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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

#191

Post by asdff »

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…

IR does have more abuse potential. You can't snort XR.

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

#192

Post by spekcular »

Voliokis wrote: post #123
sirmarksalot wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for this. I found the article to be really naive in a Dale Carnegie kind of way, that probably appeals to someone in their mid-20s trying to reinvent themselves, but is actually a psychological dead end. For me, procrastination has definitely fit the profile of pain avoidance rather than a lack of any of those three elements the article focuses on.

The article is entirely based on Fogg's behavior model. Your criticism isn't really addressing the article, it's addressing the model used. As for pain avoidance, that seems to be a part of the factor Motivation, which is divided into the sub-factors Sensation, Anticipation and Social Cohesion. I've found a number of sites explaining the model and they all have something like this to say about Sensation: > Searching…

This model doesn't seem to have ever been tested empirically. (I would be happy to be corrected on this point.)

Given that, I think it's appropriate to raise doubts about its clinical effectiveness.

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

#193

Post by PoachedSausage »

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…

For those of us in the UK, would you be able to recommend the consultant/practice?

I have a private practice locally that specialises in ADHD but I've no idea about their reputation.

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

#196

Post by PoachedSausage »

throwawayaug20 wrote: post #157
georgespencer wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It is not that much better here in the UK for specialised things like mental health. My local private specialist for ADHD charges around £1500 for the consultation, and it is hard to justify risking that much money to just be told you're lazy.

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

#197

Post by philsnow »

throwaway234101 wrote: post #105
blaser-waffle wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd 100% recommend having stimulants in your toolkit, and chances are you're already supplementing with worse stimulants (like mountains of coffee or soda), so do give them a try, but be careful. I'll second this. I've got an old friend and former coworker who clearly has serious ADHD and self medicates with tons of coffee/soda/cigarettes. He's killing himself and he knows it, but hates doctors and has a negative v…

> I've got an old friend and former coworker who clearly has serious ADHD and self medicates with tons of coffee/soda/cigarettes. He's killing himself and he knows it, but hates doctors and has a negative view of shrinks. This describes me to a T. I will not take amphetamines of any kind, so what's the point? > Anec-data: I cut out carbs and only eat during certain windows and that has done wonders for focus and stic…

Intermittent fasting is a lot easier with black coffee. I can usually make it to dinner time (~5pm ish) with nothing in me but coffee and water.

Use decaf if you don't want the double whammy of an empty stomach and more coffee than you might otherwise drink to smash your brain with caffine.

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

#198

Post by krono »

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…

Very well written!

Recently I was diagnosed with severe ADHD. The struggle finally became too much. Perhaps the effects of the health crisis on my work and finances gave me the final push, I don't know.

My life is so much more enjoyable now I am medicated and have had some very minimal therapy.

In hindsight all the tricks and strictness I forced onto myself to be able to keep up were very unhealthy, unsustainable, and not even that effective. The psych even seemed quite concerned when I did a show and tell.

To anyone else struggling: Just make that appointment and find out what's up. Even if it doesn't turn out to be ADHD these people can help you get so much more out of your life. Nothing ventured nothing gained, right?

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

#199

Post by live1999 »

oaao_ wrote: post #67
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 explicitl…

Made an account just so I can thank you for this comment. You have done an amazing job of illustrating the problem of thinking of things in terms of motivation as well as moralizing it.

I'm going through a major depressive / procrastination episode. And now i'm asking myself, why can't I just apply the same thinking and approach I use for exercise and diet to the rest of my life. (I.E. it's just something I do, a habit I build on.). Epiphany for me. :)

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

#200

Post by TeMPOraL »

hnick wrote: post #169
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…

Sometimes when I am very emotionally upset or have a very negative task I want to avoid like studying, I will get the sudden urge to clean or work on a similar low-brainpower project (which is not something that comes naturally to me in normal times). If I were merely trying to feel better I'd just go for video games or something like I normally do, but there must be something else going on that directs me to focus o…

Feelings are complex. Personally, at any given time, I have two or three of sideprojects, videogames and TV shows I could focus on, each. But when I procrastinate, I end up reading HN or some subreddit or something similar, instead of coding my side projects or playing a game I've been waiting to play for the past year.

I've traced that to feelings of guilt. I can't enjoy a videogame if I feel I'm only using it to escape and make my situation worse. I can probably enjoy a TV show a bit, for a while, until my brain realizes that it's just an escape mechanism and I get more stressed. But social media in general, offer you a bite-sized escape. There's nothing wrong in taking 2 minutes break to skim comments on a HN thread, or scroll through some funny pictures somewhere. 2 more minutes won't make a difference either. 2 more? And suddenly it's been 5 hours.

So in the end, I don't do the things I have to, and I also don't do the things I want to - all because negative emotions.

(Part of my solution to this problem was just blocking certain sites (like HN) on the router during work hours.)

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