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Structured Procrastination (1995)

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Re: Structured Procrastination (1995)

#51

Post by zachrip »

throwaway295729 wrote: post #46
lucideer wrote: post #34

I feel like this seemed a plausible strategy when I first read it as a serial procrastinator struggling through university 17 years ago. Now, after many years of applying stuff like this successfully for a couple months only to immediately regress at the first sign of life disruption, after an ADHD diagnosis & a bunch of therapy, this all seems like a fairly immature avoidant coping strategy in retrospect. I'm now fa…

I’m on the same boat. What do you think the root causes of procrastination were in your case?

They did mention their adhd diagnosis..

Re: Structured Procrastination (1995)

#52

Post by blinkingled »

If you truly enjoy the procrastination as opposed to fighting it or distracting to another thing - sooner or later you'll want to do the thing you were supposed to do.

Try that out. There is a reason why you don't want to do something and that fundamentally has to do with your mental relationship to the task - the repetition fatigue, the way you think and feel about it etc. needs a reset and enjoying the idle procrastination time gives you that.

IOW Zen mantra - when you procrastinate just procrastinate without resistance.

Re: Structured Procrastination (1995)

#53

Post by danielbln »

lucideer wrote: post #34

I feel like this seemed a plausible strategy when I first read it as a serial procrastinator struggling through university 17 years ago. Now, after many years of applying stuff like this successfully for a couple months only to immediately regress at the first sign of life disruption, after an ADHD diagnosis & a bunch of therapy, this all seems like a fairly immature avoidant coping strategy in retrospect. I'm now fa…

All the systems in the world break down eventually. Todo lists, GSD, tickets, notes, accountability plans, mental trickery, and so on. It all seems like a panacea at first, until it doesn't. What really helps the ADHD mind is diagnosis and meds, and these days LLMs. Turns out they make for exceptional personal assistants that can be used to automate all the boring and unexciting stuff that is nevertheless needed, and focus on the fun creative problem solving.

That said, people with different executive function need different things. "Just do it" is about as helpful as "don't be sad".

Re: Structured Procrastination (1995)

#55

Post by kaffekaka »

I have found that when someone (someone else, not me) asks for help in the work slack and noone replies, the best way to get people engaged is to send a simple "hm..". This seems to trigger colleagues that are actually busy into being "the first to help". Like they don't want me to be the hero.

Re: Structured Procrastination (1995)

#56

Post by Sammi »

klabetron wrote: post #47
codesnik wrote: post #15

I'm doing the same, or at least trying to do it. Worst periods for me were when I had one clear, important goal, not particularly hard but hairy, and nothing else to do, sometimes because I myself cleared it up. I could spend months doing nothing useful , and end up very, very tired and burnt up. I also several times had a conversation with managers, whom I told that I'd rather work on something very urgent, or other…

> Next time I'll see such a response, I probably will quit on the spot; this is unbelievably cruel. Let me guess: you’d quit but your résumé’s out of date because you, like me, procrastinate updating it? (Sounds like a manager trying to manage you out; make things miserable enough for you that you’ll quit without having to go through the redundancy process…)

> Sounds like a manager trying to manage you out; make things miserable enough for you that you’ll quit without having to go through the redundancy process…

Dammit, now I have to live the rest of my life thinking about that this might be a thing that's actually happening.

Re: Structured Procrastination (1995)

#58

Post by Sammi »

kaffekaka wrote: post #55

I have found that when someone (someone else, not me) asks for help in the work slack and noone replies, the best way to get people engaged is to send a simple "hm..". This seems to trigger colleagues that are actually busy into being "the first to help". Like they don't want me to be the hero.

Us nerds cannot stand a good nerd bait. Have you tried just answering something obviously wrong so someone can jump in and correct you?

Re: Structured Procrastination (1995)

#59

Post by TheCapeGreek »

danielbln wrote: post #53
lucideer wrote: post #34

I feel like this seemed a plausible strategy when I first read it as a serial procrastinator struggling through university 17 years ago. Now, after many years of applying stuff like this successfully for a couple months only to immediately regress at the first sign of life disruption, after an ADHD diagnosis & a bunch of therapy, this all seems like a fairly immature avoidant coping strategy in retrospect. I'm now fa…

All the systems in the world break down eventually. Todo lists, GSD, tickets, notes, accountability plans, mental trickery, and so on. It all seems like a panacea at first, until it doesn't. What really helps the ADHD mind is diagnosis and meds, and these days LLMs. Turns out they make for exceptional personal assistants that can be used to automate all the boring and unexciting stuff that is nevertheless needed, and…

Can you elaborate on LLMs as assistants for ADHD? What are you automating with them?
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