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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

#341

Post by jp555 »

mewpmewp2 wrote: post #279
jp555 wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It seems logical we would be exactly that. This is how we would evolve during natural selection. It all makes sense. What reason would there be to be otherwise? It seems like human, wishful thinking to me that we are more than this. Since people want to think they are more than advanced automaton it is likely that this theory is based on imaginary foundation.

Would a human evolve in isolation? I think we are interconnected with many systems in unknowably complex ways.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#342

Post by xfkechyk »

nabnob wrote: post #292
throwout98423 wrote: post #180

I went 35 years of managing to be a capable, but never exceptional, achiever -- in high school, college, and in my career. I've also been a terrible procrastinator all during that time. It was never evident to me in school because I'd get the same grades as the kids working substantially harder than me. However, once I got into the workforce, and it took me many years to realize it, that performing to the "mean" was…

Just as a counterpoint...I was successful throughout school and college but crashed and burned as soon as I moved to a new city for a software job at Amazon. Later, after quitting due to mental health issues I got a diagnosis for ADHD. I took vyvanse for about five or six months, but it didn't really help with my ADD symptoms and it gave me heart palpitations and made my anxiety worse. After a lot of introspection, I…

I'm not sure this is much of a "counterpoint". Medication isn't the only solution to ADHD. In fact, it's often recommended that ADHD be treated with medication AND therapy, which often involves working on things like executive function. Also, there are different types of medication for ADHD. If you only tried Vyvanse, it's possible that a different type of medication would help without the negative side effects. You wouldn't say you're allergic to all antibiotics if you had a reaction to a single antibiotic.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#343

Post by xfkechyk »

nsilvestri wrote: post #267
liketothelark wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comments echo my experience in every detail. I, too, did not meet a shadow of my potential until I received an ADD diagnosis as an adult. After taking Adderall for the first time, I immediately began keeping a systematic journal of notes (and creating other structures for myself). I remember walking to a store to get the notebook the very day I took the first pill — it was like a revelation. Over the years since…

I've taken ADHD medication once in high school, and I hate how _good_ it was. It makes it so much easier for me to be the person I want to be, to accomplish the things I want to do. But I'm also adequately capable sober; I don't want to become medicated and then feel like I can't be productive unmedicated.

If you had a nutritional deficiency, would you avoid taking a supplement? Cause that's what the ADHD medication is doing; regulating dopamine and norepinephrine, which are usually deficient in ADHD brains.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#344

Post by willidiots »

rob_austin wrote: post #316
willidiots wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spent two years with a fantastic psych in the bay who studied under Burns. She used a combination of 50% ACT, 50% Burns CBT and it was very impactful. Workbooks for homework were The Happiness Trap and the Feeling Good Handbook. Fundamentally changed my life for the better.

Would you mind sharing the name of the psychiatrist? I'm looking for one.

Vandana Aspen, draspen.com.

I found her by searching Psychology Today's listings and looking for therapists who specialized in CBT and little else.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#345

Post by mewpmewp2 »

jp555 wrote: post #341
mewpmewp2 wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems logical we would be exactly that. This is how we would evolve during natural selection. It all makes sense. What reason would there be to be otherwise? It seems like human, wishful thinking to me that we are more than this. Since people want to think they are more than advanced automaton it is likely that this theory is based on imaginary foundation.

Would a human evolve in isolation? I think we are interconnected with many systems in unknowably complex ways.

The system is complex, but I would argue against it being unknowable. We do not know all the details right now, but it is possible we will know them in the future.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#347

Post by Rapzid »

dhshahsndeisjwn wrote: post #284
vorpalhex wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we will never be able to copy the procedure that returns that output (consciousness, mindset, motivations, neurology, purpose, talents, traumas, upbringing, values). This particular claim feels too pessimistic to me. Sure you obviously can't copy someone's upbringing or traumas (nor should you), but in general these traits are trainable. Someone else might have a leg up on being born with greater charisma or focus,…

> it's probably enough to act with genuine, directed enjoyment and curiosity. This is true, but I think you are seriously underestimating how difficult this can be, and how easy it is to lose track of what it actually, genuinely is that gives you enjoyment.

I would go a step further and say it's just another form of making the exception the rule. People will point to a handful that came up out of poverty and say "Look! They did it, everyone else could too but they are just lazy. It's their choice to live in poverty." That sort of thinking is thoroughly rejected in large segments of the population now. Well, it's not really a stretch at all IMHO to extend that to most things self-help and growth wise.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#348

Post by Rapzid »

gdubs wrote: post #263

Dr [David] Burns is one of the people who helped popularize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in his book, “Feeling Good”. It’s cool to see these ideas becoming validated through studies. I’m not very familiar with ACT, but as an offshoot of CBT that includes a mindfulness component, it sounds fascinating. Burns talks about the “do one small thing” strategy in his books, and (anecdotally) it can be very effective. W…

When I was younger and living alone this used to be cleaning my apartment on Sunday; always. No matter how much I procrastinated on other stuff during the week or month, or how I felt, I would always clean on Sunday. Created a nice little bit of "responsibility continuity" so to speak. Mixed with a few other life-admin rituals throughout the week this always helped maintain a base level of discipline through ups and downs.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#349

Post by ck425 »

koheripbal wrote: post #310
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…

> Generally speaking, we know exactly what we need to get done

I don't agree. I still don't know what I really want to achieve in life. I have a better idea but honestly a big part of that better idea is realizing the things I thought I wanted aren't things I actually want.

Re: Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time

#350

Post by Brave-Steak »

LameRubberDucky wrote: post #228
kharak wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Does it need to be better? There are many quotes about simply being content in life. I finally realized it's okay for me to spend time playing Call of Duty if that's what I want to do. If I wasn't doing that, I'd most likely be doing some other hobby that may not have any particular value either. As long as I take care of my health, family, and job, my "spare" time is mine. Edit: Yuck, that sounds worse when I read i…

> Does it need to be better?

If you feel fulfilled, then no, maybe not. Many of us are, however, speaking from the perspective that we do feel it needs to be better because we feel empty and unfulfilled.

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