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Why I Procrastinate (2019)

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Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#81

Post by spawarotti »

TL;DR: "Most people don't have problems with procrastination"

I’ve read the article. I would caution against labeling yourself as having ADHD, IMO it is very dangerous. Every high-achieving person I know has major problem with procrastination. I was nodding while reading the article until the ADHD part. Does it mean we all have ADHD? Consider an alternative: our brains have to operate nonstop at near max capacity just to handle complexities of modern society with computers and Internet. They rebel and as a result we slap them with “defective, ADHD” labels. By analogy, if you would feed somebody ungodly amounts of cake day in, day out, it is no wonder if they develop diabetes. The problem is not that you are inherently defective; the problem is you (or rather – modern society) brought you to the brink and now you wonder why you are breaking down. Perhaps try to unplug for some months in the woods and see if the symptoms persist? If they do, I stand corrected.

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#82

Post by InvisibleUp »

hashkb wrote: post #78
rootusrootus wrote: post #4

It's like this guy has been inside my head. Sometimes I feel exactly he same way, do the same things (well, not Twitter), with the same thoughts and results. There have been times when I refresh HN and say "you're not even enjoying this, why do you keep looking?"

It's not a guy.

She's not an it, either.

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#83

Post by moltar »

jlangemeier wrote: post #28
kleborp wrote: post #6

The post linked within this post was really illuminating for me: https://gekk.info/articles/adhd.html The section on why notecards and todo lists have never worked for him (and for me) was particularly salient: "The problem with "systems" is that they are authorities. They have to be. If you decide "I'll prioritize things with a stack of notecards" then you are telling yourself the following: "The notecards replace m…

For me, todo lists and prioritization systems are like mental health yo-yo dieting; I've tried them all, 4 times over and nothing ever sticks. This section spoke to me in the same way, as each time I a new system up (or an old one back up) it works until I have to deal with an emergency day, where even the act of updating the list goes out the window. And then, the next day it's "hey, I made it through yesterday, I d…

How do we fix this?

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#84

Post by InvisibleUp »

spawarotti wrote: post #81

TL;DR: "Most people don't have problems with procrastination" I’ve read the article. I would caution against labeling yourself as having ADHD, IMO it is very dangerous. Every high-achieving person I know has major problem with procrastination. I was nodding while reading the article until the ADHD part. Does it mean we all have ADHD? Consider an alternative: our brains have to operate nonstop at near max capacity jus…

Hi, author here.

Since I wrote this article, I got professionally diagnosed and treated. Turns out, yeah, I'm doing a lot better now. On most days I don't have these symptoms, I can in fact study for classes and work, while also doing the things I love. I'm getting back into doodling, I've schedules all the appointments I need to, I have a great friend group, etc. etc. It's not perfect, I relapse sometimes, but I'm doing a lot better.

I'm not claiming everyone that procrastinates has ADHD. I'm claiming that it's a potential cause of chronic procrastination.

Also, I really can't afford to live in the woods for a few months. I still need to pay for rent and food and healthcare and such. I'm glad that's an option for you but I can't do that.

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#85

Post by anon_d »

rdiddly wrote: post #32

Standard counterpoint objection here that I'm not sure I "buy" ADHD. How much of it is just "being human" (and in particular "being a young human") in a world that's inhuman? Is it a coincidence that the condition was first "observed" around the onset of industrialization a couple hundred years ago? There are numerous evolutionary advantages to being tuned-in to your environment. Certainly every tribe could've used a…

You have basically the right idea, but I think you are missing something important.

ADHD is a "disorder", but it's root cause is intrinsic, genetic.

Different people are different. ADHD isn't about "being human", it's about being a certain type of human. Everyone is somewhat maladapted to the inhumane world that has been created, but people with personalities at certain extremes adapt much worse.

I "have ADHD". Most of my relatives have ADHD. I view the modern world as an act of aggression, as an attack. If I want to survive, and I want my descendants to survive, then the modern world must be destroyed.

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#87

Post by phillennium »

jlangemeier wrote: post #28
kleborp wrote: post #6

The post linked within this post was really illuminating for me: https://gekk.info/articles/adhd.html The section on why notecards and todo lists have never worked for him (and for me) was particularly salient: "The problem with "systems" is that they are authorities. They have to be. If you decide "I'll prioritize things with a stack of notecards" then you are telling yourself the following: "The notecards replace m…

For me, todo lists and prioritization systems are like mental health yo-yo dieting; I've tried them all, 4 times over and nothing ever sticks. This section spoke to me in the same way, as each time I a new system up (or an old one back up) it works until I have to deal with an emergency day, where even the act of updating the list goes out the window. And then, the next day it's "hey, I made it through yesterday, I d…

Same here. I think what could possibly help us is a to-do list that's explicitly designed for that (e.g., has something like an "emergency mode").

If someone reading this feels the same and would like to hack together something like that, let me know and we could try it together.

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#89

Post by el_dev_hell »

spawarotti wrote: post #81

TL;DR: "Most people don't have problems with procrastination" I’ve read the article. I would caution against labeling yourself as having ADHD, IMO it is very dangerous. Every high-achieving person I know has major problem with procrastination. I was nodding while reading the article until the ADHD part. Does it mean we all have ADHD? Consider an alternative: our brains have to operate nonstop at near max capacity jus…

Ironically, I was nodding along in complete agreement until:

> Perhaps try to unplug for some months in the woods and see if the symptoms persist? If they do, I stand corrected.

Sure, moving to Walden Pond for a few months would probably reboot your brain, but that's not a realistic possibility for 99.9% of people.

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#90

Post by tiglionabbit »

kleborp wrote: post #6

The post linked within this post was really illuminating for me: https://gekk.info/articles/adhd.html The section on why notecards and todo lists have never worked for him (and for me) was particularly salient: "The problem with "systems" is that they are authorities. They have to be. If you decide "I'll prioritize things with a stack of notecards" then you are telling yourself the following: "The notecards replace m…

Definitely right. Sometimes I look at notes I made for myself, telling myself what to do, and then ultimately rebel against my past self because I don't want to do what I'm telling myself to do.

Systems are better when they're an augmentation of your memory that you can appreciate. For example, I always put events in my google calendar so I can remember when they are and catch overlaps early.

I've had a bad relationship with todo lists. They get stale really quickly. If I look at a todo list that's a few days old, I might think, "Why should I do that now? Why should I factor the work in this way? Just so I can say I'm done with this item?" In practice, the way I factor a task changes constantly. So now the way I do todo lists is more like an aid to my memory. When I have time to do stuff (which is rare) I'll write down the things that are most important at that exact moment. Sometimes I'll skim through todo lists from previous days to jog my memory, but I won't copy over everything. I'll arrange the things into an itinerary for the day and see how many of them I can get done. Usually it's not all of them. And that's OK.

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