Procrastination is Not Laziness

wow! A lot of things hit home. I am glad OP posted this. I wasn't aware of the psychological aspect and always thought my procrastination was just a form of laziness. I esp agree with the "hit"i get of letting myself off the hook, only to be in more stress. Thanks a lot again.

I am not a psychologist, so give careful consideration to what I am about to say.

Have you ever noticed that you can achieve a goal when there is no pressure or expectation? If that is the case, I recommend finishing this semester the best that you can, and then take a one or two year break from school.

Apply your creativity to a project that incorporates some of your education so far. Don't set a deadline, don't tell anyone about it, and don't concern yourself with whether the project can be monetized. Come up with a project that starts out small but can be built onto and improved. A project that can be used later in a larger project is ideal. Don't spend a lot of time researching before you get started; simply start on it. Don't obsess over details; remind yourself that you are working on a prototype, and that afterwards you will be building another one. Take regular breaks from the project and go back over past course materials for ideas in ways to improve your next design. Most importantly, the whole process should be FUN.

The one or two years spent should allow you time to fortify your education and change your subconscious attitude towards engineering. Completing a large project will give you a reference point of what it takes to succeed in the long term.

Hi, I can relate to your situation, I feel like you are describing my life. My experience is this: all the psychological/organizing tips won't help. Problems is somewhere else. It's not about being lazy, not about being afraid of failure, needing latest organizing spreadsheet or anything like that. It's about brain chemistry and people around just don't get it as they try to understand your behavior assuming their state of mind. Books like "The Now Habit" address different problem entirely. I think I've read like hundred of "organizing", "anti procrastiation" etc. books. I see them as worthless when it comes to problems you describe. What they give you is very short lived kick and then a lot of frustration. What helped me is diet, supplements and drugs. I haven't tried adderall but I tried modafinil. It is life changer for me along with very low-carb diet which keeps my energy high during the day. I realize it's very anecdotical but I tried everything under the sun and after ~15 years (I am 30) of misery I finally feel better these days after implementing above mentioned changes. I feel like I lost the best years of my life trying to follow advice of people who just don't get it. Doctors who will do everything to avoid prescribing druga (it's not US). Authors who put well sounding boilerplate advice into the newest self-help book and people around who just assumed laziness. Now I have organized desk first time in 15 years, I keep my apartment clean first time since I live alone (~8 years or even longer counting living with roommates). I paid all the bills on time first time in a decade (it even happened before that they cut my electricity off because i just forgot/didn't want to do it despite having a lot of money available). I have my clothes arranged and shelves organized. I didn't do ANYTHING like described in NOW habit. I didn't implement ANY strategy to do this. I've just changed my diet and noticed I don't need to sleep during the day anymore and don't crash in the evening. I took the tablets and suddently I felt like just dealing with all the mess in my life so I did it.

Self motivation is an art. It's something everyone everywhere has had to learn, so don't feel down because you are struggling with it. As with all abilities, some people are naturals, some have to learn it. My personal opinion is that, as with most abilities, the "naturals" are just people who learned self motivation at a very young age. You have to learn it, as did I, and as did many more people than you can imagine.

Take it as a personal project to manipulate yourself. This is the trick. You want to have your reptilian brain under control, and the problem is that the reptilian has lots of power. There are a number of strategies, try and try again until you find one that fits. For me, the one that really worked is delayed gratification as a reward for small accomplishments. Trivial stuff, such as "I can break for coffee once I fix that small annoying bug that is just boring to fix". Frequent, delayed rewards.

Anyhow, talk about it. You'll find most people go through the same problem. Virtually everyone goes through phases of procrastination, and you'll find everyone has invented their own method of snapping out of it.

I recommend everyone read the book, "How to Conquer Your Frustrations" by Dr. William J. Knaus It covers procrastination extensively and I found the way the author explains the structure of behaviours very insightful. In the interim, do your best to manage your procrastination by ordering your activities that you can do one to avoid another. For example, read this book to avoid cleaning your home. Study to avoid going to the gym. Good luck!