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Procrastination is Not Laziness

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Re: Procrastination is Not Laziness

#111

Post by triplesec »

jaggederest wrote: post #86
nikatwork wrote: post #11

Interesting theory but I'm not sure it's the whole picture. Personally, while I definitely identify with the "fear of failure" personality trait, I find my procrastination is down to two things: depleted willpower and inertia. To help with willpower, I try to keep my home environment as tidy and organized as possible (which doesn't come naturally). There's not too much I can do about my dayjob other than minimize my…

Ego depletion is largely a myth on a day-to-day basis, anyway. It's not a fixed reserve, it's a skill. Practice doing things that are difficult and you will get better at doing things that are difficult.

Not a zero-sum game. Thank you for this insight!

Re: Procrastination is Not Laziness

#112

Post by triplesec »

mbrock wrote: post #85

One perspective that I've taken to recently is this: Maybe life just isn't exactly what I want it to be. In other words, maybe if I go around expecting to have fun all the time (or enjoy myself, or be stimulated, or do what I want, or however I think about it), I will be perpetually disappointed and confused. I don't know but I speculate about the role of the ideology of consumer capitalism in all this. (No, really!)…

thank you for the literary backup. They help us reptiles more than we think!

Re: Procrastination is Not Laziness

#114

Post by eric-hu »

awjr wrote: post #107
Miserlou57 wrote: post #97

I'm reaching out here because I really need some advice. This is a great thread, but I think it only semi-applies to me. I am 24 years old, and I seriously struggle with motivation to do... just about anything. I have a midterm tomorrow in Dynamics (a mech engr course), and I have pretty much neglected the class entirely, and I am most certainly going to fail it, and I'll have to withdraw. This isn't surprising, beca…

From what you have written you shouldn't be studying. I would honestly consider a complete shift away from a 'mental' discipline. You sound like the lady that passed her driving test on her 50th attempt. This is a person that should not be driving. Have you considered being a lumberjack? I'm being serious here. You need to do something crazily different. Maybe work in a restaurant. Physically hard work with someone c…

> You need to do something crazily different.

I just want to chime in here.

I graduated with a CS and math double major and Chinese Minor in 06. I backed out of a programming job offer and instea ended up working for my uncle as an RF engineer for the next 2 years. That was working for about half the salary and no benefits. I disliked it enough to eventually quit and staige (intern) in a restaurant for 3 months.

Those 3 months have been the most empowering period of my life.

After exploring other fields that I thought could be passionate careers, I've come back to programming and found a renewed interest.

This advice worked for me.

Re: Procrastination is Not Laziness

#115

Post by danenania »

Miserlou57 wrote: post #97

I'm reaching out here because I really need some advice. This is a great thread, but I think it only semi-applies to me. I am 24 years old, and I seriously struggle with motivation to do... just about anything. I have a midterm tomorrow in Dynamics (a mech engr course), and I have pretty much neglected the class entirely, and I am most certainly going to fail it, and I'll have to withdraw. This isn't surprising, beca…

For me, the essence of it was to stop trying to please other people, stop trying to fit into some sort of mold, stop thinking of myself as being on or off some mythical 'track'. The only track is your own life, and what makes you happy and lets you survive. Everything else is pointless, just a bunch of noise. When you give up that way of thinking, life becomes so much simpler and less stressful. There's nothing you're 'supposed' to be doing, so it doesn't matter if you 'get things done' or don't. When you do decide to get things done, make it something you believe in or at least believe is necessary and important for you to do. And when you don't, so what? Human beings aren't anything more than a bunch of monkeys scampering around on some infinitesimally tiny little speck in the universe. We tend to take ourselves very seriously, but things we accomplish don't matter an iota beyond giving ourselves a bit of meaning and purpose.

I, like you, have always had plenty of creativity and drive, but I have absolutely zero drive for any task that isn't motivated by my own beliefs, passions, and desires. It sounds like you might be similar. If you feel such a monumental blockage toward completing certain tasks, then just leave it, give it up, it's not for you. Instead, find something you do want to put your energy towards and don't look back.

Also, as far as psychiatric drugs go, I suggest looking into some neuro supplements first. 5-htp, L-tyrosine, choline, rhodiola, and a good multivitamin (plus eating well and getting exercise, of course) have worked really well for me. For many people, these can have much greater positive impact than prescription meds without the unpleasant side effects and dependency. It's better to work with the rhythms of your body's chemistry than to introduce abrupt changes, which is what prescription meds do.

Re: Procrastination is Not Laziness

#116

Post by davidw »

Miserlou57 wrote: post #97

I'm reaching out here because I really need some advice. This is a great thread, but I think it only semi-applies to me. I am 24 years old, and I seriously struggle with motivation to do... just about anything. I have a midterm tomorrow in Dynamics (a mech engr course), and I have pretty much neglected the class entirely, and I am most certainly going to fail it, and I'll have to withdraw. This isn't surprising, beca…

> Do I go see psychologist/psychiatrist?

Yes. Try several until you find one that clicks.

Re: Procrastination is Not Laziness

#117

Post by drivers99 »

Miserlou57 wrote: post #97

I'm reaching out here because I really need some advice. This is a great thread, but I think it only semi-applies to me. I am 24 years old, and I seriously struggle with motivation to do... just about anything. I have a midterm tomorrow in Dynamics (a mech engr course), and I have pretty much neglected the class entirely, and I am most certainly going to fail it, and I'll have to withdraw. This isn't surprising, beca…

I have felt exactly as you felt for a long time. The answer that's working for me is really short: look at the problem and look for something really small and say "I could [do x]," and then immediately do x. This gives you the freedom from thinking about the larger thing it is a part of, from thinking about the order of doing things / trying to optimize it. For example, let's say I want to clean up my place. If I look at everything it looks overwhelming, boring, and I think about how I let it get so bad. This is very unmotivating. But I look for a smaller problem: I see a coat on the floor. I say "I could hang that up." So I hang it up. More importantly it gets me moving. Momentum is everything! The mind latches on to unfinished problems. If I throw one can into recycling it's going to look at the next can next to it and will 99% of the time will be compelled to do the next one. Whatever project I've recently worked on will have a much greater chance of continuing.

You can do the same thing with work stuff. I could just open the spreadsheet. I could just open the email I need. I could just log in the box I need. Suddenly I've started working on it and I'm good for the rest of the day.

Look for something really microscopically small to do next. It doesn't have to be optimal, it doesn't have to be the most important, the most urgent, or even that useful. If the task is small enough it slips under the threshold of such evaluations. I think this also gets you into the habit of taking action immediately rather than waiting. But if it doesn't, you can always kick start yourself again by doing anything small. "I could ...."

Re: Procrastination is Not Laziness

#118

Post by krcz »

Miserlou57 wrote: post #97

I'm reaching out here because I really need some advice. This is a great thread, but I think it only semi-applies to me. I am 24 years old, and I seriously struggle with motivation to do... just about anything. I have a midterm tomorrow in Dynamics (a mech engr course), and I have pretty much neglected the class entirely, and I am most certainly going to fail it, and I'll have to withdraw. This isn't surprising, beca…

I'm quite like you, maybe not so severe, but I also can't start doing things before it's the moment I'll be really fucked if I don't. And I'm actually most motivated, when I fuck something up, it's like a guilt motivation - when I achieve something, it rather drives me into procrastination rather than doing more. My other strong motivation is though curiosity - I am focused until I find a solution to a problem, but lack energy to implement it.

With social interaction it's also the same - I do get bored really fast, about the time I start to find someone's behaviour predictable (but for me it's borderline people who I can get along with for longest time).

Where I'm different is that I rarely fail my exams - but I believe it's because I'm kind of talented. Most often it's enough for me to take about 75% of classes (not even listening all the time). And it's also kind of annoying - the fact my GPA is much lower than it should be, considering my natural abilities.

I've been trying meditation recently, and it seems to help - even after 20 minutes I'm able to clean my room without mental pain normally associated with it. Unfortunately, I often even meditation suffers from my procrastination - and the less I meditated in few days, the more chances I won't in the following day. But I guess I'll keep trying.

Re: Procrastination is Not Laziness

#119

Post by Aardwolf »

What does the following sentence in there mean?

"but suffice it to say that I learned that the downsides of being imperfect are far greater than the upsides of being perfect"

It looks odd in its context, because the text was about the downsides of being perfect.

Thanks.

Re: Procrastination is Not Laziness

#120

Post by Isamu »

clbrook wrote: post #33

I read a book in 2006 called Mindset, by Carol Dweck, a Stanford Psychologist. I could see how having a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset might help in this case of life-long procrastination. Just a thought. I'm curious if others on HN have read the book and think it would be helpful. There is a website associated with the book that might also have some useful information: http://mindsetonline.com/

Agreed, this is another good book. I think it explains a lot about behaviors that have puzzled me over the years. I think it can be related to the set of beliefs behind motivation, which is a part of procrastination. It may not help someone with procrastination per se (that may be better addressed by books directly dealing with the psychology of procrastination) but it is part of the puzzle.

In particular it might help with motivation and perception of success/failure.

For those who haven't read it, Mindset sets out 2 main opposing beliefs:

  * your abilities are largely "fixed", mostly a function
    of innate "talent" that you can't change
  * vs. your ability is mostly due to learning,
    and you can always learn more
Dweck points out the problems associated with the former point of view, and how a shift in this thinking can transform your outlook on your entire life. I am surprised sometimes at how controversial this can be when you bring it up.
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