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Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

bbc.com

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Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#121

Post by rl3 »

gexla wrote: post #59

I have been remote working for many years. And I have done a handful of office working. I would have considered myself (probably wrongly) the worst procrastinator. It seemed like most of the people I worked with were able to get things done better than I could. And I have been on the "overwork" part of the spectrum where I'm all about working until burnout. It's about emotions, yes. But that's not very specific. This…

>The more I think about all the stuff I want to do, the less I'm willing to put the effort into doing one thing. Possibilities are more interesting than reality. Even as reality kills off possibilities, I can always spin up more.

Well put. I suffer from that as well. Setting aside the maddening aspects of that, it does have a bright side:

If you spend years weaving together complimentary possibilities, and the rate at which you spin them up is greater than the rate at which they die—you can come up with some really interesting composite ideas that over time will seem more compelling to execute.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#122

Post by yiyus »

benjaminsuch wrote: post #102

I noticed that I procrastinate when I have to do things I don't want to do OR if I don't know how to do them. An example for the latter would be a programming issue. If I don't know how to solve it or I expect it to be a big hassle I procrastinate away from it.

That's curious. I have the opposite problem.

Solving difficult problems is a main part of my job. I love a challenge and get totally absorbed by a good problem. I read everything I find about the topic, I try different solutions, I think about it the whole time. But once I have figured out a solution and I have to do all the tedious work that comes after, I lose interest and start doing other things.

Programming is an interesting example. I get to work when I have to think how to refactor everything in a nice way, for example, but once I find the right design and I see it works, changing everything becomes a mechanical task, and I tend to postpone that tedious work to try to solve some weird problem I found by chance in some irc channel or stackexchange.

I think that this diversity is great. We should work together!

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#123

Post by stared »

andai wrote: post #104
stared wrote: post #103

I've learned the most valuable things from the HowToADHD channel: 1. Procrastination is related to fear, and the fight, flight & freeze responses for work. Procrastination = flight. Pulling an all-nighter = fight (gets things done, but at a health cost). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlObsAeFNVk 2. For people with ADHD (e.g. myself) there are two times: NOW and NOT NOW. That way, it is hard to do any activity, unle…

Do you know any ways we can use this knowledge to improve the situation?

The biggest insight is this NOW vs NOT NOW.

Rationally I know what is time (heck, I did my PhD in physics, so I have an edge here). When it comes to actions... I often zone out, daydream, get distracted by a random post, get too focused so I spend well more time than I realize on something I didn't plan to do, etc.

Once I realized this NOW vs NOT NOW, I set some triggers to make a project "NOW".

Of course, one natural trigger is "the final deadline is tomorrow", but it gets risky and unhealthy.

Other is (I am a freelancer, so there is no natural "we are in the office"):

- setting coworking sessions (then during a meeting there is NOW for the project)

- setting regular meetings (to create a lot of smaller deadlines)

- I try to respond to emails only twice a day, in blocks (so a short question won't turn into NOW against my wished)

- I essentially dropped the hope of doing things well in advance... and it was good. For example, when I give a talk, I book time the same day to prepare it. And it works. The other alternative is to agonize over a week, and they still (in a self-hating mood) prepare things the last minute, but without booking enough time or energy.

Still learning that, so I am very open for pointers.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#124

Post by INGELRII »

As the society advances and problems are solved for us, we are left with the most central core problem, ourselves.

Related to concepts like 'agency', 'impulse control', 'willpower', 'restraint', 'free will', 'delayed gratification' are connected to our status and self image. If you think humans as AI systems, we are facing issues with our reward function. Short term reward seems to overrule long term planning and goals if the outside pressure is not there and we have a choice.

Is this something without technical solution or can we learn to reprogram our reward function with biofeedback, brain implants, meds or application in Apple watch?

I think the subject deserves a Black Mirror episode and few startups.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#125

Post by mszcz »

toyg wrote: post #95
Sepova wrote: post #85

The article is written by Captain Obvious but I really enjoy the quality comments here!

Some topics on HN really need little more than a title to trigger a good comment thread. A lot of people don't even read TFA anyway and the best comments come from personal experience. Sometimes I think a random topic generator would suffice - which is almost what Ask HN is, but not quite.

Yep, had the same realisation. The quality of links varies somewhat, but the quality of comments here rarely does.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#126

Post by 0ldblu3 »

mikelyons wrote: post #94
neuronic wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The question is a bit odd if you are human, but let me explain this in short terms. Modern lifestyle has stripped many of us of essential, real problems. By far not all, of course, but definitely the generally well-paid IT crowd on HN. So instead of hustling to survive like a maid in 1929 Berlin (I am watching Babylon Berlin right now) what's left over are luxury problems, especially if you're in the double income no…

This is quite a good description of it. I'm so tired of existing. I don't have a brain that's wired in such a way that I'll ever really create something worthwhile. I am equally unlikely to ever find a partner who would want children with me. Why even maintain this existence...?

Does procrastination often lead to depression?

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#127

Post by mettamage »

Brave-Steak wrote: post #113
mettamage wrote: post #47

Yesterday I had a bit of a talk with myself about my behavior pertaining to procrastination. I am addicted to: - YouTube - Gaming Worse, I have quite a runway due to low living expenses. I came with a new idea today, I hope it helps anyone else. I need to get good at generating my own feelings. This is why I play games and watch videos. I do it to feel something. In order to do that I need to stay as close as to the…

I've made a similar realization recently. It seems that I've built a life around consumption. Watching TV series, movies, playing games. I think we're not made for this. There's nothing there to really push us to grow as a person (especially if it's all we do), thus the emptiness (and often loneliness). I've thought about how to restructure my life into one of production instead of consumption, but it's difficult (to…

I agree. I’ve been able to do it one time. And I promoted it on HN with a public facing account (this account is pseudo anonymous + my super hero name, if I’d be one).

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#128

Post by thecatspaw »

codingmess wrote: post #88
thecatspaw wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree, I also procrastinate on things I want to do

Or that you think you want to do, but your subconsciousness knows better.

No, I thoroughly enjoy playing Guitar, once I get started I play until my fingertips are hurting. I still have days where I just dont want to pick up the damn thing and put it off.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#129

Post by kharak »

Brave-Steak wrote: post #113
mettamage wrote: post #47

Yesterday I had a bit of a talk with myself about my behavior pertaining to procrastination. I am addicted to: - YouTube - Gaming Worse, I have quite a runway due to low living expenses. I came with a new idea today, I hope it helps anyone else. I need to get good at generating my own feelings. This is why I play games and watch videos. I do it to feel something. In order to do that I need to stay as close as to the…

I've made a similar realization recently. It seems that I've built a life around consumption. Watching TV series, movies, playing games. I think we're not made for this. There's nothing there to really push us to grow as a person (especially if it's all we do), thus the emptiness (and often loneliness). I've thought about how to restructure my life into one of production instead of consumption, but it's difficult (to…

Good insight, I share your problem. Producing instead of consuming, in my free time, is what I like to do. But nothing seems worth it or I lack the skills and resources to do so. And so I remain where I am. Quit comfortably, all in all, but couldn't it be better?

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#130

Post by classified »

INGELRII wrote: post #124

As the society advances and problems are solved for us, we are left with the most central core problem, ourselves. Related to concepts like 'agency', 'impulse control', 'willpower', 'restraint', 'free will', 'delayed gratification' are connected to our status and self image. If you think humans as AI systems, we are facing issues with our reward function. Short term reward seems to overrule long term planning and goa…

> If you think humans as AI systems

Humans are not "AI" systems but infinitely more complex. Which is why, among other things, humans are capable of driving a car safely while "AI" is not.

I for one would feel disgusted with myself if I were to discover that I'm nothing more than the output of a reward function. YMMV.

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