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Why I Procrastinate (2019)

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Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#91

Post by outworlder »

erobbins wrote: post #68

It's like a brain dump from my head. I can 100% identify with everything this guy says. I've been fighting this since I can remember, certainly over 20 years. I thought I was the only one who never looked at grades/feedback/whatever. I'd probably be a CTO or a successful startup founder by now if I'd had a solution early in life. As it is I've done OK but it's always a struggle because work by its very nature is doin…

> it's always a struggle because work by its very nature is doing something you don't want to do because they're paying you... and doing something I don't want to do is very VERY hard. Almost impossible at times.

I'm pretty successful by most people's (external) measures. But every single day is a miserable fight against my own brain. Some coping mechanisms are really harmful.

> If you're a teenager or in your 20s, try and get some help now so you don't toil in futility for the next 20 years. Trust me.

I second that.

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#92

Post by outworlder »

mynegation wrote: post #26

I have a theory that different things work for different people and not all things work for all people. Any particular book or blog post should not be taken as a gospel but rather a set of tools from which you can try and pick up what works for you. What worked for me: (1) getting more sleep - counterintuitive, as one gets less time to be productive, but I find that sleep deprivation affects my mood, attention, and e…

> then focus on this list of tasks and racing to compete as many of them as possible

See, this is the piece some people have a problem with. That requires you to actually start those tasks.

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#93

Post by KozmoNau7 »

InvisibleUp wrote: post #84
spawarotti wrote: post #81

TL;DR: "Most people don't have problems with procrastination" I’ve read the article. I would caution against labeling yourself as having ADHD, IMO it is very dangerous. Every high-achieving person I know has major problem with procrastination. I was nodding while reading the article until the ADHD part. Does it mean we all have ADHD? Consider an alternative: our brains have to operate nonstop at near max capacity jus…

Hi, author here. Since I wrote this article, I got professionally diagnosed and treated. Turns out, yeah, I'm doing a lot better now. On most days I don't have these symptoms, I can in fact study for classes and work, while also doing the things I love. I'm getting back into doodling, I've schedules all the appointments I need to, I have a great friend group, etc. etc. It's not perfect, I relapse sometimes, but I'm d…

> "Also, I really can't afford to live in the woods for a few months. I still need to pay for rent and food and healthcare and such. I'm glad that's an option for you but I can't do that."

That's exactly a big part of the problem; the way current society makes it impossible for most people to unwind, decouple and truly relax.

I'm struggling with my attention span and motivation, so I've been considering getting out of the tech business and greatly reducing stress levels in my life. I've already gotten out of the mindset of always needing to have the latest new thing and the mindset of trying to keep up with the Joneses, but my IT job keeps stressing me out. It's just pointless corporate busywork and dysfunctional processes and workflows all the way down.

I want something more straightforward, more beneficial to the world or even just to my local environment. It's never too late to make a change.

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#94

Post by spawarotti »

InvisibleUp wrote: post #84
spawarotti wrote: post #81

TL;DR: "Most people don't have problems with procrastination" I’ve read the article. I would caution against labeling yourself as having ADHD, IMO it is very dangerous. Every high-achieving person I know has major problem with procrastination. I was nodding while reading the article until the ADHD part. Does it mean we all have ADHD? Consider an alternative: our brains have to operate nonstop at near max capacity jus…

Hi, author here. Since I wrote this article, I got professionally diagnosed and treated. Turns out, yeah, I'm doing a lot better now. On most days I don't have these symptoms, I can in fact study for classes and work, while also doing the things I love. I'm getting back into doodling, I've schedules all the appointments I need to, I have a great friend group, etc. etc. It's not perfect, I relapse sometimes, but I'm d…

Thanks for the reply!

Let me elaborate on my point. Consider a thought experiment: If you would spend 3 months in the woods, do you think it is plausible your symptoms would disappear? If you don’t think this as being plausible (likely even) then we have to agree to disagree and that’s it. Not enough data. If you do agree that might cure you then what does it mean about your ADHD diagnosis? It means that you have ADHD in the context of the demands society puts on you and not you have ADHD, period. That should give you some perspective on what is really going on here. To pile up on the diagnosis: in the article you linked a doctor was quoted saying "You're an engineer, that's not a field that people with ADHD have any success like you in.". That’s my point. If I have an ambition to be in the top ~1% of most performing population and sometimes (even often!) I cannot keep up, I won’t conclude I need to take medications, make it become part of my identity, and accept as an excuse. Not being in top 1% all the time is not the same as requiring diagnosis and treatment.

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#95

Post by spawarotti »

el_dev_hell wrote: post #89
spawarotti wrote: post #81

TL;DR: "Most people don't have problems with procrastination" I’ve read the article. I would caution against labeling yourself as having ADHD, IMO it is very dangerous. Every high-achieving person I know has major problem with procrastination. I was nodding while reading the article until the ADHD part. Does it mean we all have ADHD? Consider an alternative: our brains have to operate nonstop at near max capacity jus…

Ironically, I was nodding along in complete agreement until: > Perhaps try to unplug for some months in the woods and see if the symptoms persist? If they do, I stand corrected. Sure, moving to Walden Pond for a few months would probably reboot your brain, but that's not a realistic possibility for 99.9% of people.

See my reply: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22133134

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#96

Post by FullKirby »

Thanks. I do recognize myself very much in what you described. I've been convinced that I have ADHD for quite a while already, but I always was against the idea of taking medication... I was still doing fine when I was younger, but I'm now somehow unable to focus to do homeworks, at all... I procrastinate, fall so much behind, get super stressed about it, and instead of being motivated like I used to (hello panic monster) I just "crash", panic, give up everything and fail classes. Not great for self-esteem and general happiness.

I guess I'll reconsider seeking professional help and medication

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#97

Post by zackmorris »

I just discovered yesterday that I suffer from task anxiety related to ADD/ADHD, after a lifetime of struggling against falling into patterns of depression. It's felt as almost a pain in my gut between my chest and belly whenever I go to start working on something I have to do. I just worked through this series of exercises and it really helped me identify what's actually going on, with some solutions:

https://addandsomuchmore.com/2012/01/29/taskmaster-getting-t...

https://addandsomuchmore.com/2012/02/11/task-anxiety-awarene...

https://addandsomuchmore.com/2012/02/14/virtue-not-own-rewar...

https://addandsomuchmore.com/2012/02/16/doling-out-the-cooki...

https://addandsomuchmore.com/2012/02/24/when-the-game-is-rig...

Some other keywords to look for are "impossible task" and "executive dysfunction", both maladies being seen predominantly in millennials. I just happened to get them 10 or 20 years ahead of time by starting computers when I was 12 as a Gen Xer.

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#98

Post by rb808 »

I could be ADHD, I hear a lot of stories about people diagnosed as adults. Surely everyone has trouble getting motivated for boring tasks. Surely everyone would benefit from stimulants though? I'm not sure how to tell the difference.

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#99

Post by Afton »

rdiddly wrote: post #76
Afton wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The is sort of the issue with most deviations from neurotypicality. It's a disease only when it stops you from doing what you and society wants you to do. That's why lots of people manage without treatment. But what are you recommending? That people with ADHD should just move somewhere they can live in a non-industrialized setting? I suspect also that you may have an outdated view of ADHD. It's more about a lack of e…

I'm not recommending anything. This isn't a charged environment like Twitter, where it seems 100% of statements are either recommendations that will FIX THE UNIVERSE, or attempts by opponents to misconstrue them as same, for purpose of finding fault (since no recommendation will ever be 100% valid in all cases). RE reading the article, that's where I'm getting it. "My mind flutters from the window to reading the litt…

Your first paragraph is strawmaning. At no point did I demand that you recommend a 100% fix. You made a claim about how the industrial age was the problem. I was trying to make a point that even if true, that doesn't really buy you anything, since we live in the age we live in. If I failed to communicate that well enough, I apologize.

As for the rest, it's hard to know what to make of it. It's like you're building a superpower out of failure to be able to focus when it's necessary to focus. Like if someone couldn't stand still, and you said something like "I bet it's really useful, because you never get stiff, and you burn more calories", but ignoring that it's fucking terrible, because you can't ever sit still even when it would be advantageous to sit still.

Note that executive control is also about planning. Of course it can be useful to rush of without planning, like when being chased by a panther. But it's not a good idea to have a significant deficit in the ability to plan. "Silly bullshit [that] doesn't matter" can mean not having the ability to pay for food, and it can mean having terrible stress over accomplishing trivial tasks (like filing out tax paperwork!).

Anyway. You're welcome to continue to not-buy ADHD, but recognize that people who live with, and who study it, think it's a thing.

Re: Why I Procrastinate (2019)

#100

Post by Thorentis »

tl;dr (but do read rest of comment!): give up social media, porn, and TV (including Netflix) for a couple of months. Take up some form of exercise (lifting, running, even pilates or something), and re-evaluate your attention span.

---

Not to be offensive to those diagnosed with ADHD or something related, but there is absolutely too much ADHD going around at the moment for it to be a coincidence.

My wife is a teacher, and the number of kids "diagnosed" with ADHD is insane. What do they do with their time instead of homework or listening in class? Playing video games for hours on end, browsing social media, sending Snaps, creating Tik Tok videos, watching porn, watching Netflix, and so on ...

See a pattern here? Sure, it is probably an old trope at this point, but the entertainment modern society has given us has drastically lowered our attention spans. Those of us in our mid to late 20s are on the border. We didn't grow up with social media, but we're young enough to have started using it fairly early (but not early enough - usually - for it to effect us /too/ badly, though those using it too much have suffered from it). Those a bit younger (high school age, freshman age) are absolutely suffering from it, and God knows how badly the primary and middle schoolers will suffer.

In this article, the OP talks about what they do instead of study most of the time: lay in bed and browse Twitter and Reddit. Sorry but - and not to sound trite - but that there is a huge problem. It is not a symptom, it is a problem (not the problem, but it contributes) in and of itself. Cut it out.

Unfortunately, I find myself sucked back into social media after giving it up for any length of time, whether by friends, family, a new venture that needs a Facebook page, whatever. But when I do give it up (and I mean all of it: Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, HN, the lot) I am the most productive I have ever been. I get things done. It's not a magic cure, and it must be combined with other stuff (exercise, reading, meditation), but honestly, our lazy modern lives are the cause of most "ADHD" and nothing else.

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