Procrastination is Not Laziness

I think the article "How to Beat Procrastination" on Less Wrong [1] is quite possibly the best thing written on the subject of procrastination on the web in terms of both writing and research quality. It's based on the temporal motivational theory of procrastination, which is so far the one that best explains the experimental data we've got.

Scroll down the page a bit to see "the procrastination equation". Even though I had been exposed to concepts from the temporal motivational theory before I found the equation quite striking the first time I saw it.

[1] http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/

Let me second the OP and recommend Neil Fiore's book "The Now Habit".

There are lots of good strategies in that book, such as:

The Unschedule

  * a weekly calendar of committed recreational activities and breaks, meals, etc
  * productive periods of work are recorded after they are accomplished
  * encourages starting earlier on projects once you see 
    how much time is already committed
  * 30 minute chunks of productive work - too small to be intimidating

Leverage Reverse psychology:

  * do not work more than 20 hours a week on this project
  * do not work more than 5 hours a day on this project
  * you must play or exercise at least one hour per day
  * you must take at least one day a week off from any work
  * do only 30 minute chunks without reward / break
  * work for an imperfect, human, first effort
  * start small

Builds up an unconscious desire to work more and play less

Schedule only:

  * previously committed time - meals, sleep, meetings
  * free time, recreation, leisure reading
  * socializing
  * exercise
  * routine events - commuting, classes, appointments
  * Fill in periods of productive work only after completing 
    a 30-minute chunk
  * take credit only for 30 minutes of uninterrupted work
  * reward each chunk with a break or a change to a more enjoyable task
  * track the number of productive hours by day and week.
  * always have at least one full day of recreation or enjoyable tasks
  * before recreation, take time for one 30-minute chunk of project work
  * focus on starting
  * think small
  * keep starting, finishing will take care of itself
  * never stop when you are blocked or at the end of a section; 
    push through a block or start a new section before stopping

Benefits:

  * realistic timekeeping
  * avoid feeling overwhelmed
  * allows you to experience success
  * deadlines are self-imposed
  * new-found free time

I also recommend another book (by another psychologist): "The Procrastination Equation" by Piers Steel.

The second book is partly at odds with the first, so I leave it to you to see which better describes what you observe.

Summary of The Procrastination Equation:

Perfectionism does not lead to procrastination - this is well studied. It may be that they are thought to be linked because of the cases where there is this discrepancy in behavior. Procrastination is a result of impulsiveness. Self-control and delaying gratification are key to controlling procrastination.

Procrastinators suffer from

  * weak impulse control
  * lack of persistence
  * lack of work discipline
  * lack of time management skill
  * inability to work methodically

Motivation can be modeled by

  * (expectancy * value) / (impulsiveness * delay)
  * The numerator is Expected Utility Theory in economics
  * Expectancy is the perceived likelihood of reward or success
  * Value is the perceived value of the reward
  * Delay is the perceived delay in receiving the reward
  * Impulsiveness is the tendency to (irrationally) pursue immediate reward instead

Expectancy - optimism, expectation of success

  * too much pessimism causes procrastination - 
    low expectation of success keeps us from starting
  * too much optimism causes procrastination - 
    unrealistic ease of success causes delay of starting until the last moment

techniques for improving optimism:

  * success spirals - progressive series of successes build  
    confidence (e.g. earning scout badges). regularly
    stretching your limits is important to teach yourself 
    confidence in your ability to tackle something difficult
  * vicarious victory - relating to someone’s success story, 
    finding inspiration in books, movies, inspirational speakers, 
    joining a group of inspirational people
  * wish fulfillment - visualization of success and contrasting with 
    where you are now. Visualization that only focuses on the goal may 
    drain motivation to complete the necessary steps. 
    As you visualize attaining the goal and then contrasting the current
    situation, maintain your optimism so that you can translate this 
    visualization into a plan of action.
  * Plan for the worst, hope for the best - develop strategies to recover 
    from falling back into old habits. Anticipate temptations and find ways
    to counter them.

I used to have this problem so bad when I was studying.

I'd just put off everything until the last minute, but I used to get a rush from staying up all night reading a topic for an exam or doing some programming assignment. There was a sort of heroic feeling of "They assigned 3 weeks for this, but it only took me 10 hours".

Of course when I got results back and found that I hadn't done especially well it was easy to rationalize, "well if I'd done it properly after some sleep I'd have got full marks of course".

But yes, nothing feels crappier than doing your best at something and failing.

I seriously just bookmarked this for reading later because I need to take a shower before I go to a party (it's 7:45 PM, I've been procrastinating the shower all day long).

From the blog post: "Almost every Sunday night I mourn another blown opportunity to catch up"

The author may also want to consider removing the notion of "caught up" from his vocabulary. Although it's not covered in the Now Habit, it's discussed in other respected books on procrastination and time management.

I used to beat myself up a lot with the idea that there was a (poorly defined) state of having gotten "caught up" on life tasks like those the author describes at which point all would be well.

The problem is that it doesn't really exist - there's always more to do than you can actually do - and denying that fact keeps you from living in the present. There are simply activities you choose to do and activities you choose not to do - that's it.

While it may sound absurdly simplistic, this one change in thinking had a huge impact on both my personal productivity and happiness.

FWIW, YMMV, etc.