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Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

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Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#301

Post by rafaelvasco »

tra3 wrote: post #274
rafaelvasco wrote: post #251

I recently adopted a timed activity method. I make a list like: Eat, Watch TV, Code, Playing Games, Play Guitar etc. I then allocate a timeframe for each one. Every week night after work I do it like: 30m eating and watching netflix at the same time, 20m hard exercise, 60m guitar, 60m coding, 60m gaming, 60m reading. All timed with my smartphone. This is key. It must be timed with an alarm at the end. There's always…

This is similar to pomodoro technique [0]. I love it because it gets me in "the zone" quickly. > I recently adopted a timed activity method I'm not sure how long you'll be able to sustain it, but my experience has been that unstructured free time is absolutely necessary for recreation. If you push yourself too hard, you'll burn out. Good luck! [0]: https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique

Yes. I've noticed it. You can't just live like this 100%. Best of life is still all about unexpected and surprising things as well. But this is useful to get you to focus. One must make a balance with these things. Fixed timings, alarms etc are just to get you used to it. The idea is that your mind get conditioned to better manage your time. The final goal is building effective life habits; It is vital that not only you manage your current life but seek to open your life to new horizons by doing different activities and exploring new things. I recently moved away to a new City, and that makes a huge difference. Opens several windows of opportunity, which by the way is another very interesting topic;

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#302

Post by wool_gather »

agumonkey wrote: post #282
KevanM wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sad in what way, seeing someone develop an 'old way' craft and apply it? Or that it is not more intertwined in the fabric of society?

In the fact that our society is selling us something so fake people have to relive past good stuff on the side.

I would much rather have extreme physical exertion be an optional thing that I do to make myself feel good than a thing that must be done else my family and I starve. Let's not lose sight of the fact that being able to take "past good stuff" comes with the incredible luxury of leaving a lot of past bad stuff in the past.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#303

Post by bumby »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #191
beardedman wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think about this a lot from time to time. > facing issues with our reward function I would say, we are facing issues with our CULTURAL reward function. For very long now our culture have deified those few people that can overcome, achieve and excel. What if the point to our existence isn't to overcome our obstacles to productivity in "getting things done" - but instead to go out, explore, create, drink, eat & be ki…

What if, for some of us, it's neither? Not just getting arbitrary things done, with $things being a free variable. And not just living a life in maintenance/standby mode - the "drink, eat and be kind" part. To me, the latter sounds empty, and the former sounds pointless - because the whole point is that free variable. The things we do. One of the nice and addicting things about videogames is that they tend to set a g…

>set a goal in front of you that you emotionally care about, and then let you achieve it step by step through wits and skill.

This reminds me of the concept of achieving a flow state. Find a meaningful goal that forces you to be focused while on the cusp of exceeding your skill level. One that is both creative and allows you to progressively increase your abilities. That seems to be an integral part of finding purposeful "work" that helps one find purpose. I also think this is why people are drawn to "craftsman" type hobbies like woodwork, brewing, and programming.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#304

Post by danans »

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…

> Short term reward seems to overrule long term planning and goals if the outside pressure is not there and we have a choice.

Short term reward overrules long term planning on the opposite extreme of situation also: when you have to struggle to make it through the next day, which is a situation that many still face today. And operating on a short term reward basis for long enough ends up cementing that way of thinking, whether you are doing it as a result of comfortable boredom or persistent struggle.

IMO, there is a Goldilocks zone of balanced security and still unfulfilled needs wherein people are incentivized to think longer term with respect to both themselves and society.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#306

Post by kylestlb »

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…

Well, the article states that a solution to procrastination is therapy (cbt, act, or whatever flavor you choose). Procrastination is a manifestation of general anxiety and your brain can be reprogrammed by a combination of reframing your thought process and medication if needed.

Supervised exposure therapy is probably the best biofeedback you can get.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#307

Post by olooney »

inscionent wrote: post #165
classified wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Have you seen humans drive cars?

Humans are capable of driving cars safely. Many people go their whole lives without ever being at fault for a single accident. Some drivers, especially professionals, practice defensive driving at avoid or preempt accidents where they would not have been at fault. My own father, for example, has been the "n+1" car in an n-car pile up on more than one occasion, as he was the only one leaving a safe distance. He avoids all distractions and pays attention to the behavior of other cars on the road. He gives advice like, "don't just look at the brake lights - look for the car to pitch forward because that means it's braking hard and you should be too." Another time I saw him avoid a serious accident even though he was in the passengers seat simply by telling the driver, who had just taken their foot off the brake after the life turned green and was about to enter the intersection, "wait, stop, that guy's going to run the red light." Note that this was before the other car had actually done so - he just noticed it was slowing down. If everyone drove like that, cars would be safer than airplanes.

So it's not a cognitive issue. Almost anyone can learn to drive a car very safely, they just choose not to.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#308

Post by danans »

jp555 wrote: post #145
nippoo wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The human "reward function" is likely more complex than current AI - and not always particularly logical (though vaguely correlated to survival of your own genes!) - but it's probably naïve to assume that we're anything more complicated than a very advanced automaton trying to optimise a reward function...

I think it's MUCH more naive to assume we are just a very advanced automaton trying to optimise a reward function. What we don't know is infinitely larger than what we do know.

> What we don't know is infinitely larger than what we do know.

Yes, but that unknown, by your own description is infinitely larger than us as individuals, who have a limited time and space of existence.

Unless you want to argue for a fictional contract between human existence and a "universal" or divine purpose (as most spiritual or religious systems do), the infinite unknowns don't pertain at all to the question of whether we are just very advanced automatons.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#309

Post by fend_lost »

You think your emotions are behind the wheel and telling you what to (and not to) do? If you think that, then you're going to have a difficult time getting to the root of the problem.

Emotions (often multiple) are the middlemen designed to keep you from confronting your "self". Well all live behind our subconscious, there's no escaping that. The problems arise when we choose to go on auto-pilot and rely on our subconscious too much.

You think you have problems in this world? How many? Dozens, hundreds? Wrong. You have one problem, and its you.

Marianne Williamson nails it with this thought...

    “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#310

Post by koheripbal »

alexanderthe- wrote: post #239

I'm just starting to get a handle on this now that I hit 30. We look to successful people to see how they manage their time, thinking that by copying their routines and habits as inputs, we will be also be able to yield some of their success as outputs; however, we will never be able to copy the procedure that returns that output (consciousness, mindset, motivations, neurology, purpose, talents, traumas, upbringing,…

> I think the answer comes from ridding yourself of distractions, and asking yourself the question - "What do I want out of life?"

I think focusing on the far out end-goal/meaning of life, is actually just another fun distraction. ...as are most time-management tools.

Generally speaking, we know exactly what we need to get done, and the problem isn't figuring out the end goal, it is gaining the emotional strength to tackle the work we just don't want to do.

There is a time for future planning (2yr/5yr/10yr/etc...) - and that's something we should all schedule for a future planning session.

At 40, I'm still working on it. One thing I've noticed is the social component. Working alone is occasionally more efficient - but we are social creatures and being able to share your accomplishments and refine ideas with your teammates (whom you like and have a good friendship with) creates an ENORMOUS positive reinforcement.

tldr: Be an important part of a highly interdependent and high functioning happy team. There's just nothing else like it.

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