Structured Procrastination (1995)

Thing with adult diagnoses for these is that most adults have adapted and are managing fine. But, the adults I've seen that did end up getting a diagnosis were no longer managing fine. I theorize there's two factors, one is family life - where you can't do your own decompression or coping as much anymore because you are Needed. The other is mental and physical resilience, once you're past 30 this starts to decline so your mental energy levels etc aren't as strong anymore.

Most adult diagnoses I've seen around me are people in their mid-30s, which is the same rough age as people start having burnout after spending their 20s doing all the things and growing into more responsible roles.

But that said, thanks to the internet, people learn to recognise the symptoms and know that there is help when they need it. In theory anyway, I know in the US and UK adult mental health care is expensive and/or unavailable.

It all comes down to doing things you don't want to do.

Procrastination as a concept exists to trick you into thinking that you should want to do the thing you don't want to do.

It's much better to just recognize that there's a lot of things I don't want to do, and there is no trick to make me like those things, and it will be miserable doing those things. Sometimes, I'll need to do things I don't want. No way out of it.

In my opinion, it's also beneficial to keep it simple. Instead of playing a game of "if I finish this side project, I'll be able to show it to others, then maybe I'll be recognized, then...", just keep it simple: do you want to work on it or not (does it make you happy?), right now? Do you need to work on it (to pay bills, to support children, etc), right now?

This way, you never procrastinate. You either succeeded at avoiding doing something you don't want to do, or you failed doing something you need to do.

I’m coming to see the root is usually some kind of avoidance, always emotional, often subtle. I think this actually is pretty universal but the specifics vary wildly. It’s taken a while to unpack this. For a long time, when I’d about of a task I was avoiding, I’d just get this wave of a feeling of “ughhh” and turn away.

There’s something the feeling is trying to warn me about, and sitting with it can help figure it out and let it go. A lot of my own stuff stems from school I think. The funny thing is it’s often totally illogical. Like a sense of panic comes up - “oh no! Someone will be mad I haven’t started this yet!” - yes well wouldn’t getting it done avoid that outcome? “no but it’s too late! They’ll yell at me when I turn it in!”. My brain associated “doing the task” with “getting in trouble” in a weird way, and that emotional program runs whenever something vaguely similar comes up.

The surface-level fear might cover up a deeper fear underneath too (something like, I won’t be ok, or good enough, or loved anymore).

All this emotional stuff has been a recent focus of mine ever since finding Joe Hudson’s work. There’s a good playlist on procrastination that’s relevant here: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrbct081G13-ot5FviKz1bt...

Does anyone know why the newest Firefox isn't showing the button for the reader view on this page? The shortcut doesn't work either. It seems to work fine on plenty of other articles on other websites.

Normally I don't rely too much on that feature, but this website is hard to read as-is.

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