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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

#151

Post by edcrfv »

vitabenes wrote: post #23
njsubedi wrote: post #20

I have this constant feeling that some post on HN will motivate me more, or just teach me to be less of a procrastinator. That’s the reason I check HN frequently, and click on these kinds of links. Then I see the post is too long, and scroll-skim it. Nothing really changes about procrastination; we don’t do shit until some other shit is on fire.

Check out the browser extension on our site! That might help, if an article won't. I used to check Twitter 100-150 times a day, but with the use of the extension, I got it under 20 times. Try the Focus Zones feature. Try it, let me know if it works. I'll give you 3 months of Pro features for free if you shoot me an email.

What's your site?

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

#152

Post by chpmrc »

parsley27 wrote: post #145
chpmrc wrote: post #141

What if procrastination was the simple act of postponing something just because... you can . Erase the 9-5, the arbitrary deadlines, the impossible requests of a boss, a client or a partner. Poof! Procrastination conceptually ceases to exist. It's ok to do nothing for 2 days and then put in 12 hours straight of purely productive coding, if you are not supposed to follow a specific timetable. It's ok to be a few days…

I don't think that is the case for many people, myself included. There are two sides to this not being the best way to think of it for some: - slipping on deadlines becomes cumulative and does affect your career or business; the more work that is delayed, the most difficult it seems to be to ever catch up - there is a fast-approaching deadline for all of us, and I don't want to look back on what may be my last decade…

What if you framed those 2 problems (having to catch up and not wanting to realize you watched too much Netflix) as self imposed goals? Then you'd have to answer the question: why do you feel the need to catch up (unless not catching up leads to consequences that would make you feel even worse and from which you cannot recover)? Why do you feel like spending most of the time on Netflix or Steam is a waste of time?

What if the need to set an arbitrary goal and the need to achieve it were just a way to cope with the fact that we are not genuinely interested in having any (at the moment)? And what's wrong with that?

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

#153

Post by georgespencer »

throwawayaug20 wrote: post #148
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…

a big question is how does one find a therapist/psychiatrist? a seemingly simple yelp/google search yields a sea of anonymous faces and trusting these strangers with your brain already feels daunting. i'm in san francisco and am on a PPO if anyone has any recs. email in bio, thank you!

This was daunting for me too.

I had a series of private evaluations in London, and the proxy I used was to seek a consultant psychiatrist (just about as senior as they come) who had a longstanding relationship with his local NHS trust (hadn't jumped from one area to another), looked him up on the GMC (registry of doctors in the UK which would report malpractice or other issues), and asked for a telephone consultation to discuss his work in this area and his approach. I appreciate many of these will not be possible in SF, so I would try to move back in stages towards a person you trust. Do you have a good relationship with your regular doctor? If no, do you have a trustworthy friend who does? Etc.

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

#154

Post by mementomori »

njsubedi wrote: post #20

I have this constant feeling that some post on HN will motivate me more, or just teach me to be less of a procrastinator. That’s the reason I check HN frequently, and click on these kinds of links. Then I see the post is too long, and scroll-skim it. Nothing really changes about procrastination; we don’t do shit until some other shit is on fire.

Agreed! Fear and despair are strong motivators for me. The trick is that fear sits in only when time becomes scarce. "How to start noticing something should be done before it's too late" is a good thing to have.

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

#155

Post by organsnyder »

wy35 wrote: post #127
czbond wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why see a psychiatrist? Are those really things to 'fix' on the whole - given the upsides? I'm incredibly energetic. I can't sit down for long - so I just stand in meetings. TV is a waste of time, so is social small talk, I do what I care about (and it rewarded me well). I've just felt like the speed, risk tolerance, freedom it provides me, and intuition make a powerful combination. I'd say the ADHD (if it is) makes…

> I may be conflating ADHD with my incredibly independent personality I think you are, to a degree. Serious ADHD is AWFUL to live with and there's barely any upside. > I can't sit down for long - so I just stand in meetings. It's nice that you can mitigate not being able to sit down for long by just standing, but for many people with ADHD, not being able to sit for long is more than just stance. It's because they can…

> Freedom? ADHD is incredibly suffocating. It's wanting to start doing something but feeling overpowered and locked-up. It's wanting to achieve long-term goals but feeling like you're constantly self-sabotaging yourself. It's making a plan in the morning, being unable to accomplish anything during the day, and furiously kicking yourself at night in an endless cycle of self-hatred. For me, ADHD is the complete opposite of freedom. It's a prison.

This describes my life with haunting accuracy.

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

#156

Post by czbond »

wy35 wrote: post #127
czbond wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why see a psychiatrist? Are those really things to 'fix' on the whole - given the upsides? I'm incredibly energetic. I can't sit down for long - so I just stand in meetings. TV is a waste of time, so is social small talk, I do what I care about (and it rewarded me well). I've just felt like the speed, risk tolerance, freedom it provides me, and intuition make a powerful combination. I'd say the ADHD (if it is) makes…

> I may be conflating ADHD with my incredibly independent personality I think you are, to a degree. Serious ADHD is AWFUL to live with and there's barely any upside. > I can't sit down for long - so I just stand in meetings. It's nice that you can mitigate not being able to sit down for long by just standing, but for many people with ADHD, not being able to sit for long is more than just stance. It's because they can…

wy35 - well answered response. I don't know that I am ADHD, so your experience trumps mine!

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

#157

Post by throwawayaug20 »

georgespencer wrote: post #153
throwawayaug20 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

a big question is how does one find a therapist/psychiatrist? a seemingly simple yelp/google search yields a sea of anonymous faces and trusting these strangers with your brain already feels daunting. i'm in san francisco and am on a PPO if anyone has any recs. email in bio, thank you!

This was daunting for me too. I had a series of private evaluations in London, and the proxy I used was to seek a consultant psychiatrist (just about as senior as they come) who had a longstanding relationship with his local NHS trust (hadn't jumped from one area to another), looked him up on the GMC (registry of doctors in the UK which would report malpractice or other issues), and asked for a telephone consultation…

hi george thank you for your response here and elsewhere in the comments. i have found them very helpful.

i did indeed just reach out to a friend who recommended i talk to my primary care provider (PCP) and go from there.

now that i'm looking into all this, mental health is a luxury in america. sessions are approx $200/visit here in san francisco.

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

#158

Post by avindroth »

The human mind is far more complex than a lot of these models or frameworks suggest. A model or a framework can mean any structured representation, but I am explicitly talking about the market of psychological frameworks. The ‘supply’ of that market consists of pretty bad models that do more harm than good (e.g. Mindset by Carol Dweck, CBT, Fogg Behavior Model, or anything based on behaviorism). I don’t recall fully, but ‘The Mind’ by Andre Kukla has a great exposition on this.

What I recommend for people is directly observing your mind with autonomy. Or if you don’t feel like observing your mind, following your impulses, whether it’s ‘bad’ or not. This kind of self-exploration is the only real way out, especially when most times people attempting to help (sadly) impose upon rather than liberate people’s minds.

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

#159

Post by throwawayaug20 »

czbond wrote: post #113
czbond wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why see a psychiatrist? Are those really things to 'fix' on the whole - given the upsides? I'm incredibly energetic. I can't sit down for long - so I just stand in meetings. TV is a waste of time, so is social small talk, I do what I care about (and it rewarded me well). I've just felt like the speed, risk tolerance, freedom it provides me, and intuition make a powerful combination. I'd say the ADHD (if it is) makes…

To expand - why not use it to your advantage? Consultants for larger, competitive companies do well w/ ADHD. Leaders do well. Founders do well (if they can stay focused on the opportunity). I have a CompSci degree, and loved doing algorithms, etc - but can't be bothered to sit behind an IDE for hours. So what - enough of people can do that well. I've found leadership to be the best use of skillsets where these 'sympt…

i have a history of failing to meet deadlines because of my procrastination. this disqualifies me for most leadership positions because i am labeled as unreliable.

i am happy for you that you have been fortunate with your path.

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

#160

Post by projektfu »

anon9001 wrote: post #49
non-entity wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

No problem, serious answer: This is the DSMV criteria: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html Doctors are typically screening with a quiz that looks something like this: https://psychcentral.com/quizzes/adhd-quiz/ It's perfectly reasonable to say "I think I may have ADHD based on what I've read online, my symptoms match and people who know me have suggested I try adderall". Some doctors are fine with letting…

I know it’s splitting a hair but I didn’t find Effexor addictive. The withdrawal symptoms are terrible. But they motivate you to kill yourself, not take another pill. I never wanted to take two pills or increase my frequency. I would often forget to take one. So I don’t consider it addictive. For reference, I’ve been addicted to cigarettes and alcohol before.
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