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Dear procrastinator

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Re: Dear procrastinator

#101

Post by adimitrov »

Dear Procrastinator,

Go read up on the topic of procrastination, because it's actually an interesting field of research within psychology. I know you want to, because that way, you can procrastinate even more!

I'm appalled that nobody has yet mentioned http://procrastination.ca — home of the Uni Ottawa procrastination research group. Also home of the excellent iProcrastinate podcast: http://iprocrastinate.libsyn.com/

It turns out that procrastination is an immensely complex and multi-faceted issue, and no one single solution is going to help everybody. I like the OPs advice, but don't think it applies to every procrastinator! Also, it might be the right advice for you if you want to combat your procrastination, but it won't help you combat other "bad" aspects of your psyche, and eventually, you're going to fall into your old habits.

I'm talking out of experience here: I originally went to a psychiatrist because my life wasn't working out anymore (it was really that general.) Several (mostly inconclusive) diagnoses and 2 years of psychotherapy later, I feel like I'm finally starting to grasp why and how my life went wrong.

Not everybody who procrastinates has serious mental issues. But just as a hint: if, for a prolonged period of time, say, a year, you aren't able to get back on track, or you aren't able to fulfill your dreams or expectations, try a therapist, if you can afford it. (I happen to live in a country with free health care, so I didn't have to deal with that, gladly.)

Re: Dear procrastinator

#103

Post by VaporNoob »

asclepiades wrote: post #50
silverbax88 wrote: post #22

I'm sorry to disagree, but I do. My own battle with procrastination is completely due to laziness. No one likes to do difficult things, and sometimes even things we kind of enjoy. The reality is that we, as humans, never procrastinate when we really, really want something. Not once in my life did I have to "trick" myself into playing a video game a few extra minutes or watch a big basketball game. In short, we accomp…

I think we should also discuss two widely recognized fears which, in my experience, are frequently related to procrastination: fear of failure and fear of success. Both usually go, somewhat amusingly, hand in hand, but I think they should be linked to the "mastery" discussed in the topic. Fear of both failure and success are, in short, fear of change, fear of losing control, fear of not being a master anymore. It is…

I agree with this, but would also like to expand on it with something I've observed in myself and others that I believe is the root of fearing failure/success.

That thing is a lack of comfort with vulnerability. I believe this is because most of us hold onto dysfunctional value systems and we also live in reactionary state where we make decisions based on avoiding invalidation from our peers and authority figures, rather than striving to receive validation by becoming "better".

Re: Dear procrastinator

#104

Post by scott_s »

hammock wrote: post #56
Jebdm wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the risk of repeating myself: the "opinion" he is expressing is actually a theory of procrastination. When you make broad statements like "the reason why human-beings procrastinate is to feel in control of their life", you are declaring your belief about why a widespread phenomena occurs of the type which is either right or wrong (or partially right). Making such statements without providing any evidence for them…

Humble suggestion: Instead of complaining, you could be constructive, posting an opposing point of view with appropriate support, as most of the other dissenters have done.

Positing an alternative is not required (in any sense) when asking for support to an argument.

Re: Dear procrastinator

#105

Post by Sthorpe »

The simple truth about procrastination is that it happens because you delay your happiness. The act that you are procrastinating or putting off is motivated by a risk of your final reward.

Re: Dear procrastinator

#106

Post by daed »

edo wrote: post #27
silverbax88 wrote: post #22

I'm sorry to disagree, but I do. My own battle with procrastination is completely due to laziness. No one likes to do difficult things, and sometimes even things we kind of enjoy. The reality is that we, as humans, never procrastinate when we really, really want something. Not once in my life did I have to "trick" myself into playing a video game a few extra minutes or watch a big basketball game. In short, we accomp…

Silverbax, thanks for your comment. What makes you really want to play a video game and dislike doing the dishes? Is it something objective about the thing to be done, or does it have to do with your mental framing of the task at hand? I feel it is the latter. A friend of mine reviews video games professionally, and he procrastinates on playing games. I think it's because he is told to play games. An authority figure…

To further your video game example - psych studies have shown that if you pay someone to do something they like, they start liking it less. Great post, edo.

Re: Dear procrastinator

#107

Post by mv »

eazolan wrote: post #65
peteretep wrote: post #5

http://www.amazon.com/Self-Discipline-10-Days-Thinking-Doing... <-- this book pretty much sorted out my procrastination problem

Book is out of print and 33$ used.

a quick search shows that it was republished: http://www.amazon.com/Self-Discipline-10-days-Thinking-Doing...

I haven't read it, but looks interesting.

Re: Dear procrastinator

#108

Post by juliano_q »

I think the OP argument makes a lot of sense. When I was young, my mother often asked (not exactly gently) to do some tasks and many times I refused just because I was obligated.

In the school and in the college it was exactly the same behavior, I refused to study but when I found an interesting topic outside the college (like programming) I had a lot of will to study it by myself. I never really learned anything in the school class, I am 100% autodidact. The single fact that I was obligated to learn something made me completly ignore that stuff.

Re: Dear procrastinator

#110

Post by qaexl »

joshklein wrote: post #88

There is not a singular cause for procrastination. I've mentioned it many times on HN, but I think it's again relevant to recommend "Procrastination" by Burka & Yuen.[1] Half the book is spent helping you investigate the root cause or causes of your procrastination, which can include fear about control (losing OR gaining it), as well as fear of success, fear of failure, fear of separation, fear of attachment. They di…

I'd upvote this comment if I could.
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