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Getting Past Procrastination

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Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#131

Post by em-bee »

jdenning wrote: post #124
mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your points are well taken, though I want to nuance them a bit. My experience(with severe ADHD-C) is that this type of advice can work. It's just that it's not something you can just decide to start doing and immediately find success at. It's just a lot more complicated to get this off the ground, but it's possible. For some complex organisational system, you need to compile that system into "ADHD byte code" and for…

Please post the link when it’s ready - I’m very interested

better yet, share the link to your blog if you don't mind making it public so we can follow it and find the post when it's ready. (in my case you can also email me (see my profile) and i'll keep it to myself)

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#132

Post by thenoblesunfish »

kriro wrote: post #91

I disagree with the idea that getting past procrastination should (always) be the target. Mostly because I don't think procrastination is inherently bad. There's a lot of stigma attached to procrastination as it's seen as being "unproductive". But I think procrastination can lead to great insights. Your brain is telling you that it is not interested in the current task. The question is: Why? Overworked and needs a br…

This post and similar advice is aimed at people who feel pain from procrastination. You are not one of them, probably. It's not an inherently bad thing, just like any number of things some, not all, people struggle greatly with (drugs, food, etc.).

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#133

Post by nine_k »

CharlieDigital wrote: post #95
kriro wrote: post #91

I disagree with the idea that getting past procrastination should (always) be the target. Mostly because I don't think procrastination is inherently bad. There's a lot of stigma attached to procrastination as it's seen as being "unproductive". But I think procrastination can lead to great insights. Your brain is telling you that it is not interested in the current task. The question is: Why? Overworked and needs a br…

I procrastinate a lot on hard tasks and usually it's because I don't yet fully understand the risks with each decision that goes into the design. I think for younger engineers "fail fast" makes a lot of sense; there's not enough of a foundation of experience to tell right from wrong so the only way to learn is to fail. For more experienced engineers, there's a greater sense of "I have a sense where this can fail; how…

This is a solid observation.

I'd say that procrastination is bad when it drives you into some unproductive but addictive behavior, like watching silly tiktok videos, etc. It can be actually good if you do "structured procrastination": can't force myself to do task X, but find solace in solving problem Y really neatly. Another approach is to take a walk, do push-ups, etc, anything that changes your focus away from mental tasks, and preferably brings more oxygen to your brain.

Yet another approach is analytical: "I can't stomach doing that thing! But what thoughts or feelings make me loathe it so much? Where do they come from?" Interesting insights can follow.

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#135

Post by busymom0 »

kriro wrote: post #91

I disagree with the idea that getting past procrastination should (always) be the target. Mostly because I don't think procrastination is inherently bad. There's a lot of stigma attached to procrastination as it's seen as being "unproductive". But I think procrastination can lead to great insights. Your brain is telling you that it is not interested in the current task. The question is: Why? Overworked and needs a br…

I develop apps and after I have completed 80% of the crucial work, the remaining 20% of the work involves boring and brainless stuff like adding in app purchases, adding features like send feedback to developer, asking for reviewing the app, designing the app icon, designing the App Store screenshot, writing the metadata for App Store description etc.

I procrastinate super long on this 20% of boring task even though it could all be done in maybe 2 days.

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#136

Post by growingkittens »

kriro wrote: post #91

I disagree with the idea that getting past procrastination should (always) be the target. Mostly because I don't think procrastination is inherently bad. There's a lot of stigma attached to procrastination as it's seen as being "unproductive". But I think procrastination can lead to great insights. Your brain is telling you that it is not interested in the current task. The question is: Why? Overworked and needs a br…

I have always found that when a task becomes difficult to the point of procrastination, that is a sign that the approach to the task needs to be reworked.

The phrase "do something instead of nothing" might be more useful than "action leads to motivation." I have plenty of motivation - but my brain does not always comply when I try to focus on purpose. In such a case, I work on an unrelated task that is easy to engage with. This gives my brain a chance to focus, which begets more focus, until there is enough focus to do so on purpose.

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#137

Post by shortrounddev2 »

rented_mule wrote: post #6

> Action leads to motivation, not the other way around. I've found this to be very true. A trick I found that made this easier for me is to leave a trivial task to start tomorrow with, often with notes to remind myself what to do. Ideally the trivial task is on the way to something bigger, not finishing something. That gets me into my editor, gets me running the code / tests / etc., and gives me a trivially easy way…

It doesn't matter what I need to do, I start every day by building my code. It gets me typing commands in the terminal and more often than not there's a build error or warning I need to address

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#138

Post by shortrounddev2 »

jraph wrote: post #24
rented_mule wrote: post #6

> Action leads to motivation, not the other way around. I've found this to be very true. A trick I found that made this easier for me is to leave a trivial task to start tomorrow with, often with notes to remind myself what to do. Ideally the trivial task is on the way to something bigger, not finishing something. That gets me into my editor, gets me running the code / tests / etc., and gives me a trivially easy way…

Yep. When there are no clear tasks, I sometime leave a syntax error at the place work should continue tomorrow. This is quite effective. It can make the answer to the "Where was I?" question immediate instead of taking a few seconds and this is one fewer barrier.

#pragma warning

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#139

Post by stemlord »

cardanome wrote: post #64

It is normal to struggle with procrastination from time to time but if is a regular occurrence you need to check the actual causes. You might have ADHD. And is is very important to know whether you have it or not because all that advice for neurotypical people will not work for you then. In fact it will harm you. It will make you feel as a failure. You need to figure out how your brain works and only then you will fi…

ADHD is so stigmatized now that you cannot with a straight face tell someone "I have ADD" without getting an eye roll, unfortunately. many won't believe you were correctly diagnosed

I've also found that there's no real cure for it. You can take the meds but they'll chip away at your personality and health in other ways.

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#140

Post by Ccecil »

CharlieDigital wrote: post #95
kriro wrote: post #91

I disagree with the idea that getting past procrastination should (always) be the target. Mostly because I don't think procrastination is inherently bad. There's a lot of stigma attached to procrastination as it's seen as being "unproductive". But I think procrastination can lead to great insights. Your brain is telling you that it is not interested in the current task. The question is: Why? Overworked and needs a br…

I procrastinate a lot on hard tasks and usually it's because I don't yet fully understand the risks with each decision that goes into the design. I think for younger engineers "fail fast" makes a lot of sense; there's not enough of a foundation of experience to tell right from wrong so the only way to learn is to fail. For more experienced engineers, there's a greater sense of "I have a sense where this can fail; how…

My expert machinist friend (mold/tool maker) calls it "couch machining". It appears like he isn't working but really in his head he is laying out the entire process from start to finish. Then when he goes to CAM it up it flows very quickly and the entire part is already mostly planned.

I think often people who don't visualize in their head can't grasp this...it appears as inactivity. The reality is it seems to be a hyperactivity...procrastination comes from having too many tasks and directions with unsolved solutions. (in my case...)

Another way to put it I have heard is "Thinking is working". If it doesn't appear like I am working...I am likely thinking.

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