, and the 5m breaks really give me a sense of freedom.
The length of the day also doesn't seem to weigh on me - i just focus on being completely on task for 25m chunks at a time, and the day flies by. No more `compile; open reddit.com`
edit: Typed from a 5m break, of course ;)
Re: Research into the reasons for procrastination and how to stop
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Admittedly I've never tried it, but from the description, the pomodoro technique would drive me mad. It often takes me more than 20 minutes (sometimes an hour or two!) to get "in the zone" but once I've got my head in the game I can smash through work for hours. The idea of just getting some flow going and then being interrupted seems awful. The only thing I can think of which it really sounds good for is boring, eas…
The Pomodoro Technique allows you to get into the flow faster by providing a structure that allows you to ignore distractions and complications. It meshes exceptionally well with Neil Fiore's "The Now Habit".
It's also (as i was taught) a way to break up the mental processes, giving your brain time to analyze your problems without being so intently focused on them. "Focused" mode for 25m, "Diffuse" mode for 5m