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I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

wolfgang.gassler.org

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Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#31

Post by seph-reed »

I don't understand the obsession with "fighting procrastination". It's like you have to be doing something always or else you've wasted time. There's no finish line here. You can't win.

http://subgenius.com/

Go ahead and procrastinate, then don't feel guilty. Do nothing "useful" and enjoy it. Whoever/whatever it is that's making you feel like you have to do more, it's probably just abusive manipulation of labor forces.

We have most of the technology we need for a "Fully Automated Luxury Space Communes tm", and who's fault is it that we're all still working our ass off? Someone probably.. but now is the time for pointless, meandering, meta procrastination posts on some special corner of the internet.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#33

Post by yepguy »

dijit wrote: post #15

I'm a master procrastinator. Mostly because I have so many things I could do that I have this background feeling that I'm neglecting everything else if I focus on one thing. And I get distracted easily and I hate trying to come back in the middle of something. However, for some things, I have systems to cope. I make -very- simple unbreakable rules. I got fat, decided I needed to fix it, so now I set an alarm at 6am e…

> I'm a master procrastinator. Mostly because I have so many things I could do that I have this background feeling that I'm neglecting everything else if I focus on one thing.

That low-grade background anxiety is actually something that better organizational skills can fix. Although I suspect that if you did fix it, you'd discover that there's more to your procrastination problem than that.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#34

Post by xzel »

dnh44 wrote: post #27

When I’ve done a great job of procrastinating, I normally have a lot anxious energy that I feel I need to get rid of so I go for a 30 minute walk or run. During this outing I repeat the Mentat Mantra from the Dune film to myself the entire time. "It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of Sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alo…

I'll use the "fear is the mind killer" [1] quote when I'm upset or anxious quite often. I really should add this one to my arsenal as well. I've never thought of Dune as a self-help book but I might now. Weirdly enough I'm also currently re-reading it, after watching the miniseries due to quarantine, and I'll try to find more things like this during my reading.

[1] “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#35

Post by robmerki »

lowdest wrote: post #26
robmerki wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other than meds, did you do anything else that was helpful?

Yes: Hydration is a little important. Sleep is very important (white noise machine, blackout curtains, melatonin when needed, regular schedule, no alcohol near bedtime on work nights.) Exercise is a little important, but too much is detrimental. Learning meditation, specifically body-scan, was really helpful for me though indirectly. It helped me better notice my internal states, which then helps me remove blockers t…

Is this a fair "tier list"?

Most helpful: Sleep

Somewhat helpful: Meditation

A little helpful: Low-carb diet, Hydration, Exercise

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#36

Post by dijit »

yepguy wrote: post #33
dijit wrote: post #15

I'm a master procrastinator. Mostly because I have so many things I could do that I have this background feeling that I'm neglecting everything else if I focus on one thing. And I get distracted easily and I hate trying to come back in the middle of something. However, for some things, I have systems to cope. I make -very- simple unbreakable rules. I got fat, decided I needed to fix it, so now I set an alarm at 6am e…

> I'm a master procrastinator. Mostly because I have so many things I could do that I have this background feeling that I'm neglecting everything else if I focus on one thing. That low-grade background anxiety is actually something that better organizational skills can fix. Although I suspect that if you did fix it, you'd discover that there's more to your procrastination problem than that.

Interesting. I am quite keen on resolving my procrastination problem. I used to be intently focused until I became senior enough to set my own tasks.

Is there an entry point you’d recommend?

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#37

Post by yurishimo »

dijit wrote: post #22
non-entity wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See, I'm good at making "unbreakable" rules, but I'm much better at breaking them.

See my advice about trying to make it a chain. Once you've done it twice maybe three times, you don't want to reset the progress. Over time it gets easier (because you're making a habit) and because there's even more of a ritual involved. You'd be undoing all the hard work you've done. You won't break it. Just get 2-3 iterations of the rule under your belt..

This happened to me with my weight loss. I made a chain of it and did intermittent fasting for 9+ months with maybe one hiccup, but even on that hiccup day it was not a complete break, but just a bending of my rules (16 hours vs the normal 20, etc).

However, when Christmas came around, I started traveling and relaxed a lot more, feeling good about my progress from the months before.

It's not May and I'm just now hopping back on the train with the same intensity I had before. I usually got to 16+ hours, but my food choices were shit and I was overeating. Every time I ate when/what I wasn't supposed to though, I felt like an even bigger failure and used those emotions to justify my bad behavior.

It's been 1 week now since I've gone back to my more strict regimen and last night I really really really wanted to go out and get a burger around 1am. I managed to wait out the craving but it was insanely difficult and it's affected my work performance today.

All that to say, the chain is powerful in both directions. After you break it the first time, it's a lot easier to break again.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#38

Post by rbonvall »

seph-reed wrote: post #31

I don't understand the obsession with "fighting procrastination". It's like you have to be doing something always or else you've wasted time. There's no finish line here. You can't win. http://subgenius.com/ Go ahead and procrastinate, then don't feel guilty. Do nothing "useful" and enjoy it. Whoever/whatever it is that's making you feel like you have to do more, it's probably just abusive manipulation of labor force…

Procrastination is not about "always having something to do", it's about "not doing exactly one wants to get done".

Sometimes it's work related, sometimes it's hobbies, sometimes is chores. It's hard to e.g. "just enjoy" not paying a bill that's already due. To want to get that done it's hardly an obsession, and not being able to succeed in finishing such a simple task is really frustrating.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#39

Post by rhizome »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #8

If you have ever used the Franklin Day Planner series of tools you will see the value in this advice. Make a list every evening, prioritize it, check it off during the next day. Everything goes on the list. Rinse and repeat. I'm not disciplined enough to do all of it but the list making has helped me stay reasonably current.

>Make a list every evening, prioritize it, check it off during the next day.

Some procrastination derives from a difficulty in prioritizing, and a difficulty in prioritizing can itself be a symptom of depression, where all tasks have equal (or no) importance and so can't be prioritized.

I mean, it's not like people forget all that needs to be done. Often as above, it's all of the tasks bouncing off each other like balls in a bingo machine.[1]

So, a lack of prioritization means the next day might be spent in analysis paralysis where nothing is done because the person can't figure out a good place to start. John Cage said, "begin anywhere," but even that can be difficult in the moment because it also takes discipline to stop trying to prioritize.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJV-vUFFvoY

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#40

Post by ssijak »

renewiltord wrote: post #9

Faster way is to just use Modafinil (barely addictive) or Adderall (very addictive).

Modafinil makes me edgy and very bad in communicating with humans. Also, after a few days, my brain feels a tiredness from it, like some kind of unpleasant emptiness. Armodafinil is slightly better but same. I would not recommend them for regular use.
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