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Getting Past Procrastination

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Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#91

Post by kriro »

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 break? Much more interested in exploring something else? Protecting against the pain of failure?

Investigating the why instead of forcing "overcoming" is quite fruitful in my personal experience.

My guess is "action leads to motivation" might be helpful for solving one of the root causes (likely fear of failure/imposter syndrom) but not all of them.

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#92

Post by [deleted] »

diggan wrote: post #52
bravesoul2 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Grep works too. I just spend a lot of time in git or tools that wrap it. It's an unconscious habit to check the status and diffs when I open my editor.

Yeah I mean I use the git cli exclusively too, and use it switch contexts, but I'm not sure why'd I use it to find stuff that is already on disk. But, you do you, was just trying to understand if there was any benefits I didn't knew about :)

[deleted]

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#93

Post by spelunker »

em-bee wrote: post #76
jasode wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>What’s an example of the kind of advice that doesn’t work? For some people struggling with chronic lifelong procrastination, the oft-repeated advice from the author such as "Action leads to motivation, not the other way around." ... and similar variants such as, "Screw motivation, what you need is discipline!" ... and other related big picture ideas such as Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams' "Systems instead of Goals"…

so what does work then? isn't the problem here that the answer is very individual. for me for example some of the above things do work, and some don't. some of the time. it's like it depends and there is no clear answer even just for myself. knowing whether i had ADHD would not make any difference. i'd still not know what works. for example i have seen tasks lists recommended as one way to deal with ADHD. because the…

Honestly, medication.

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#94

Post by cardanome »

em-bee wrote: post #76
jasode wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>What’s an example of the kind of advice that doesn’t work? For some people struggling with chronic lifelong procrastination, the oft-repeated advice from the author such as "Action leads to motivation, not the other way around." ... and similar variants such as, "Screw motivation, what you need is discipline!" ... and other related big picture ideas such as Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams' "Systems instead of Goals"…

so what does work then? isn't the problem here that the answer is very individual. for me for example some of the above things do work, and some don't. some of the time. it's like it depends and there is no clear answer even just for myself. knowing whether i had ADHD would not make any difference. i'd still not know what works. for example i have seen tasks lists recommended as one way to deal with ADHD. because the…

> what does work for people with ADHD

Medication.

Not for everyone with ADHD. Only for 70% but that is still pretty good.

Besides that, again understanding how their brains work.

Neurotypical people don't have executive dysfunction. If they have a task that they know how to do, have the means to do, know they need to do, have the time to do and want to do, they can... just do it.

In fact neurotypical people can't even imagine it being any other way. For me with ADHD this sounds like a super power that I can't even comprehend having.

To simplify it very much, the ADHD brain is chronically understimultated. It lacks dopamine.

So easy boring tasks can be insanely painful. That is why stimulants work so well. It is not to get us "high", it so so we get the same level of stimulation as a neurotypical person watching paint dry.

But, we can still get over-stimulated as well so it is a balance act.

Neurotypical people mostly manage time and exhaustion, I guess but managing ADHD is managing your level of stimulation and focus and time tertiary.

You need to build activities into your routine that stimulate you, both mentally and physically. Washing your clothing can be much more taxing for you that fixing that complex bug no one else can figure out. ADHD can make the hard things easy and the easy things hard.

So yeah, ultimately every human is different and what works for one might not work for another. Yes some advice or trick for neurotypical people might also work for someone with ADHD but if you don't understand yourself you will not know what to user and what to dismiss and only hurt yourself.

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#95

Post by CharlieDigital »

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 do I design around that?"

It's not that a more experienced engineer will know exactly how it fails, but that there are modalities of failure that have been encountered so the goal is to design with some flexibility or optionality in mind. And sometimes, this just requires a bit of "gestation" or "percolation" before carving the path.

I think of it like an experienced sculptor sizing up a block of marble before making the first strike with a chisel. It's a kind of procrastination, but really, its a process of visualizing the path.

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#96

Post by cardanome »

owebmaster wrote: post #78
jasode wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>What’s an example of the kind of advice that doesn’t work? For some people struggling with chronic lifelong procrastination, the oft-repeated advice from the author such as "Action leads to motivation, not the other way around." ... and similar variants such as, "Screw motivation, what you need is discipline!" ... and other related big picture ideas such as Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams' "Systems instead of Goals"…

This looks like an answer from a procrastinator that actually developed a system to ensure they continue procrastinating long-term. Sure, suggestions of systems that could help with that won't help without a sometimes descomunal effort. That doesn't mean the advice is bad, just that it's hard and most people won't be able to overcome lifelong procrastination.

Your brain does not work the same way as my brain works. I am sorry, I know this is hard to believe but you will develop some actual emphathy once you accept the fact.

General advice for running a marathon will not for for someone who has no legs. I can't will my brain to work differently than it does. I can just learn to cope with my ADHD brain. And you being judgemental about it will not change that.

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#97

Post by mromanuk »

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 all the time, listen to much to your mind or chase the fun stuff only, would not get you traction, probably it’s a distraction, because the mind is lazy. Most of our systems wants to conserve energy or expend at little as possible. Going to the gym in a cold morning is not something that the mind or body is seeking, so listen to the idea of not going would be bad for you. Muscles are lazy too, they just want to chill. But if you make them do a little work, they like it and ask for more. We are weird and we need to force us to do stuff. That’s your job, you command your body

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#98

Post by cardanome »

parpfish wrote: post #77
jasode wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>What’s an example of the kind of advice that doesn’t work? For some people struggling with chronic lifelong procrastination, the oft-repeated advice from the author such as "Action leads to motivation, not the other way around." ... and similar variants such as, "Screw motivation, what you need is discipline!" ... and other related big picture ideas such as Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams' "Systems instead of Goals"…

If somebody had “lifelong procrastination” and was routinely overwhelmed by simple tasks, my first thought would be to see if they are actually dealing with depression because it sounds like something bigger.

How is depression "bigger" that ADHD? That sounds super invalidating.

Being overwhelmed with simple task is typical ADHD behavior.

Lots of people with untreated ADHD develop depression as well. It is not either/or. Not to mention that there is a overlap in symptoms as well.

A diagnosis for ADHD will make sure that there no other physical or mental things present that could explain the symptoms instead. The will try to exclude anything else that could explain your struggles. They check for stuff like depression.

On the other hand, a depression diagnosis is just given out like candy. I never understood that.

Why wouldn't you ask WHY someone is depressed in the first place? I don't mean to invalidate people that are depressed. Sometimes that is just what is going on but it still vexes me because so many neurodivergent people will get diagnosis like "depression" because health care providers refuse to look further into it.

It is such an uphill battle get diagnosed with ADHD.

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#99

Post by parpfish »

cardanome wrote: post #98
parpfish wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If somebody had “lifelong procrastination” and was routinely overwhelmed by simple tasks, my first thought would be to see if they are actually dealing with depression because it sounds like something bigger.

How is depression "bigger" that ADHD? That sounds super invalidating. Being overwhelmed with simple task is typical ADHD behavior. Lots of people with untreated ADHD develop depression as well. It is not either/or. Not to mention that there is a overlap in symptoms as well. A diagnosis for ADHD will make sure that there no other physical or mental things present that could explain the symptoms instead. The will try t…

I didn’t say depression was bigger than adhd. Depression is bigger than “I just need a little productivity hack to get started”

Re: Getting Past Procrastination

#100

Post by devenson »

When stuck I do what I call "prepping". Don't try to do the task, just prep for it -- clean the room, the desk, close distracting websites, gather the materials.

It's lowering the activation energy so the reaction can happen more easily.

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