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How to stop procrastinating by using the Fogg Behavior Model

deprocrastination.co

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Re: How to stop procrastinating by using the Fogg Behavior Model

#61

Post by DecayingOrganic »

stakkur wrote: post #53
DecayingOrganic wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's but an apparent fact that we do not have full control over our actions. Just think of the popular game Sims, how you can control your sim to do whatever you want it to do. Now compare that to your own experiences of attempting to control hunks of flesh on disintegrating bones. Thus any simplification in the form of "just do it, it's your choice" motto fails to account for these very real biological constraints.

I disagree, and that's a common reply. Making decisions and taking action are not the same as 'attempting to control' anything. And the idea here is obviously not 'limitations are not real', the idea is 'you make the decision you can and you take the best action you can'. Example: you want to run a mile, but you have a foot deformity that makes it extremely difficult. That's fine. Decide to stand up. Now, decide to w…

You literally explained Fogg Behavior Model with your example. Yet, you stated in your original comment that you do not "generally" agree with these models. Have you even read about FBM before disagreeing with it?

Re: How to stop procrastinating by using the Fogg Behavior Model

#62

Post by vitabenes »

balfirevic wrote: post #56
vitabenes wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a good point. We do easy things even though we're not motivated. B J Fogg talks about motivation waves - motivation comes and goes like a wave. When you're riding high, Fogg recommends taking a hard action that will make future actions easier (register for a yoga class, go for a long run after months of not running). When motivation is low, take the easiest step possible. Over time, what we're familiar with (dai…

> We do easy things even though we're not motivated. Ah, I see you are, at best, an amateur level procrastinator :)

I used to be a pro, but blocking out distractions (the easiest, most "fun" activity) helped me do more.

I know you didn't ask for advice, but if I were to give you just 1 bit of it, it's to block distractions in the browser (or unplug wifi) and put your phone in another room.

Then you'd get bored for a while, and then you'd take the easy work-related actions despite not being motivated.

Re: How to stop procrastinating by using the Fogg Behavior Model

#63

Post by georgespencer »

non-entity wrote: post #33
georgespencer wrote: post #25

It’s clearly not the case for everyone, but I struggled for an extended period of time with a few things in my personal and professional life: 1. Remarkable focus in topics which interest me and remarkable lack of focus in topics which do not. 2. Leaving “must do” tasks in areas of little interest until the very last moment, resulting in a predictable lack of excellence in execution. 3. Periodic deep dives into topic…

Ok serious question: Every one of these points is very applicable to me, especially 1,2 and 3. I haven't been to a doctor in years outside occasional emergency trips. How do you bring this up without seriously. I don't want to come off as the guy who compulsively self diagnoses based off what they read on the internet.

Shoot me an email if you wanna chat about my experience in more detail! Email address in profile :)

Re: How to stop procrastinating by using the Fogg Behavior Model

#65

Post by joekim »

epicureanideal wrote: post #59
vitabenes wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, Pychil's work is incorporated in our materials. This is the recipe for procrastination (according to us): 1. Think about a task - "I have to do _____." 2. Have an automatic negative reaction 2a. Negative thoughts - "I hate doing this,"... 2b Negative feelings - Feeling stressed, afraid,... 3. Procrastinate - Do something else to feel better. Procrastination is all about escaping negative emotions. Something make…

I still think this is too limited. Analogous to how Keynes said classical / Ricardian economics discussed distribution of goods given a fixed level of production, the linked article doesn't consider that the maximum productive output on any given day is not the same, even when the 3 variables considered are maximized. "Behavior" here seems to be a boolean, "why we take action or not take action at any given moment",…

Well it is a lot more complicated. There is no "mental energy reserve", but we do get energized by norepinephrine in the brain and once it becomes saturated it it loses its effect.

A simple technique to reset it is to activate the "sigh reflex". You just breathe in twice at a normal pace and then slowly exhale through the mouth.

Another more powerful reset is to do yoga nidra for 10-20 minutes. Yoga nidra, once you figure it out, will actually deactivate the prefrontal cortex and simulate sleep. Which has a huge boost for your cognitive abilities.

Both of these techniques will increase serotonin and dopamine in the brain which will decrease norepinephrine. Once norepinephrine is no longer saturated you can become energized by it again.

For example, imagine a football team winning the super bowl. They've been pushing 110%. Suddenly, they're jubilant and jumping all over the place. The dopamine and serotonin pushes out the norepinephrine allowing to return and become effective again.

Re: How to stop procrastinating by using the Fogg Behavior Model

#66

Post by al_ak »

vitabenes wrote: post #54
pmoriarty wrote: post #43

Some time back, I read all I could on procrastination, and watched dozens of videos on it, and by far the best thing I found on it was this video by Tim Pychyl: [1] It focuses particularly on procrastination in graduate school, but is widely applicable elsewhere. One of the key insights that Pychyl, a psychologist who studies procrastination, had is that procrastination is not (as is commonly believed) a time managem…

Yes, Pychil's work is incorporated in our materials. This is the recipe for procrastination (according to us): 1. Think about a task - "I have to do _____." 2. Have an automatic negative reaction 2a. Negative thoughts - "I hate doing this,"... 2b Negative feelings - Feeling stressed, afraid,... 3. Procrastinate - Do something else to feel better. Procrastination is all about escaping negative emotions. Something make…

I really do hope your page helps some people with their procrastination issues. But I can't help feel like your whole approach suffers from engineers disease. But maybe that's what will resonate with some folks.

A compassionate therapist can also do wonders for procrastination.

Re: How to stop procrastinating by using the Fogg Behavior Model

#67

Post by oaao_ »

sna1l wrote: post #10

For things that I don't have the motivation to do (things I procrastinate), my strategy is to start doing the smallest possible unit of that thing as I can. Recently I started meditating, something I've tried to get into, but never have. I downloaded this app Balance which encourages daily practice (reminders, 3,5,10 guided meditations, etc). I am still not "motivated" to do it, but I don't need to be because it is j…

I agree - in my experience, "motivation" is a wildly volatile concept, especially in how a) when it arrives to your thought process, it's usually in the form of bemoaning a lack of motivation, and semi-consequently b) one almost always thinks about "motivation" in a form that is highly moralized (i.e. inviting shame & co.). I find that usually when we employ "motivation" as a concept, it is usually (whether explicitly or latently) in the context of personal failing.

The most success I've had in actively dealing with things like this is when I am able to frame a situation for myself in an extra-moral way and actually believe it - i.e. that something is, like you said, a matter of habit-building and consistency, rather than ontological and exertional good-enough-ness. The tough part here is that many people understand this, cerebrally, but it takes drilling this perspective quite a lot to actually ingrain it into one's belief system.

There's a night and day difference, though, between "well I guess I couldn't do it after all" and "well I guess that's a one-day blip on a four-day streak", and people with 'motivational' difficulties also aren't that great at conceptualizing about & nurturing incremental progress towards an abstract goal, which this also helps immensely with.

All in all I love that your takeaway was, effectively, that 'motivation' can be seen as behavioral inertia that hasn't yet been solved by habit-training. It's not a poetic nitpick at all; at least in my view it's the fundamental operative basis for dealing with the phenomenon of procrastination.

Re: How to stop procrastinating by using the Fogg Behavior Model

#68

Post by vitabenes »

al_ak wrote: post #66
vitabenes wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, Pychil's work is incorporated in our materials. This is the recipe for procrastination (according to us): 1. Think about a task - "I have to do _____." 2. Have an automatic negative reaction 2a. Negative thoughts - "I hate doing this,"... 2b Negative feelings - Feeling stressed, afraid,... 3. Procrastinate - Do something else to feel better. Procrastination is all about escaping negative emotions. Something make…

I really do hope your page helps some people with their procrastination issues. But I can't help feel like your whole approach suffers from engineers disease. But maybe that's what will resonate with some folks. A compassionate therapist can also do wonders for procrastination.

Yeah, I know what you're saying. This is more of a clinical disection of procrastination.

Many more of our blog posts and book chapters are more about the emotional side of things. Plus, we do coach people 1-on-1 in our program.

Re: How to stop procrastinating by using the Fogg Behavior Model

#69

Post by ctur »

This post just seems to be to draw semi-sensational attention to a self-help book. The site isn't generally referencing primary sources or otherwise giving signals of why it should be trusted. It also doesn't identify the authors.

It's hard to take the site seriously when it equates gaming to being an alcoholic (while later in the same post backpedaling it): https://www.deprocrastination.co/blog/should-i-quit-video-ga...

Re: How to stop procrastinating by using the Fogg Behavior Model

#70

Post by balfirevic »

vitabenes wrote: post #62
balfirevic wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We do easy things even though we're not motivated. Ah, I see you are, at best, an amateur level procrastinator :)

I used to be a pro, but blocking out distractions (the easiest, most "fun" activity) helped me do more. I know you didn't ask for advice, but if I were to give you just 1 bit of it, it's to block distractions in the browser (or unplug wifi) and put your phone in another room. Then you'd get bored for a while, and then you'd take the easy work-related actions despite not being motivated.

> I know you didn't ask for advice

No worries, I appreciate it anyway.

> it's to block distractions in the browser (or unplug wifi) and put your phone in another room

Good advice, agreed - few months ago I started using two separate Windows accounts where I block all distracting sites on one of them. It's not perfect but does help.

I still find it a bit too easy to just switch accounts. What I'm going to try next is setting up limitations for certain times of day at router level.

Funnily enough, phone is not a problem at all.

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