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I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

wolfgang.gassler.org

51–60 of 158 posts

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#51

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…

> Whoever/whatever it is that's making you feel like you have to do more, it's probably just abusive manipulation of labor forces.

That's not procrastination. Procrastination is having a final exam tomorrow, knowing you need to study, being perfectly able to study, have nothing else at all you need to do, wanting above all things to study, and yet somehow despite everything being aligned towards studying, not studying.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#52
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…

Ditto! As soon as I am on the desk for working, I unconsciously open Firefox and my fingers go "Cmd+L ne [Enter]"

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#53
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a lot of similar rules for mundane tasks and it shows when I've slacked. In addition, I also take time to verbalize how much I appreciate having (say) a clean kitchen, both immediately after the task, and whenever I actually appreciate it (like, say, first thing in the morning when I'm moving slow and just want some coffee). For things that require focus, I do pomodoros. Knowing I have a break of X minutes com…

I keep hearing about pomodoro as a method of helping people focus, but part of my current fears are being 'removed' from the topic I'm working on mid-way. I get the feeling that if pomodoros worked, then by the same logic knowing that I have a meeting in 30 minutes would aid my focus, but instead it's the complete opposite, I consider that I can't fill a 30minute window meaningfully and thus do nothing. Maybe there's…

> I consider that I can't fill a 30minute window meaningfully and thus do nothing.

A pre-made list of 25-minutes-or-less tasks helps with this.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#54
one thing i have learned and helped me deal with life long procrastination was that it is about emotion regulation. procrastination is a symptom of something deeper that is going on in you emotionally. Deal with that emotion and procrastination will go away. how? Be your own student. Watch why you are procrastinating.Be brutally honest yourself. you have to be ok to admit that i am procrastination because eg. i am scared, coward, afraid, sad what ever.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#55
post #3

I read the whole thing, but knew from the get go that these tricks wouldn't work on me. Mostly because I know the source of my procrastination and it boils down to two things: 1. I've gotten away with a lot of stupid shit in the past. 2. Because of that I think too highly of my skills. I have no incentive to start preparing tasks or being organised because I've come to enjoy the thrill of doing everything in the last…

That sounds like a rationalization. If there was a gift box sitting on your counter that when opened would make all of your wildest dream come true, would you procrastinate opening it? Again, all you would have to do is take 10 seconds to open it.

[deleted]

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#56
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…

Reminds me a little of:

"I believe in taking care of myself, in a balanced diet, in a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now."

"After I remove the icepack, I use a deep pore-cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water-activated gel cleanser, then a honey-almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub."

...

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#57
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a lot of similar rules for mundane tasks and it shows when I've slacked. In addition, I also take time to verbalize how much I appreciate having (say) a clean kitchen, both immediately after the task, and whenever I actually appreciate it (like, say, first thing in the morning when I'm moving slow and just want some coffee). For things that require focus, I do pomodoros. Knowing I have a break of X minutes com…

I keep hearing about pomodoro as a method of helping people focus, but part of my current fears are being 'removed' from the topic I'm working on mid-way. I get the feeling that if pomodoros worked, then by the same logic knowing that I have a meeting in 30 minutes would aid my focus, but instead it's the complete opposite, I consider that I can't fill a 30minute window meaningfully and thus do nothing. Maybe there's…

I timebox only certain types of activities for exactly that reason. To me it's not really amenable to creative problem solving work. It might be for some, but not me. But it can work magic when I leverage it between one fun task that's easily interruptible and another boring task that is too.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#58
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…

Ditto! As soon as I am on the desk for working, I unconsciously open Firefox and my fingers go "Cmd+L ne [Enter]"

My procrastination loop!

Cmd+T re [Enter] Cmd+W ... Cmd+T new [Enter] Cmd+W ... Cmd+T re [Enter]

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#59
post #56
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…

Reminds me a little of: "I believe in taking care of myself, in a balanced diet, in a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now." "After I remove the icepack, I use a deep pore-cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water-activated gel cleanser, then a honey-almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliatin…

Now let's see Paul Allen's quote.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#60
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…

Ditto! As soon as I am on the desk for working, I unconsciously open Firefox and my fingers go "Cmd+L ne [Enter]"

What does that do? Goto hacker NEws?
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