At the End of a Procrastinated Day • Hacker News Board

Re: At the End of a Procrastinated Day

#11

Post by danso » Fri, Dec 09, 2011, 8:13 PM UTC

Sukotto wrote: post #10

I find procrastination is a symptom, not the actual problem. The very root of the problem is that I'm either faced with something I just don't want to do or can see that the NEXT thing is something I really don't want to face. It usually means I need to do some introspection.

Yes, this. I have no problem working when I'm excited about the work. If I'm not excited, then it's usually some extra-curricular problem or the work is not the kind of work that inspires me.

Re: At the End of a Procrastinated Day

#12

Post by wattjustin » Fri, Dec 09, 2011, 8:15 PM UTC

As some say, procrastination may be a symptom not an actual problem I think the less "tools" you have to procrastinate with the better. My top recommendation that I think has helped me become more productive within the past month is deleting all bookmarks and apps involving Reddit. Yes, it is just one site and you can easily replace it with another time filler but it is easy to get lost on that site for quite some time each day. Replace "Reddit time" with work and you can gain back some time to complete tasks each day. It's working for me and I don't really miss it.

Re: At the End of a Procrastinated Day

#13

Post by dudurocha » Fri, Dec 09, 2011, 8:16 PM UTC

brandoncor wrote: post #4

Reading that was pretty eery since I just ate a banana, got a glass of water from the kitchen, have Chrome open with 20 tabs (including, obviously, Hacker News) and have a Pomodoro Android app within reach. The only thing that snapped me out of it was that my app was free.

The only difference to me is that I'm reading a book in my kindle, and I use the e.ggtimer.com/pomodoro to work.

Feels bad man.

Re: At the End of a Procrastinated Day

#14

Post by angkec » Fri, Dec 09, 2011, 8:16 PM UTC

Here's a realization that scared me to death that I don't procrastinate any more: The whole life only exists in the current moment. The reason being that the past doesn't exist any more, and the future has yet to come into existence. Hence all my life exists only in the current moment.

This leads to the conclusion that if I procrastinate for even a bit moment, I'm wasting away all my life. This is the most scary conclusion I've ever had and it works wonders to drag me back to work.

Re: At the End of a Procrastinated Day

#15

Post by daenz » Fri, Dec 09, 2011, 8:17 PM UTC

I'm with the "it's ok to procrastinate sometimes" camp. Lot's of exercise plans include a "junk day" where you're allowing yourself to eat whatever you want without guilt. The reason is because it's good to reward yourself with something you like, and because it's near impossible to continue at something forever without little breaks.

From the sounds of it, maybe your "junk day" breaks aren't regular enough to keep you balanced, and you've reached an overloaded point.

Take regular breaks, don't feel guilty, and your net productivity will benefit.

Re: At the End of a Procrastinated Day

#16

Post by ebiester » Fri, Dec 09, 2011, 8:20 PM UTC

My trick is mindful meditation, even two or three minutes is often enough to get me back on track.

Re: At the End of a Procrastinated Day

#17

Post by jronkone » Fri, Dec 09, 2011, 8:21 PM UTC

> I've still no clue why humans procastrinate.

I've still no clue why people consider doing stuff so important.

Re: At the End of a Procrastinated Day

#18

Post by kbatten » Fri, Dec 09, 2011, 8:22 PM UTC

angkec wrote: post #14

Here's a realization that scared me to death that I don't procrastinate any more: The whole life only exists in the current moment. The reason being that the past doesn't exist any more, and the future has yet to come into existence. Hence all my life exists only in the current moment. This leads to the conclusion that if I procrastinate for even a bit moment, I'm wasting away all my life. This is the most scary conc…

It seems to me that working away all your life isn't any better that "wasting away" all your life.

Re: At the End of a Procrastinated Day

#19

Post by rhizome » Fri, Dec 09, 2011, 8:24 PM UTC

j_baker wrote: post #7

I don't understand why some people beat themselves up so much over procrastinating. Sure, it becomes a problem when you can't get anything done because you're so busy procrastinating. But everyone has a day here and there where they just can't be bothered to work on anything. Usually, it's a sign that your brain needs a break. Listen to it! Take a break. If it happens so often it interferes with your work, you need t…

So, my procrastination won't stop until I resolve the reasons for my procrastination. Thanks!

Re: At the End of a Procrastinated Day

#20

Post by perlpimp » Fri, Dec 09, 2011, 8:24 PM UTC

I have been fighting somewhat winning battle with procrastination and it sums up to a few things, key ones are: - get a good nights sleep, having less then 8 hours of sleep lowers your IQ and therefore doing complex and rewarding work its a catch 22, you go home feeling bad fret go to bed late. - make a plan before you go to sleep for the next day, visualize, conceptualize results in your head - feel the accomplished goal. - when you wake up focus and tell yourself that you trust that you can be reach each one of those goals. goals can be .. being focused and productive and feeling great! - few pushups crunches goes a long way at the beginning of the day. if you feel a bit tired - i take a shot of double espresso before morning excerize, it all falls into place.

Procrastination can be good if it is deliberate, like when you are stuck and you can't move you can deliberately switch focus, take a nap read a book.

My 2c.