What do you do when procrastination becomes more serious and develops into life avoidance? (You procrastinate on everything, regardless of how you frame a task, regardless of the difficulty of it). In the extreme case procrastination isn't a obstacle to task competition but a learned habit of avoidance. It becomes an addiction in the same way that gambling, drugs, etc do. How do you beat an addiction whose very nature stops you from taking steps to beat it? Is it possible to quit procrastination cold turkey? If I want to stop smoking one way is to just stop and deal with it. If I want to stop procrastination do I have to be doing something productive 24/7? How do I attain the discipline for that?
I actually was at that stage a couple of years ago - I couldn't get anything done, which made me feel bad and depressed, which made me not get anything done. I couldn't even start doing something in a meaningful way.
It's such a bizarre thing to think back on that I can't even fully empathise with my former self..
This is what made me realise what was going on and rectify the situation, it all just "clicked". I had been doing this since early high school at the time.
The thing which really worked for me was realising that if I really work and try hard to work on something for even lie 10 minutes, I can get into a flow state and then it's easy. And from there it was just baby steps forward over a matter of a couple of months until I remember getting into a flow state all the time and thus my mind thinks of it as "easy" and it is.
This is exactly the same experience I had when I was younger and learning to feel confident talking to girls. It's really hard, but when I'd done it all the time for a while I have enough semi-recent memories of me doing the thing, that the thing seemed like an easy and normal thing to do.
There are many techniques that work. The one thing that does not work is relying on willpower. The two main ones that work for me are:
1) Make the path of least resistance the right one. Do a task together with others. Make it just a little bit harder to fall into procrastination. Split up the task into a five minute task and the rest, and do the five minute task. Once you get started it's often easy to continue.
2) Engage in conscious rational thinking. The main problem with procrastination is that you do it unconsciously. Try to form a mental habit where you evaluate what to do rationally. When you detect that you are going to procrastinate stop yourself and think on it for a minute. Is it really necessary to browse reddit, or can you bring yourself to do this five minute task and then browse reddit? Stop yourself and think that through and convince yourself, really convince yourself on an emotional level, that doing the 5 minute task first is what you want to do, not just what you feel you must do.
External pressures help. I've been trying to learn more about data science through MOOCs but starting a Masters degree is what really forces me to spend my time engaging with it rather than procrastinating. It's an extreme case but you can create external pressure for most things. For example if you're trying to stop procrastinating on a side project, set up a demo with someone in 2 weeks' time and you'll suddenly find it easier to focus.
I don't know if there is a way to be transformed overnight. But I have definitely achieved incremental improvement after reading a good book like The Procrastination Equation. You just keep iterating, like any skill.
> If I want to stop procrastination do I have to be doing something productive 24/7?
My instinct would be to do the opposite. Clear my schedule as much as possible and give myself only one, small thing that I need to accomplish for the day. From there, I'd build on each successful day and work up to the point where I'm taking on more satisfying expectations. If procrastination is my expectations of myself minus what I can get done, there's two ways to beat it...increasing action (your suggestion) or temporarily decreasing expectations.
To put another way, think about avoiding procrastination as a muscle, you can view becoming productive in the same way you'd view becoming strong. No one would suggest that a beginner go out and try to bench press 300lbs. Start with smaller weights and add weight as your strength increases.
One way of minimizing procrastination is to surround yourself with people who are more intelligent, more accomplished, and more success-driven than yourself. Being isolated (which was the case with me during my time at university), or associating with lazy, mediocre people, makes it easy to fall into the bad habit of idleness.
My experience shows that any kind of approach based on personal organization, use of productivity tools, time management methods, or attempts at habit formation using willpower will fail if there is no environmental pressure (in the form of friends and family, and not just institutions) to maintain a high level of personal productivity.
The first talk under the Getting Things Done section mentioned something that's been a big help to me, but that I had never really thought about until he mentioned it. In a nutshell, it's that maintaining Inbox 0 forces you to make a decision on emails. Often the ones that will end up hanging around aren't anything that will require a lot of time to deal with or respond to, they're just the ones that require a decision that for whatever reason you don't want to make. Often though, you have all the information you need to make that decision, and putting it off doesn't help. Inbox 0 forces you to identify those situations, because you either need to deal with the email now, or explicitly decide when you will. Either way, it prevents you from just procrastinating on it because it's uncomfortable. Now that I think about it, I realize that has happened to me a ton since switching to Inbox 0, but I had never thought about it in those terms.
In general, by the way, I strongly recommend adopting a GTD system and sticking to it. Personally I use Evernote, based loosely on www.thesecretweapon.org. It took me a significant effort over a period of weeks to get it set up and make it a habit, but I literally can not imagine being able to do the things I do today without it. (If anyone's interested in setting something like that up, feel free to get in touch via my profile.)
FIREBASE WARNING: Specified Firebase has reached its Peak Connections limit. If you are the Firebase owner, consider upgrading. (https://blazing-fire-4313.firebaseio.com)
You are right, at a first glance it's just a list of resources. It's designed to break down 'how to minimize procrastination' into a subset of jobs, and then matching them with the best resources to solve them. Users can challenge the subset of jobs, and resources to achieve them. This way it will become easier to tackle procrastination over time.
Trying to do all of this at once will result in failure. Reducing procrastination boils down to changing your habits, which is _hard_.
One thing that's helped me is writing down what I do and observing it as a 3rd party. Writing the log daily is easy. Observing allows you to notice patterns over time, tweak a small habit, and observe if it's working. I wrote about it here -
http://ctrl-c.club/~ksikka/articles/02-write-it-down/
The Pomodoro Technique, which is mentioned on the page, has been helpful to me when I need to concentrate on solo work privately. I'd recommend it. It's an effective technique, and the only one I've discovered that's been significantly helpful.
To summarize: When you start on a task, set a timer for 25 minutes. Work exclusively on that task for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break and repeat. That unit is "a pomodoro". If any interruption occurs during the task, either an internal interruption like you find yourself reading email instead, or an external interruption like someone comes to your office, then you cancel that task and reset the 25 minute timer. Keep a record on paper of each pomodoro completed successfully, and each that's interrupted.
One of the primary values of the Pomodoro Technique is that it helps you be realistic about how much useful, productive time you can commit towards your tasks. Upon trying the Pomodoro Technique, a number of colleagues and I have discovered that one's reserve of fully focused time is typically around 2-4 hours per day when first starting to use it. (The remaining time per productive day is typically lighter work, like communication and coordination, and interruptions of various sorts. It's still work, but it's not fully focused work applied to the task you've chosen.) Over time you can adjust your schedule and manage your commitments to squeeze out more solo focused time, if that's what you desire. Some types of responsibilities naturally involve interruption and are not well-suited to this kind of solo focused work; however, whether that's the case or not, Pomodoro can help you be conscious about how much time you actually have available.
The Pomodoro Technique does not fight distraction directly. It's not like you're supposed to slap yourself when you cancel a pomodoro. Rather, you just keep track of it. This conscious awareness of your productivity engages a new part of the mind that helps rein in the short-term-rewards part. When you waste a day by doing work off and on while mostly procrastinating, it's sometimes easy to miss how much productive time you haven't spent. When you measure your productive time as "completed pomodoros", you can be realistic with yourself about your output, and make changes accordingly. It engages something new in your mind and enables metacognition that notices when you get distracted; when you are supposed to be completely focused on your task, and that notification pops up saying you have new messages, this metacognition will help remind you that you need to ignore it and turn it off, or else cancel the pomodoro. The long-term-rewards part of you that's powering the metacognition wants to complete the pomodoro. The act of recognizing those distractions will fight them. I suppose you could call it the Copenhagen Theory of Time Management. :-)
I found the Pomodoro technique as a life saver as well. The ability to focus also improved immensely with practicing daily meditation for 15 minutes. Both are now daily habits.
Somehow related, I've been looking to block certain websites on iOS for a while now and a free content blocker called "Refine" can do it easily.[1] You can enable just the custom list if you're already using a different content blocker.
This might be an idea to implement something like Stayfocusd, where you could define a list of sites to be blocked between a time period or certain days (if this is possible).
I still procrastinate even when I've got my use of reddit, twitter and facebook down to basically nothing.
Just HN is enough to kill off most of the productive work time, so if you spend time on the other sites I just don't see how a functional work life is possible.
Being on a mission minimizes procrastination. I'm on a mission to build my company Browserling to be a fantastic business. That leaves no time to procrastinate.
I don't have your Dilbert-fu, but there is another, I think more recent, comic in which Dilbert is triumphant about how his boss's poor leadership, which resulted in a project's requirements changing, and in the project's final cancellation, didn't affect him because he simply didn't work on the project.
I personally don't get why people talk that much about procrastination just to avoid the question: Am I using my time on things I'm actually interested in or do I just go on because I get paid too much to jump ship.
[+] [-] kmnc|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zensavona|10 years ago|reply
It's such a bizarre thing to think back on that I can't even fully empathise with my former self..
This is what made me realise what was going on and rectify the situation, it all just "clicked". I had been doing this since early high school at the time.
Why: http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastin...
How to beat it: http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/11/how-to-beat-procrastination.ht...
The thing which really worked for me was realising that if I really work and try hard to work on something for even lie 10 minutes, I can get into a flow state and then it's easy. And from there it was just baby steps forward over a matter of a couple of months until I remember getting into a flow state all the time and thus my mind thinks of it as "easy" and it is.
This is exactly the same experience I had when I was younger and learning to feel confident talking to girls. It's really hard, but when I'd done it all the time for a while I have enough semi-recent memories of me doing the thing, that the thing seemed like an easy and normal thing to do.
[+] [-] jules|10 years ago|reply
1) Make the path of least resistance the right one. Do a task together with others. Make it just a little bit harder to fall into procrastination. Split up the task into a five minute task and the rest, and do the five minute task. Once you get started it's often easy to continue.
2) Engage in conscious rational thinking. The main problem with procrastination is that you do it unconsciously. Try to form a mental habit where you evaluate what to do rationally. When you detect that you are going to procrastinate stop yourself and think on it for a minute. Is it really necessary to browse reddit, or can you bring yourself to do this five minute task and then browse reddit? Stop yourself and think that through and convince yourself, really convince yourself on an emotional level, that doing the 5 minute task first is what you want to do, not just what you feel you must do.
[+] [-] dasboth|10 years ago|reply
YMMV of course, but it works for me!
[+] [-] Flimm|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] curun1r|10 years ago|reply
My instinct would be to do the opposite. Clear my schedule as much as possible and give myself only one, small thing that I need to accomplish for the day. From there, I'd build on each successful day and work up to the point where I'm taking on more satisfying expectations. If procrastination is my expectations of myself minus what I can get done, there's two ways to beat it...increasing action (your suggestion) or temporarily decreasing expectations.
To put another way, think about avoiding procrastination as a muscle, you can view becoming productive in the same way you'd view becoming strong. No one would suggest that a beginner go out and try to bench press 300lbs. Start with smaller weights and add weight as your strength increases.
[+] [-] tdkl|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|10 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] galfarragem|10 years ago|reply
http://markmanson.net/procrastination
[+] [-] oneJob|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bdevine|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] libso|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chrisdbaldwin|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bluish|10 years ago|reply
My experience shows that any kind of approach based on personal organization, use of productivity tools, time management methods, or attempts at habit formation using willpower will fail if there is no environmental pressure (in the form of friends and family, and not just institutions) to maintain a high level of personal productivity.
[+] [-] dikaiosune|10 years ago|reply
2. Find article on how to not procrastinate.
3. Ack.
[+] [-] sotojuan|10 years ago|reply
1. Want to stop procrastinating and get stuff done
2. Spend hours reading "how to get stuff done" blog posts
[+] [-] Mithaldu|10 years ago|reply
http://i.imgur.com/aZ1zkNo.png
Oh. OK then.
[+] [-] emilwallner|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tempestn|10 years ago|reply
In general, by the way, I strongly recommend adopting a GTD system and sticking to it. Personally I use Evernote, based loosely on www.thesecretweapon.org. It took me a significant effort over a period of weeks to get it set up and make it a habit, but I literally can not imagine being able to do the things I do today without it. (If anyone's interested in setting something like that up, feel free to get in touch via my profile.)
[+] [-] nostromo|10 years ago|reply
If you want a good intro to guided meditation, check out the app Headspace.
[+] [-] emilwallner|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kmnc|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] stupejr|10 years ago|reply
Going to assume hn hugged it to death.
[+] [-] bshimmin|10 years ago|reply
FIREBASE WARNING: Specified Firebase has reached its Peak Connections limit. If you are the Firebase owner, consider upgrading. (https://blazing-fire-4313.firebaseio.com)
[+] [-] joelrunyon|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] emilwallner|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ksikka|10 years ago|reply
One thing that's helped me is writing down what I do and observing it as a 3rd party. Writing the log daily is easy. Observing allows you to notice patterns over time, tweak a small habit, and observe if it's working. I wrote about it here - http://ctrl-c.club/~ksikka/articles/02-write-it-down/
[+] [-] dazc|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lyondhill|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jcrites|10 years ago|reply
To summarize: When you start on a task, set a timer for 25 minutes. Work exclusively on that task for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break and repeat. That unit is "a pomodoro". If any interruption occurs during the task, either an internal interruption like you find yourself reading email instead, or an external interruption like someone comes to your office, then you cancel that task and reset the 25 minute timer. Keep a record on paper of each pomodoro completed successfully, and each that's interrupted.
One of the primary values of the Pomodoro Technique is that it helps you be realistic about how much useful, productive time you can commit towards your tasks. Upon trying the Pomodoro Technique, a number of colleagues and I have discovered that one's reserve of fully focused time is typically around 2-4 hours per day when first starting to use it. (The remaining time per productive day is typically lighter work, like communication and coordination, and interruptions of various sorts. It's still work, but it's not fully focused work applied to the task you've chosen.) Over time you can adjust your schedule and manage your commitments to squeeze out more solo focused time, if that's what you desire. Some types of responsibilities naturally involve interruption and are not well-suited to this kind of solo focused work; however, whether that's the case or not, Pomodoro can help you be conscious about how much time you actually have available.
The Pomodoro Technique does not fight distraction directly. It's not like you're supposed to slap yourself when you cancel a pomodoro. Rather, you just keep track of it. This conscious awareness of your productivity engages a new part of the mind that helps rein in the short-term-rewards part. When you waste a day by doing work off and on while mostly procrastinating, it's sometimes easy to miss how much productive time you haven't spent. When you measure your productive time as "completed pomodoros", you can be realistic with yourself about your output, and make changes accordingly. It engages something new in your mind and enables metacognition that notices when you get distracted; when you are supposed to be completely focused on your task, and that notification pops up saying you have new messages, this metacognition will help remind you that you need to ignore it and turn it off, or else cancel the pomodoro. The long-term-rewards part of you that's powering the metacognition wants to complete the pomodoro. The act of recognizing those distractions will fight them. I suppose you could call it the Copenhagen Theory of Time Management. :-)
[+] [-] icc97|10 years ago|reply
[1]: http://pom.ianchanning.com
[+] [-] tdkl|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tdkl|10 years ago|reply
This might be an idea to implement something like Stayfocusd, where you could define a list of sites to be blocked between a time period or certain days (if this is possible).
[1] https://appsto.re/si/Y5pt8.i
[+] [-] icc97|10 years ago|reply
I still procrastinate even when I've got my use of reddit, twitter and facebook down to basically nothing.
Just HN is enough to kill off most of the productive work time, so if you spend time on the other sites I just don't see how a functional work life is possible.
[+] [-] nikanj|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pkrumins|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jhallenworld|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JadeNB|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] emilwallner|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] asgard1024|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|10 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] stewbrew|10 years ago|reply