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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

#101

Post by rayalez »

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…

> When I want to go to bed, I have to write down the first thing I will do the next day.

Wow, this is excellent. Thank you for sharing, I'll try to implement this one.

Although my problem is that I break this type of unbreakable rules regularly, I have upsettingly little control over what the future me is going to do.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#103

Post by IneffablePigeon »

lowdest wrote: post #85
JshWright wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the "tiers". Consider it a general list of things that may be helpful, and assume that the relative importance of each is likely to be different for you.

I agree with this comment, but with the addition that sleep quality is very important if you don't have it. If your sleep is pretty close to optimal already, you may not notice a slight improvement.

I agree - I think sleep is the only universal here. I find different things may help at different times, too, or become more important to counter different external stressors and anxieties.

I've never found exercise to be a particularly important part of my mental health, but in lockdown I've become utterly dependent on it. It provides routine, structure, control and a sense of progress - all of which I was getting more of in other places before but which I'm now lacking without the exercise.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#104

Post by dijit »

rayalez wrote: post #101
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…

> When I want to go to bed, I have to write down the first thing I will do the next day. Wow, this is excellent. Thank you for sharing, I'll try to implement this one. Although my problem is that I break this type of unbreakable rules regularly, I have upsettingly little control over what the future me is going to do.

Yes, but it's up to present you to not let the past you down.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#105

Post by ashishb »

mehdix wrote: post #98

I used to maintain a zero inbox, until I read an article by the author of the technique (apologies for not remembering the source) that my mailbox is a TODO list that anyone can put an item on that. Since then I'm okay with with unread mail.

I wrote a tool to snooze my emails (like newsletters and payment reminders) automatically. Regarding emails from others, I snooze them manually if I am not going to address them in an hour or so.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#106

Post by eklin »

dijit wrote: post #36
yepguy wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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?

I've read that most procrastination problems come from anxiety or perfectionism (fear of not being able to do X perfectly, low self-esteem / fear of being ridiculed for your work etc)

Have a look here: https://cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yoursel...

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#107

Post by johnwangdoe »

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…

mind over matter kinda thing

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#108

Post by johnwangdoe »

blisterpeanuts wrote: post #69

Like many here, I'm also a procrastinator (and my wife is much worse). My strategy, somewhat similar to Mr. Gassler's, was honed over decades of heartache and failure and occasional successes: - write down a plan - break plan into very detailed micro-steps - do at least one of the micro-steps. Feel a sense of accomplishment. Now the rest of the steps seem less formidable. - accept that my brain is often foggy and slo…

not childish. They are really practical! I do the micro-steps too!

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#109

Post by Cthulhu_ »

Nition wrote: post #50
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…

This is a great parody/insight into that feeling of "if I just get the conditions right, I can get started." Like all the great writers who just need six months in a forest cabin to write their great novel, but they never start it in the one hour of time they already have every evening.

I read a thing from Stephen King (IIRC) that poo-poohed the writer's block / "right circumstances" thing, he approached it more as a job, you sit down and write. Overpower the "I don't know what to write" thing, don't wait for creativity to come, etc. Maybe one day I'll unlazy myself and look it up again.

But the most common advice I've seen against procrastination is to just force yourself to do five minutes of your task. Just five, then you can do whatever the heck you want instead.

Of course, it also helps if you work off of a todo list - so you know what needs to be done - and prioritize the work - so you don't end up with choice paralysis because there's a dozen things you could be doing.

Re: I trick my well-developed procrastination skills

#110

Post by Cthulhu_ »

ppadron wrote: post #17
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…

when you have ADHD these types of rules are really helpful. some people might find them weird and say "just change your schedule, do it later, whatever", but I know if I postpone it I'll forget it or screw up doing some other chore or a "previously allocated free-time".

Truth; my girlfriend has had to learn to cope with her ADHD undiagnosed and unmedicated for the better part of her life, sticking to a morning routine is super important for her.

Me, I just like to know what's happening. I like regularity, but I'm not hung up on it.

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