Dear procrastinator

[edo]

Dear procrastinator,

Procrastination has nothing to do with disciplining yourself or 'just doing it' This is the most common misconception about procrastination and will instead achieve exactly the opposite of what you want. Let me explain:

The reason why human-beings procrastinate is to feel in control of their life. The act of rebelling against an oppressor, an authorative figure telling you what to do, is your way of regaining mastery over your own fate. Very much the same way kids throw a tantrum when their parents order them to do something, the procrastinator puts off tasks because he has come to harbor resentment against the thing to be done. Why, you ask? Because in your admirable will and ambition to achieve your goals, rather ironically, you have created the only thing that can stop you from reaching your goals: a separate mental authority figure causing unneccessary internal strife. You have created a bully out of yourself.

Start listening to the way you talk to yourself; Instead of punishing yourself for not following up on things, you need to learn to let loose. Adopt the belief that you have the natural tendency to work productively and act creatively. Nobody needs to man up, shape up, or be disciplined. Stop framing the world as if it is a constant struggle to get things done, instead start viewing life as a sequence of awesomely fun and exciting things to work on.

Good luck, Edo van Royen

edit: Humbled by your comments, thank you all. I write pretty regularly, just never on a public forum like this.

note: I notice my writing could use some nuance. Painting an extreme is just a style of writing which helps bring across a point. Obviously there are things that are objectively less fun to do.

[silverbax88]

I'm sorry to disagree, but I do. My own battle with procrastination is completely due to laziness. No one likes to do difficult things, and sometimes even things we kind of enjoy. The reality is that we, as humans, never procrastinate when we really, really want something. Not once in my life did I have to "trick" myself into playing a video game a few extra minutes or watch a big basketball game.

In short, we accomplish what we want to accomplish (meaning, the 'fun' stuff), unless we push ourselves.

[edo]

Silverbax, thanks for your comment.

What makes you really want to play a video game and dislike doing the dishes? Is it something objective about the thing to be done, or does it have to do with your mental framing of the task at hand? I feel it is the latter. A friend of mine reviews video games professionally, and he procrastinates on playing games. I think it's because he is told to play games. An authority figure is pushing him to do something and he rebels by putting off playing.

Pushing ourselves only leads to ourselves pushing back.

Cheers, Edo

[asclepiades]

I think we should also discuss two widely recognized fears which, in my experience, are frequently related to procrastination: fear of failure and fear of success.

Both usually go, somewhat amusingly, hand in hand, but I think they should be linked to the "mastery" discussed in the topic. Fear of both failure and success are, in short, fear of change, fear of losing control, fear of not being a master anymore.

It is indeed quite common to trade a, sometimes illusory, feeling of easiness with the known current situation for the potential uneasiness of an unknown situation given as one the possible outcomes of the failure/success. Particularly in the last case, I have seen that it is not unusual to rationalize that we have already gained achieved should not be "gambled" against the changes that would result from the success of the activity we are procrastinating.

In short, the "I'll do it tomorrow" is usually a "I'll do it when I will feel confortable with outcomes I now consider most likely". I personally have discovered that focusing in the positive aspect of the outcomes I consider most likely, even in case of failure, is usually my best weapon against procrastination.

[vrode]

You have surrendered to the ideology of laziness. But there is no such thing.

The energy enters you, you transform it and then you use the transformed energy to suit your needs.

In this chain, something is broken. People tend simplify this by calling it laziness when they need to put a tag on someone they don't like.

But the real reason for you inability to accomplish tasks at hand is that something in the chain I have described earlier - is broken.

You either struggle to get enough energy (food, sleep, emotion), or you struggle to transform it (usually abundance of low-quality energy sources and inability to improve their quality)

The only way out of this state (which is not permanent) is to revise your routines and methods. Improve and rationalize everything you do, so it won't call to those 'woeful' associations when you start working on something.

[geekfactor]

Not once in my life did I have to "trick" myself into playing a video game a few extra minutes or watch a big basketball game.

I can't speak to what's going on inside your head, but I think people trick themselves into playing those few extra minutes all the time. I know I do:

- "I've got plenty of time. A few extra minutes won't hurt."

- "I didn't really need to get that done today anyway."

- "If I stay focused I can catch up."

- "If I blow off some steam now I'll be able to focus better later."

- "I can do this and watch the big game at the same time."

[pacomerh]

My version of procrastination is not as simple as 'I'm lazy, I'll do it later'. I think the whole problem is in starting. Starting is key, reason many of use will procrastinate is because we know that we will enter a mode where our muscles (mental or physical) will not be idle anymore. Moving from idle to movement is very hard for our minds sometimes, its deceiving. For example, You are sitting down on our couch watching TV and your girlfriend asks you to get something from the kitchen, you know is super simple but you wont do it immediately, because just standing up puts you a little wall of effort that is impeding you from doing it quickly, but you know that if you where standing up it would be much easier. In terms of work, in many cases people don't start things because their environment is not setup, you have to open these files, close these other ones and enter that different mindset where you are not idling anymore. For me, if you beat the "starting" process you are on your way to getting lots done. So in other words, automating your starting environment to avoid that change of hot water to cold can be your key to beating procrastination.

[bgurupra]

I have had several instances in my life where I dived into what were difficult things for me with gusto - for example when I was in school and was trying to write a program in C to calculate all the anagrams , I did not even have a computer but was up almost all night writing it on a piece of paper and rushed in the morning to a place with access to a computer to test my program on paper.That was just an example - I have had several such experiences.Almost makes me think maybe you just can't "trick' yourself into anything but just have to find something genuinely fun for you to do!As long as it is fun - it doesn't matter if it is hard or not!

[ashconnor]

I completely agree.

It's far easier for me to sit here and dream about a perfect future than it is to execute with less than perfect results.

I wouldn't say that I am scared of failure, I'm not, but I believe that if I didn't do something correctly that I will have wished that I never tried it at all.

[Tichy]

But did you ever really only want to play video games or relax in other ways, or did you sometimes really want to do "real" things? I think your statement becomes tricky quickly once you start thinking about what it means to really want something (unless you define it as things you can do without procrastinating).

Attributing one's own procrastination to mere laziness could also be a way to avoid facing the real issues.

[aaronf]

We've built LazyMeter to help with procrastination. We think the main cause of procrastination is an overhwelming to-do list, and therefore a lack of focus. When people know what they're doing, and have a goal for the day that they're working towards, they get a lot more done. I left Microsoft to build LazyMeter because I was a procrastinator and I thought I was lazy; I've learned that I was wrong - I was just overwhelmed. The idea that people are inherently lazy is absolutely wrong. www.lazymeter.com

[khafra]

Activation energy is a factor. If I'm already playing a video game, it's easy. But I've actually had the experience of not playing video games I'd wanted to try out (Humble Indie Bundle) because it was too much trouble to stop aimlessly reading reddit.

[janjan]

This is not true for myself at all!

Actually I think in my case all the stuff you read about procrastination does not really aplly to my procrastination:

I think I am one of the worlds worst procastinators and it took me about 10 years to figure out what might be the main reason for my behaviour. It has nothing to with all the stuff you read in all these procrastination books. It's not about the fear of failing, it's not about the fear of winning, it's not some kind of rebellion against some outside force as you pointed out. It's something completly different:

I never learned to do (unpleasant) stuff!

When I look back on my childhood now, it's very obvious what went wrong: I grew up as a very very spoiled kid which never had to do anything "unpleasant". Did not want to clean up my room? No problem. Did not want to help my parents with preparing lunch? no problem. Did not want to do homework? no problem.

From all those years growing up I can remember only one occasion at which my mother tried to force me to do something. But since I was already 12 or so that this time, she gave up after 10 minutes.

I never learned to endure the "stress" or "pain" of all those unpleasant things I have to do (washing clothing, cooking, ...) so it's very hard for me to do them intstead of just browsing the internet and get instant satisfaction.

In combination with some above average intelligence and a very big portion of luck I was still able to study with good grades and I'm currently in my second year of a PhD thesis. For me it's hell on earth! Giving lectures, preparing papers, filling out forms, applying for grants, ... I postpone all of this stuff all the time not because I am afraid i could not do them or because they are pushed on me from the outside. I postpone them because I never learned to actually _do_ unpleasant stuff.

Does this makes sense? English is not my first language and the topic is quite hard to describe.

[Jem]

I grew up having to pull my weight. I'm one of 6 - it was just not possible for us all to get the attention we "deserved" without helping out. I was cooking meals at the age of 9 and helping out with the laundry shortly after. I cleaned my room, helped look after the pets, babysat younger siblings, etc.

And yet I STILL hate having to wash clothes and cook for my family. I know that they need doing, but I too will often procrastinate instead. I would rather be at my computer than at the cooker, at my daughter's side than at the dishwasher...

Is it my mother's fault? Did she push me too hard, or not enough? No, it is MY laziness that is the problem.

Stop looking for a cause, looking for someone else to blame: you are responsible for your own path.

[Tichy]

Can you learn to do unpleasant stuff? What does that mean - that your will is broken? Unpleasant stuff is after all unpleasant.

I managed to see some positive things, for example when I do the dishes I enjoy the clean state of the room afterwards. Or in general I try to see cleaning as a workout. But you can only trick the mind to a degree...

If procrastination really is there to prevent us from doing stupid tasks, maybe it is not desirable to learn to do unpleasant stuff. It would mean circumventing that protection.

Thinking about it, maybe the way to learn doing unpleasant stuff is really to look at the bigger picture and why it makes sense to do the unpleasant stuff. If it doesn't make sense, not doing it might be the right decision.

[Meai]

Yes, although I think procrastination (just like any psychological problem) is very complex, and I fear that we waste too much time trying to analyze these, therefore making the saying "just do it" or "suck it up" an appropiate response, which as you rightly discovered, got lost on modern parents. Sure, there may be some combination of emotional and logical constructs that will perfectly explain why I'm procrastinating..but then what? If logical reasons could convince us to work, we'd all be working at our top performance.

[nametoremember]

Sorry but I don't see how you got through a degree (and a masters) without having to do unpleasant stuff.

[personlurking]

Makes perfect sense to me. Those who have an inflated "Id" grew up either spoiled or neglected. Being spoiled, you get to do what you want. Being neglected, no one tells you what to do (or what not to do).

[patricius]

I agree completely and feel exactly the same way.

[TeMPOraL]

Wow.

That actually resonates with me much better than anything I've read on procrastination so far. I am burning lot of my mental cycles on thinking about my own procrastination, and it crossed my mind that when I start to do things that I'm (in broad sense) forced to - by my boss, lecturer or even myself, I feel like loosing some kind of self-awareness, control of my life... I never pin-pointed the feeling exactly, but it resonates closely with what you wrote.

Also, I'm so used to my personal GTD-like productivity management methods that I sometimes feel I'm not able to think or work without using pen & paper or Emacs for organizing my thoughts. Now, the thing I'm worried about is that it doesn't really feel like I have 'boosted my cognitive skills' or whatever - it feels like I'm so handicaped that I can't think without help of external tools. I look around and see people (that look) smarter and more successful than me, and they don't seem to be using any productivity tricks at all. Maybe it's [something]-bias [1], but it gets me really worried. Anyone on HN felt something similar?

[1] - need to catch up with LessWrong on that ;).

[goblin89]

Hey, your post resonates with me as well.

I think, the key is to go level up and turn it around. It's not lecturer or boss who force you, it's you who are using them to get something you want. (Here, ‘something you want’ might include money, knowledge, a degree, but must necessarily include plain ‘having fun’ (because the validity of any other reason is questionable—and when you question the validity of reasons to do something, you're procrastinating).)

In other words, a problem of procrastination stops to exist once you start enjoying the process. The GTD tools problem gets partly solved as well: you surely are going to get things done if you enjoy the process (although if it's hard to remember all of these things, then some sort of todo list might be handy, you'll know when you start actually needing it).

I'm not saying this is simple (although I'm sure it is, in some sense) or I know how to do this, simply suggesting that thinking about how to enjoy doing things might be a more productive way to burn your cycles than thinking about how to stop procrastinating. The former problem is clearly stated (which is important, prevents losing focus when you're thinking a lot about it) and is likely simpler to solve.

* * *

IMO, many successful people actually do use productivity tricks without knowing it. It's implicit in their life, so they don't talk about it. Many of these tricks may not like like tricks at all. And even if people did talk about them… The real productivity trick is not the trick, it's your habit, tricks become truly effective when you do them naturally, without thinking. Pick good habits. [1]

[1] Relevant: http://lesswrong.com/lw/60y/action_and_habit/

[toddmorey]

I'm not lazy, I'm not too proud to do mundane things, and I don't feel others control my life. (How would that last perspective explain procrastinating on a personal project like a painting?) I didn't understand procrastination until I understood it from this perspective (and I imagine a lot of the folks on HN are similar): I procrastinate because I'm a perfectionist. If it's not finished, it can't be judged. There's more I can tweak! Once something is turned in, published, or launched, it stands as an example of my best effort. It wears my name. And that scares the hell out of me.

[hetman]

My tendency for perfectionism also contributes but for an entirely different reason; I often feel it's hard to motivate my self because of the increased effort yielding diminishing returns. Yet I know once I get started the perfectionist can take over and I end up burning a lot of time with not much to show for it.

In many ways I sympathise with the OP's point of view to a large extent, while don't really understand yours. That makes me wonder if there's some even more fundamental reason that causes procrastination or whether it can be just different things for different people.

[joshklein]

There is not a singular cause for procrastination. I've mentioned it many times on HN, but I think it's again relevant to recommend "Procrastination" by Burka & Yuen.[1]

Half the book is spent helping you investigate the root cause or causes of your procrastination, which can include fear about control (losing OR gaining it), as well as fear of success, fear of failure, fear of separation, fear of attachment. They discuss the influence of family and culture, gender, and the role of ADD & executive dysfunction.

The second half of the book is a practical guide to coping with your procrastination and habitualizing better behaviors.

If you're serious about procrastination, my only advice is to listen to the experimentally & research-backed psychiatrists.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Procrastination-Why-You-What-About/dp/...

[syntaxfree]

There's something else that's a bit rarer, but not as uncommon as often thought: depersonalization. (Mark my words: depersonalization disorder will be the next ADD/Asperger's/depression as fashionable illness du jour)

In fact, as acute (non-chronic) depersonalization can be a natural response to an anxiety attack, it may be at the core of why "fear of X" can lead to paralyzing procrastination. I've been debugging mine for years with a psychiatrist now, and it's still not clear that I have DPD itself and not depersonalization as a secondary symptom of one of the many things that are wrong with me, but clearly it plays a huge part.

I'm kind of oversharing here, but it's in hope that more people are aware that depersonalization is something that exists, like headaches or muscle cramps, and like ADD (and ED to an extent) is a continuum.

[qaexl]

I'd upvote this comment if I could.

[petenixey]

HN will never see a more eminently clickable post than one titled, "Dear Procrastinator"

[munchhausen]

"The reason why human-beings procrastinate is to feel in control of their life."

Agree completely. Having said this, your suggested solution is incredibly hard to put into practice for many procrastinators out there.

I have bills to pay and a family to support, and working for the Man seems like the only option, at the moment, to meet my financial obligations. I don't particularly enjoy my day job, and I wouldn't do it if I didn't have to. To maintain an illusion that I am not just a slave tied to a very short leash, I procrastinate. Ignoring my email inbox full of pending tasks and spending the day outside in the sunshine instead can feel very liberating, but obviously it doesn't solve anything, and doesn't get me a step closer to greater freedom.

"life as a sequence of awesomely fun and exciting things" sounds great, but the reality is that only a very small percentage of people are lucky enough to lead this kind of life.

[aterimperator]

I would argue that a portion of that is simply the way you view things. I would also argue that you could eek out control like the method by which you choose to meet your deadlines.

Still... I have this work I should be doing...

[wisty]

Procrastination has many causes. I expect this is because humans haven't often needed to motivate themselves, as they have often been motivated by fear and hunger. Above $5 or $10 a day, basic nutrition and shelter is not an issue.

Here's a few reasons why I think some people procrastinate. Mix and match:

- The need to feel control. - Some urge to punish or test someone (a parent?)

- Perfectionism (high standards, the need to over-achieve, or egotism), or a fear of being judged. If it's not done, nobody has to see your crappy work.

- Laziness. Sometimes an issue for people who can pass without working.

- Habit. See all the above.

- Dopamine addiction. The internet has given rise to the junk food equivalent of achievement.

- Unrealistic expectations, leading to a lack of motivation. Sorry, but they lied when they said the course / job you are getting into is the most important one in the world. They say that about every course / job.

[peteretep]

http://www.amazon.com/Self-Discipline-10-Days-Thinking-Doing... <-- this book pretty much sorted out my procrastination problem

[eazolan]

Book is out of print and 33$ used.

[makeramen]

Very well written Edo, thanks! While I disagree that this applies to all cases of procrastination, it definitely applies to many, and was very eye (and mind) opening to read.

Curious if you have other writings posted anywhere? I'd love to read more about your thoughts on other topics.

[edo]

Hi makeramen, thanks for your comment, glad it was fun to read.

I have been toying with the idea to write more publicly. If you'll follow me on twitter (http://twitter.com/edo) you will be the first to know when I do ;-).

Cheers!

[lionhearted]

Great post.

Relevant tactical point:

Replace "I have to" with "I choose to" and "I should" with "Would I like to?"

It really, really, really works.

Instead of, "I have to take out the garbage" - "I choose to take out the garbage." (Or alternatively, "I choose not to" - that's okay too, if you choose to do it that way.)

[ahalan]

"I prefer not to" (Bartleby)

[juliano_q]

I think the OP argument makes a lot of sense. When I was young, my mother often asked (not exactly gently) to do some tasks and many times I refused just because I was obligated.

In the school and in the college it was exactly the same behavior, I refused to study but when I found an interesting topic outside the college (like programming) I had a lot of will to study it by myself. I never really learned anything in the school class, I am 100% autodidact. The single fact that I was obligated to learn something made me completly ignore that stuff.

[WilhelmJ]

There are tons of interesting books I bought, but I have kept on procrastinating reading, since I know that I can always read them later. That feeling IMHO - that I own something and can process it later - is major cause of procrastination for me.

same way my browser windows are a mess with 70+ tabs open. Most of them are only open because the content is too interesting to close and I am too lazy to read!

[user24]

Wow, this is such good advice. You're right, I'm constantly having stern talks with myself about being a mature, clever guy and so why the heck am I wasting time, etc etc. Thankyou.

[jodrellblank]

That doesn't seem to answer anything. If human beings procrastinate to feel in control, what of soldiers? They can be happy and fulfilled, work damn hard, and be only doing exactly what they are told.

The next question, for you perhaps, is "what do you fear so much about the idea of not being in control of your life?"

[orillian]

A soldier is programmed to be the way they are, their lack of procrastination is beat into them as a response to fear, primarily the fear of death. Do what you’re told or your squad mates will die, your commanding officer will die, and by extension "you" will die. Death is one of the ultimate motivators.

That said you get a soldier outside the army life and he finds ways and methods of procrastination that rival the rest of us.

I have always fought with procrastination, and it always has boiled down to feeling forced to do things. If something is not happening in the moment, if it’s not feel spontaneous then I balk at doing it.

The analogy of rebelling against a virtual or fictitious oppressor self is very fitting, for me, and my natural reaction to this internal dictator is only heightened when it is influenced by an external entity.

I might internally procrastinate about doing dishes for example, but if my wife dares to even suggest or ask if I’d be willing... that procrastination will flare into an outright rebellion against doing that “THING” that is “required” of me. Not saying I externalize the conflict, but mentally that part of me that was causing me to procrastinate is now engaged in guerrilla warfare.

My morning was just ambushed by this small bit of writing btw. I'm "supposed" to be doing some programming you know. Deadlines are looming, people are getting anxious and I'm writing about my penchant for procrastination. ;)

O.

[ThomPete]

I think you are replacing one extreme claim with another.

Becoming better at something means that either your body or your brain have to do do something that it's not used to and doesn't feel comfortable with. It doesn't matter how much you love what you do it's still going to feel harder and thus there are a million other things you would rather do.

When I were young I practiced the guitar 10 hours a day for a long period of time. I loved (and still love) music but it was hard even with this love for my field.

If I wanted to I could simply have been playing things that I already knew. Playing around and not getting any better.

But to become better at something you need to get the discipline to get on with it and that will "hurt".

There are no easy ways to become better.

[starwed]

I don't really see where that contradicts what he wrote... could you explain what you mean?

[ctdonath]

"The act of rebelling against an oppressor, an authorative figure telling you what to do, is your way of regaining mastery over your own fate."

Surely you jest.

Oh, sure, some people will procrastinate as rebellion.

Just as sure, some people procrastinate a simple matter of choosing from a menu: choosing steak over fish is for some a simple preference, not weighed down with rebellion against diet or splurging against budget. At a given moment I have the choice to do interesting thing X or less interesting thing Y; I choose X not out of the oppression of why Y is an option at all, but just because it is what I would rather do.

You may struggle against authority an procrastinate as an act of rebellion. Others because it's just what they would rather do.

[culturengine]

Great post. Many great things can be achieved with a short burst of energy/focus, but these things are often temporary and unsustainable, which is why the Man Up approach gets trumped by the I Will Continue To Do Better approach once real life kicks in.

[gwern]

> The reason why human-beings procrastinate is to feel in control of their life. The act of rebelling against an oppressor, an authorative figure telling you what to do, is your way of regaining mastery over your own fate.

The academic literature disagrees that procrastination is about rebelling, and 'efficacy' is only one factor; see http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/ and especially its reference section (Luke is great about jailbreaking PDFs and hosting them; I'm slowly reading through those specific PDFs).

[RobertHubert]

First off, Nice post. But I disagree slightly out of experience from my own toils with procrastination. I find that I, among many other humans simply want to remain in a state of comfort, whatever that means to each person. Every little thing that deviates one from constant comfort becomes a bump in the state of mind, this bump can be smoothed out in 1 of 2 ways, You can do what you should do, the task at hand, or you can put it off in exchange for a moment of instant gratification, or some distraction action. Now in behavioral theory, there is much less mental strife or tension involve in procrastination (initially), and if the competitor action to inaction a mentally or physically longer journey requiring more energy to complete, the natural response would be the shortest of the two. Instant gratification is powerful! Its a tug-of-war calculation between actions, we will do whatever we can do that's easier or more enjoyable unless we fear the outcome of inaction so much so that it out-ways the positives of the other. We are fundamentally powerless against this. For all you fellow entrepreneurs out there, we simply love building things more than anything else. My procrastination for example consists of working on projects or prototyping a new app. I will default to that when countered with options of going to the movies, eating out, or playing video games. One could argue however that fear of failure motivates one above all others to strive for success. Just my 2 cents.