
Procrastination is about managing emotions, not time - clouddrover
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200121-why-procrastination-is-about-managing-emotions-not-time
======
alexanderthe-
I'm just starting to get a handle on this now that I hit 30. We look to
successful people to see how they manage their time, thinking that by copying
their routines and habits as inputs, we will be also be able to yield some of
their success as outputs; however, we will never be able to copy the procedure
that returns that output (consciousness, mindset, motivations, neurology,
purpose, talents, traumas, upbringing, values).

Ultimately, I think the answer comes from ridding yourself of distractions,
and asking yourself the question - "What do I want out of life?"

If you can answer that question, you will also be able to manage your time
efficiently, because you will always be directed toward that purpose.

Without knowing your individual purpose in life, you will go through life
checking the boxes that biology and society put before you.

With that said, it can be hard to settle with realization that you aren't
personally driven to do anything that will make you an idol among your peers;
you can finally stop trivializing everything in your life and just enjoy it,
enjoy the process, enjoy the journey.

~~~
vorpalhex
> we will never be able to copy the procedure that returns that output
> (consciousness, mindset, motivations, neurology, purpose, talents, traumas,
> upbringing, values).

This particular claim feels too pessimistic to me. Sure you obviously can't
copy someone's upbringing or traumas (nor should you), but in general these
traits are trainable. Someone else might have a leg up on being born with
greater charisma or focus, but those are generally trainable things with
effort.

> Ultimately, I think the answer comes from ridding yourself of distractions,
> and asking yourself the question - "What do I want out of life?"

I agree with this claim generally. You won't rid yourself of all distractions,
but you can engage with them efficiently and prioritize what matters.

> Without knowing your individual purpose in life

Purpose isn't a goal like "be able to deadlift 400lbs". It's more of a goal
like "improve my weightlifting". It's a moving goal post and at times you'll
have it more in view and other times less in view.

> it can be hard to settle with realization that you aren't personally driven
> to do anything

Sometimes people do have drive to do a thing, but more often they're chasing
what they genuinely enjoy and that is what gives them the strength to push
through difficulties. Don't feel like you need some deep world changing
mission statement - it's probably enough to act with genuine, directed
enjoyment and curiosity.

~~~
dhshahsndeisjwn
> it's probably enough to act with genuine, directed enjoyment and curiosity.

This is true, but I think you are seriously underestimating how difficult this
can be, and how easy it is to lose track of what it actually, genuinely is
that gives you enjoyment.

~~~
ck425
That's the more important point here. Figuring out what gives you enjoyment
and motivation is HARD and we shouldn't beat ourselves up if we haven't
figured it out yet. The process of figuring it out is messy and chaotic but so
long as we're making some progress we should be kind to ourselves.

------
INGELRII
As the society advances and problems are solved for us, we are left with the
most central core problem, ourselves.

Related to concepts like 'agency', 'impulse control', 'willpower',
'restraint', 'free will', 'delayed gratification' are connected to our status
and self image. If you think humans as AI systems, we are facing issues with
our reward function. Short term reward seems to overrule long term planning
and goals if the outside pressure is not there and we have a choice.

Is this something without technical solution or can we learn to reprogram our
reward function with biofeedback, brain implants, meds or application in Apple
watch?

I think the subject deserves a Black Mirror episode and few startups.

~~~
classified
> If you think humans as AI systems

Humans are _not_ "AI" systems but infinitely more complex. Which is why, among
other things, humans are capable of driving a car safely while "AI" is not.

I for one would feel disgusted with myself if I were to discover that I'm
nothing more than the output of a reward function. YMMV.

~~~
nippoo
The human "reward function" is likely more complex than current AI - and not
always particularly logical (though vaguely correlated to survival of your own
genes!) - but it's probably naïve to assume that we're anything more
complicated than a very advanced automaton trying to optimise a reward
function...

~~~
jp555
I think it's MUCH more naive to assume we are just a very advanced automaton
trying to optimise a reward function.

What we don't know is _infinitely larger_ than what we do know.

~~~
mewpmewp2
It seems logical we would be exactly that. This is how we would evolve during
natural selection. It all makes sense. What reason would there be to be
otherwise? It seems like human, wishful thinking to me that we are more than
this. Since people want to think they are more than advanced automaton it is
likely that this theory is based on imaginary foundation.

~~~
jp555
Would a human evolve in isolation? I think we are interconnected with many
systems in unknowably complex ways.

~~~
mewpmewp2
The system is complex, but I would argue against it being unknowable. We do
not know all the details right now, but it is possible we will know them in
the future.

~~~
jp555
I'm reminded of the The Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

It's evidence that knowing some things _requires_ not knowing other things.

It may not be possible to know everything.

------
throwout98423
I went 35 years of managing to be a capable, but never exceptional, achiever
-- in high school, college, and in my career. I've also been a terrible
procrastinator all during that time.

It was never evident to me in school because I'd get the same grades as the
kids working substantially harder than me. However, once I got into the
workforce, and it took me many years to realize it, that performing to the
"mean" was not where I wanted to be.

The turning point for me was finally getting an ADHD (particularly the
attention side, as an adult) diagnosis and being treated for it. Once I
started on Adderall, I finally saw myself able to put in the same efforts as
others and it felt like I was able to get ahead of others in terms of
performance.

Besides the chemicals helping, just being able to focus better made it easier
for me to figure out what systems I need to in place to ensure I'm staying on
top of things and being productive. You often hear this advice but for someone
who has a difficult time starting things, the idea of "building systems" is
overwhelming.

I'm not sure I'm at the point where I'm confident enough to taking the pills
but I'm pretty sure if I did, I'd be better off than I was before I started.

~~~
Brave-Steak
> ADHD (particularly the attention side, as an adult)

I take it that means hyperactivity wasn't one of your symptoms? I have the
suspicion that I suffer from ADD (you basically described the same life I've
had), but the hyperactivity part makes me unsure of myself.

~~~
rv-de
For further reflection I highly recommend "Scattered Minds" by Gabor Maté.
Exceptional book by an exceptional physician.

~~~
0xcde4c3db
NB for anyone considering this: Maté's hobby horse is that mental illness
comes primarily from emotional trauma. If that's what you need to hear, great,
but nowhere near being an explanation of the scientific consensus.

------
gexla
I have been remote working for many years. And I have done a handful of office
working. I would have considered myself (probably wrongly) the worst
procrastinator. It seemed like most of the people I worked with were able to
get things done better than I could.

And I have been on the "overwork" part of the spectrum where I'm all about
working until burnout.

It's about emotions, yes. But that's not very specific. This is one of those
subjects where 10 different people could give 10 different explanations and
nobody would be wrong. It's a rat's nest of issues. A bunch of threads tightly
wound to create a mess of a problem.

Fixing a procrastination problem probably takes more of a gut feel than an
attempt to understand it.

I don't know what causes it, but most of the time what fixes it is focus.

Why do students cram? Because time constraints strip away the BS and they're
only left with figuring out a strategy for studying.

What are my best strategies to stop procrastinating? I'm out of money. Time is
running out. I have a gun to my head.

Getting things done is sometimes like trying to reach through a heavy fog to
snatch a pin head size blinking orb of light. The moving swirling fog
distracts and makes you lose site of the blinking thing you're trying to keep
in sight.

What you have to do is mentally banish the fog and go straight for that
blinking thing and grab it.

Another issue for me is a failure to commit. The more I think about all the
stuff I want to do, the less I'm willing to put the effort into doing one
thing. Possibilities are more interesting than reality. Even as reality kills
off possibilities, I can always spin up more. Reading HN is like a staging
zone where I'm not having to commit to anything. I'm not getting anything
done, but at least I'm still keeping all the possibilities in play. It's like
a dude who likes to play the field rather than settle down and get married. ;)

As I mentioned above, certain realities I can't ignore. Paying bills is a
major one.

~~~
k__
_" I have been remote working for many years. And I have done a handful of
office working. I would have considered myself (probably wrongly) the worst
procrastinator."_

Same here.

I have the feeling the trick is to get guidance but not too much.

I have many "startup ideas" but I never execute them.

I hate it if I get a manager above me that makes too much decisions for me.

But working with some nice people who let me do my job without imposing some
working hours, tech stack or whatever on me and only give me some interesting
problems to work on and I stop procrastinating.

------
gdubs
Dr [David] Burns is one of the people who helped popularize Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in his book, “Feeling Good”. It’s cool to see these
ideas becoming validated through studies. I’m not very familiar with ACT, but
as an offshoot of CBT that includes a mindfulness component, it sounds
fascinating.

Burns talks about the “do one small thing” strategy in his books, and
(anecdotally) it can be very effective. When you’re at a point where even the
small step seems impossible, he has tips on drilling into the underlying
emotions. Ultimately, your brain sees the discomfort associated with _not_
working on something as outweighing the discomfort of actually doing it.
Often, this is a cognitive distortion — which CBT aims to help one sort
through. And sometimes the task really _isn’t_ worth doing.

I know I go on a lot about meditation in my comments, but (again n=1) it can
help clarify thoughts and emotions — particularly the kind of cognitive
distortions that lead to self-destructive habits. Now I’m curious to learn
more about ACT...

~~~
curo
Sharing a 10 year journey here that involved both CBT and ACT. This may be
oversimplifying it but I see various philosophies in order of how low they
strike at the root. Obviously the implicit advice I'm giving is to go as low
to the root (bottom of the list) as resonates with you:

* CBT: challenge negative ways of thinking

* ACT: be aware of thinking (don't overthink thinking), and commit to a direction.

* Mainstream Zen: very similar to ACT without the purpose/commitment component. After all, what's the purpose of purpose?

* Vipassana: super involved with awareness of present starting with a breathe practice. (Mindfulness bootcamp if you can't seem to inquire.)

* Morita Therapy: same as ACT but with a step toward questioning the thinker

* Advaita Vedanta (or I've heard Dzogchen Zen): challenge the thinker/contemplator/meditator. "Who am I?" root out the original thought of a separate self. Recommended: Ramana Maharshi, Papaji, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Mooji (or Cloud of Unknowing if your Christian).

~~~
BogdanPetre
Thanks for the details! Now I'll be busy a few hours researching all these,
therefore procrastinating :)

~~~
curo
ha, shortcut: skip to the end

------
EndXA
If anyone wants to learn more about this topic, I wrote an extensive overview
of specific reasons why people procrastinate:
[https://solvingprocrastination.com/why-people-
procrastinate/](https://solvingprocrastination.com/why-people-procrastinate/)

It covers all of the most common reasons for procrastination, such as abstract
goals, a disconnect from the future self, anxiety, task aversion,
perfectionism, and fear of failure.

In addition, there's a comprehensive follow-up article, which explains how you
can use this information in order to overcome your procrastination:
[https://solvingprocrastination.com/how-to-stop-
procrastinati...](https://solvingprocrastination.com/how-to-stop-
procrastinating/)

It describes a system you can use for overcoming procrastination, as well as
various specific techniques you can implement, such as breaking large tasks
into actionable pieces, scheduling tasks based on your productivity cycles,
marking streaks of successes, and visualizing your future-self.

~~~
AstralStorm
Ultimate issue it does not tackle is lack of real reward.

Usually when we do something that is not strictly required of us it's for a
reward. (Including mutants who like solving problems just for the sake of
solving problems.)

Abstract rewards are obviously not rewards. They're hypotheticals.

Most of the time we do not get rewarded for work, much less proportionally to
effort. This of course over time ruins self-control on tasks.

(It's good that caring for kids is hard wired in most.)

~~~
EndXA
I understand what you're saying, but I'm not sure I agree.

Both articles discuss the concept of rewards extensively, though sometimes
using different terms, which is what might have led to your conclusion.

For example, in the 'why people procrastinate' article, this falls under
reasons such as 'lack of motivation' and 'rewards that are far in the future'.
In the 'how to stop procrastinating' article, this falls under various tips
for increasing how rewarding tasks feel, such as 'gamify your behavior',
'create streaks', and 'visualize your future self'.

Also, two important distinctions to keep in mind with regard to this:

\- Goals and rewards are not necessarily identical. For example, you might
have the goal of exercising three times a week, and get a reward of being
complimented on your physical change by others.

\- There is a difference between goals/rewards that are abstract and goals and
rewards that _feel_ abstract. For example, even a concrete reward can feel
abstract if it's far in the future.

~~~
AstralStorm
The main problem I had with the article is lack of actual solution for this
perception.

It only provides a general rule which does not work because you cannot change
a reward for a task, and self deception taxes the other systems responsible
for procrastination.

------
mettamage
Yesterday I had a bit of a talk with myself about my behavior pertaining to
procrastination.

I am addicted to:

\- YouTube

\- Gaming

Worse, I have quite a runway due to low living expenses.

I came with a new idea today, I hope it helps anyone else.

I need to get good at generating my own feelings. This is why I play games and
watch videos. I do it to feel something.

In order to do that I need to stay as close as to the activity itself while
doing it myself.

I came up with the following replacement rules:

TouTube —> tell a story to myself. Yesterday I started a story about an alien
who is a cat (and I wasn’t thinking about the show Salem even!). This
cat/alien has seen humans for 5000 years.

Games —> digital product design. Yesterday I imagined how it is to design a
newsletter, in terms of aesthetics and UX.

I hope this idea might help anyone. I sure haven’t read it anywhere.

~~~
trianglem
>to feel something

This is a phrase I hear in American discourse a lot. What does it mean?

~~~
neuronic
The question is a bit odd if you are human, but let me explain this in short
terms.

Modern lifestyle has stripped many of us of essential, real problems. By far
not all, of course, but definitely the generally well-paid IT crowd on HN.

So instead of hustling to survive like a maid in 1929 Berlin (I am watching
_Babylon Berlin_ right now) what's left over are luxury problems, especially
if you're in the double income no kids crowd. What the Internet calls "first
world problems" but even less "important". Just pull yourself together after
all, right? (the answer is no, this will of course break you, or anyone, in
the long run but that's a huge off the rails discussion).

What side project can I have? How can I fill my day with something useful
instead of gaming? There is a profound emptiness for some people. The vast
majority of jobs aren't as amazing as you are supposed to pretend in
interviews. You stop feeling useful and doubt your place in society. Educated,
trained but not applied to something that makes sense.

Do I have to feel guilty about gaming because I am not productive after 6pm or
should I invest time to develop myself because HN tells me to? After spending
8 exhausting hours at my job that lines someone else's pockets?

This is where your mental game is played after the "real" problems are not a
threat anymore. It's hard for struggling hard working people who bust their
asses to pay rent to understand. I know because that's been me. I have seen
both sides.

Going to bed anxious because some huge bill just arrived. Now I am going to
bed thinking: "what am I even here for?"

And I actually enjoy my job. But in the end I am doing something shallow,
something useless. Not advancing humanity or something.

~~~
mikelyons
This is quite a good description of it.

I'm so tired of existing. I don't have a brain that's wired in such a way that
I'll ever really create something worthwhile.

I am equally unlikely to ever find a partner who would want children with me.

Why even maintain this existence...?

~~~
CartyBoston
The pain you express here is one I recognize, I'm sorry. For me the answer is
simple to say and difficult to execute - if I don't value the world I am in,
create a world that I do value. Creating worlds is awesome, literally Godlike.
And very, very hard work that I try to be patient watching me flail at.

~~~
MattSayar
Kindof reminds me of that one poem about changing the world:

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.

I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.

When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I
couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and
suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an
impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town.
Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the
world.

------
rl3
> _Chronic procrastination is linked with mental and physical health costs,
> from depression and anxiety ..._

I would argue that anxiety can actually be a cause of procrastination. It
turns into a nasty feedback loop that can go something like this:

Anxious -> Procrastination -> [Depression] -> More anxious -> Repeat

Depression of course depending on the circumstances, but it stands to reason
if you're a chronic procrastinator that frequently doesn't get done what you
want to get done, depression will often follow in some cases.

I had the privilege of experiencing this cycle first hand due to
pharmacological reasons when I was on a xanthine derivative for nine months.
Methylated xanthine is chemically similar to caffeine, so being hopped up on
that 24/7 was ultimately quite unpleasant. It was common for others to only
tolerate the same medication for weeks due to anxiety issues. Once I went off
the stuff, the procrastination ceased within days. It was like a new lease on
life.

Which is ironic, because even years before that I'd always considered myself a
bad procrastinator. No doubt habits and, to a greater extent emotional well-
being (as the article states) are considerable factors.

I would also argue hypomanic features and ADHD can play a large role in
procrastination as well. Furthermore, I suspect the two are often confused for
one another and share similar pathology.

~~~
vegardx
Some people argue that what we're today are calling ADHD should be referred to
as emotional impulsiveness. The argument is that lack of emotional control
causes all kinds of symptoms, like inattentiveness or irritability (shocker!).
Dr. Russell Barkley makes a compelling argument for it in a number of talk and
papers. I highly recommend looking it up, you should be able to find some of
his talks on YouTube.

I'm diagnosed with both bipolar disorder 2 (rapid cycling, the one that gives
you hypomania) and ADHD (inattentive type). It was a lengthy process to be
diagnosed since they are overlapping so much, especially the hypomania part.
They are also kind of rarely seen as co-morbid disorders, but apparently it
happens and both needs to be properly addressed for anything to have any
effect.

(If you're suffering from ADHD or BP2 and feel that you're not seeing that
much effect from medication or other treatment it's worth checking out. At
least people diagnosed with BP2 and medicated, seeing as the medication
usually is very effective.)

~~~
rl3
> _Some people argue that what we 're today are calling ADHD should be
> referred to as emotional impulsiveness. The argument is that lack of
> emotional control causes all kinds of symptoms ..._

While that's certainly a major component, I believe sensory stimulation also
plays a role. Certain video games for example tend to yield considerably
higher dopamine rewards in part due to their elevated degree of stimuli
relative to other, less stimulating activities.

It's why I can play certain games to a world-class level, and then by the same
token attempt to read technical literature but find myself re-reading the same
sentence a dozen times over.

On that front, I've found that if I really attempt to immerse myself in a
topic in every way I can, while simultaneously convincing myself on the
emotional front that learning whatever I'm attempting to learn will be
fantastic-it tends to result in better attention. It's as if my mind has a
minimum RPM requirement to operate, and the primary challenge is just
achieving a minimum speed that gets the blades moving.

> _I highly recommend looking it up, you should be able to find some of his
> talks on YouTube._

Just watched a (partial?) talk of his, thank you. It was quite informative.[0]

He mentioned a steady stream of fast-metabolized glucose [to the frontal lobe]
helping tremendously. That's in weird contrast to my experience, as I tend to
avoid virtually all refined sugars. In fact, I also fast for 16 hours every
day, finding that my mental clarity and focus is best during the fasting
period. I've also noticed throughout my life that large-portion meals will
often completely ruin focus.

That said, the brain consumes a surprising amount of energy. His findings make
me wonder if neurometabolic disorders aren't at play. The talk in question was
given in 2012 however; much has happened since. TBI (severe brain injury) and
mTBI (concussion) patients often experience attention deficits following
injury, and in the latter case it's thought to be almost exclusively a
pathology characterized by disruption of metabolic homeostasis within the
brain.

> _It was a lengthy process to be diagnosed since they are overlapping so
> much, especially the hypomania part. They are also kind of rarely seen as
> co-morbid disorders, but apparently it happens and both needs to be properly
> addressed for anything to have any effect._

I suspect I have both, but never sought treatment. Looking back, I've probably
had each for well over a decade. ADHD was suspected early but seemed to lessen
in severity over time; treatment not sought due to aversion of stimulant-class
drugs. Only recently did I put the pieces together on the BP2 front. However,
I meet the diagnostic criteria for both—especially BP2—with basically 15 years
of severe deficits in instrumental planning and life achievement to show for
it. Granted, my life from adolescence onward was a radical and difficult
departure from normal, so even recognizing the aforementioned long-term
deficits was a challenge.

Ironically it took me so long to piece together that I've no longer the luxury
of taking a gamble on medication for it. In (unknowingly) keeping with Dr.
Barkley's advice, I've established an external goal accountability system via
way of throwing myself off a financial cliff from which failure is not an
option. Fortunately I'm also in the process of constructing what he calls
external prosthesis in the form of highly visible time management systems
spanning intra-daily, short-term, and long-term goals. Likewise intense
regular exercise, a clean diet, intermittent fasting, proper sleep habits,
emotional introspection, and purpose.

Historically I always succeed whenever a fire is lit under my ass, so I'm not
too worried. The brain is many things, but in often boils down to patterning.
Counter-intuitively, habit formation is most difficult in the beginning. Once
established, habits—such as focusing on a single insufficiently-stimulating
item—become easier. Repetition and discipline sometimes feel insurmountable at
first.

As torturous as it can be however, I ultimately view it as a creative gift.
Combined with the compulsion towards deep thinking it affords, it's
essentially a competitive advantage as far as I'm concerned.

[0]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tpB-B8BXk0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tpB-B8BXk0)

~~~
vegardx
I can relate to feeling like it's a creative gift, but the problem is often
that it can be hard to communicate your ideas to others. They are often very
complex (from the outside point of view) and can be hard to follow (since they
are disorganized, scatterbrain). They look like abstract ideas, but they're
not. Being able to break them down into more manageable pieces is something I
struggle a lot with.

Like everything in neuropsychology it can be hard to nail down conclusive
answers. Reduced intake of sugar can have other positive effects that
outweighs other negative effects, etc. I think this is the you-do-you area,
where you just need to find out what works and what doesn't. Overloading
yourself with sensory stimuli, like gaming, often have the same effect as
taking medication.

I would try to get treatment for bipolar disorder, it's a very manageable
disorder. The medication is really good and has few side effects. At least
compared to what you're used to in this field. Identifying bad patterns can be
so helpful, and some of them aren't that obvious. The effects can lag behind
for many days.

------
benjaminsuch
I noticed that I procrastinate when I have to do things I don't want to do OR
if I don't know how to do them. An example for the latter would be a
programming issue. If I don't know how to solve it or I expect it to be a big
hassle I procrastinate away from it.

~~~
yiyus
That's curious. I have the opposite problem.

Solving difficult problems is a main part of my job. I love a challenge and
get totally absorbed by a good problem. I read everything I find about the
topic, I try different solutions, I think about it the whole time. But once I
have figured out a solution and I have to do all the tedious work that comes
after, I lose interest and start doing other things.

Programming is an interesting example. I get to work when I have to think how
to refactor everything in a nice way, for example, but once I find the right
design and I see it works, changing everything becomes a mechanical task, and
I tend to postpone that tedious work to try to solve some weird problem I
found by chance in some irc channel or stackexchange.

I think that this diversity is great. We should work together!

------
psv1
I was incredibly unproductive during the first half of my 20s and
procrastinated to the point of setting my career back a few years. Around the
time I turned 26 I was suddenly able to actually do what I said I would, get
stuff done, and in fact be extremely productive.

So even though I've overcome it myself, I have no idea what advice to give to
someone who's struggling with procrastination.

------
pmoriarty
Tim Pychyl, who's ideas this article discusses, goes in to these ideas much
more deeply in a really fantastic video here: [1]

I've watched a ton of videos on procrastination, and read a lot about it, and
this video is head and shoulders above everything else. Highly recommended.

He also has the iProcrastinate Podcast[2], which also has some useful and
interesting episodes.

[1] -
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhFQA998WiA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhFQA998WiA)

[2] - [http://iprocrastinate.libsyn.com/](http://iprocrastinate.libsyn.com/)

~~~
kirkby
He also wrote an easily readable book on the subject called "The
Procrastination Puzzle".

------
rafaelvasco
I recently adopted a timed activity method. I make a list like: Eat, Watch TV,
Code, Playing Games, Play Guitar etc. I then allocate a timeframe for each
one. Every week night after work I do it like: 30m eating and watching netflix
at the same time, 20m hard exercise, 60m guitar, 60m coding, 60m gaming, 60m
reading. All timed with my smartphone. This is key. It must be timed with an
alarm at the end. There's always more or less 290 minutes available each night
to allocate. If I remove one activity I just double the time of another one
and so on. This way the procrastination was completely obliterated. Also I can
more easily maintain really useful habits like exercise everyday, practice
something everyday etc. I can exchange reading time for meditation time for
example. At weekends it's the same idea, just with more activities and/or
bigger time frames. The more time you have the easier it is to waste it all if
you don't organize yourself;

~~~
tra3
This is similar to pomodoro technique [0]. I love it because it gets me in
"the zone" quickly.

> I recently adopted a timed activity method

I'm not sure how long you'll be able to sustain it, but my experience has been
that unstructured free time is absolutely necessary for recreation. If you
push yourself too hard, you'll burn out.

Good luck!

[0]: [https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-
technique](https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique)

~~~
rafaelvasco
Yes. I've noticed it. You can't just live like this 100%. Best of life is
still all about unexpected and surprising things as well. But this is useful
to get you to focus. One must make a balance with these things. Fixed timings,
alarms etc are just to get you used to it. The idea is that your mind get
conditioned to better manage your time. The final goal is building effective
life habits; It is vital that not only you manage your current life but seek
to open your life to new horizons by doing different activities and exploring
new things. I recently moved away to a new City, and that makes a huge
difference. Opens several windows of opportunity, which by the way is another
very interesting topic;

------
enigami
[https://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-
procrasti...](https://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-
procrastinate.html)

WaitButWhy blog gave me an amazing insight into why do we procrastinate in the
most simplest form. I've felt like, I was literally reading about me

~~~
Brave-Steak
While I've spent a lot of time reading everything he's written, I never felt
that any of it helped me overcome my procrastination. It was just recognition
and a shallow, fleeting satisfaction in that recognition.

~~~
flopunctro
I don't think it helped him (Tim of WbW) either. I don't think it was even
supposed to help; reading his writings, I never had the feeling he was
offering a solution -- rather, he was fascinated by the phenomenon, and was
doing a kind of nerdy, technical analysis of his state. One that I (and
others) could resonate with.

What actually helped me was framing the issue in a somewhat buddhist manner. I
purchased his Panic Monster and the Monkey, sat them on my desk, and tried to
look at them (and thus at my procrastination) with kindness and acceptance.

FWIW, my procrastination hasn't gone away (here I am, on HN); but it shrunk,
and it stopped being such a big problem for me.

------
tern
Learning how to process my emotions made procrastination a non-issue in my
life. After learning better models, I don't even use the word anymore.

There are many techniques, but I'd recommend looking at the bio-emotive
framework to start.

~~~
walamaking
Could you elaborate a bit on what this bio-emotive framework is? I checked out
Dr. Douglas J. Tataryn's website but there's some paid content.

------
nestorherre
I can recommend reading the books Atomic Habits, Deep Work and Digital
Minimalism. The biggest takeaway from all 3 imho is environment design [1]
[2], explained best in Atomic Habits (but also "used" in the other 2).

Also I'd recommend the Pomodoro technique, which is quite useful for me.

[1] [https://jamesclear.com/power-of-
environment](https://jamesclear.com/power-of-environment) [2]
[https://jamesclear.com/environment-design-organ-
donation](https://jamesclear.com/environment-design-organ-donation)

------
rvz
If you are going to procrastinate somewhere, you might as well do it here on
HN. At least you can be inspired about other people's projects, tutorials and
learn something etc. But reading generic news articles like this about
procrastination? I don't think so.

~~~
mettamage
Yea but ultimately no.

Too much of anything screws you over. Too much HN feels like hoarding huge
piles of clothes in your house. Except, the clothes are knowledge.

The problem is that you’re not structuring the knowledge inside your mind.
This can be fine when reading an article but not when you read 20 to a 100 per
day.

I’ve been there, I wouldn’t be able to remember what I read.

With that said, you do learn something.

~~~
graphpapa
the antidote presumably being whatever a capsule wardrobe is for information

~~~
neuronic
It's also the discipline to clean up, keep it ordered and throw things out
that aren't useful anymore.

------
yogrish
Probably this is the best explanation by Oliver Emberton on how to beat
procrastination. [https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/01/15/how-do-i-
get-o...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/01/15/how-do-i-get-over-my-
bad-habit-of-procrastinating/#3814ce2f544c)

~~~
newqer
Thank you for the mental image of an impulsive baby reptile in my brain.

------
joshklein
I recommend “Procrastination” by Burka & Yuen.

For the kind of person who frequents this site and endures suffering due to
procrastination, even seeing their clinical definition of maladaptive
perfectionism (and learning why procrastinating provides relief from it) could
reduce your level of anxiety and self-flagellation, if not help you change
your behavior.

The first section of their book provides a framework for understanding what is
happening when you procrastinate, then orients your investigation into the
underlying causes specific to you (or those not applicable to you). The book's
second section offers self-directed cognitive behavioral therapies.

"Procrastination" is based on decades of the authors’ clinical experience. The
25th anniversary edition pulls in updated academic research from as far afield
as behavioral economics (future discounting) that didn't exist when the book
was first published.

[This comment is a reposted version of one of my own previous comments]

------
gfs78
Procrastination is more about dreams, opportunities and possible outcomes than
time management and emotions.

If you have the chance to win it big doing something you love you will find
the time. If you have less of a chance or you don´t like it that much you
won´t be able to find that much time. If what you have to do is something out
of obligation or you don´t care at all you will procrastinate.

And it´s fine. It´s your inner compass trying to tell you that maybe this is
not for you/wasted effort.

In the short term the best strategy for procrastination is to put your pants
on and do it. In the long term is making sense about why you are doing what
you do and evaluating if it brings value to your life or not.

------
sambe
I can't believe the state-of-the-art thinking was genuinely that it's a time
management problem. Surely some self-awareness of the mental battle goes a
long way to quashing that quickly. I'm not thinking "I estimate this will take
1 hour". I'm thinking "I don't want to do this", and there's a tension between
inevitability and the unpleasantness.

~~~
m-i-l
Same here. Long ago I realised that I have a tendency to procrastinate when
faced with having to do things I don't want to do (while conversely being
quite good at being focussed on the things I do want to do). Time management
only comes into it in the the sense that I want to spend less time doing
things I don't like and more time doing the things I do like. Doesn't seem a
particularly surprising piece of self-insight to be honest. So, when I realise
I'm procrastinating, i.e. faced with something I don't want to do, questions
are: Do I really have to do it? If I really have to do it, why don't I want to
do it and can I make it any less bad? And if I have to do it and can't turn it
into something I really want to do, why can't I simply just get it done and
out of the way so I can get on with the other things I actually want to do
instead? I wouldn't be surprised if this was generally applicable to some or
many other people too.

------
fend_lost
You think your emotions are behind the wheel and telling you what to (and not
to) do? If you think that, then you're going to have a difficult time getting
to the root of the problem.

Emotions (often multiple) are the middlemen designed to keep you from
confronting your "self". Well all live behind our subconscious, there's no
escaping that. The problems arise when we choose to go on auto-pilot and rely
on our subconscious too much.

You think you have problems in this world? How many? Dozens, hundreds? Wrong.
You have one problem, and its you.

Marianne Williamson nails it with this thought...

    
    
        “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

~~~
realbarack
Better formatting:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we
are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most
frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented,
fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your
playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about
shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all
meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God
that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we
let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do
the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically
liberates others.”

------
zackmorris
I posted this comment under the "Why I procrastinate"
([https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22127841](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22127841))
and "ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle"
([https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22129777](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22129777))
articles today, but I think it's important enough to the HN viewership that it
should be shared here as well. Hope this helps someone:

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/2012/01/29/taskmaster-getting-
things-done/)

[https://addandsomuchmore.com/2012/02/11/task-anxiety-
awarene...](https://addandsomuchmore.com/2012/02/11/task-anxiety-awareness/)

[https://addandsomuchmore.com/2012/02/14/virtue-not-own-
rewar...](https://addandsomuchmore.com/2012/02/14/virtue-not-own-reward/)

[https://addandsomuchmore.com/2012/02/16/doling-out-the-
cooki...](https://addandsomuchmore.com/2012/02/16/doling-out-the-cookies/)

[https://addandsomuchmore.com/2012/02/24/when-the-game-is-
rig...](https://addandsomuchmore.com/2012/02/24/when-the-game-is-rigged/)

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.

------
stared
I've learned the most valuable things from the HowToADHD channel:

1.

Procrastination is related to fear, and the fight, flight & freeze responses
for work. Procrastination = flight. Pulling an all-nighter = fight (gets
things done, but at a health cost).
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlObsAeFNVk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlObsAeFNVk)

2.

For people with ADHD (e.g. myself) there are two times: NOW and NOT NOW. That
way, it is hard to do any activity, unless is urgent (e.g. deadline). Anything
for "some time" (or "tomorrow") is going to stay that way.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLkOZhROvA4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLkOZhROvA4)

...

Also, I recommend "Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with
Attention Deficit Disorder" by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey. I discovered
this book thanks to HN and a post about dyslexia. The book shows quite a few
stories of adults with AD(H)D and how do they cope with work and
relationships. The stories are diverse (it is certainly not all ill-behaved
boys), and give a point of reference.

I wished I had known that book before. I got diagnosed only the last year,
being 33 years old. Before turning 30 I hadn't suspected having ADHD, as I had
quite a few misconceptions both about the condition, and what is "typical" in
humans.

...

And from recent things: this recent HN is invaluable:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22105229](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22105229)

> When you tell yourself "just one more game" or "just one more post", or
> "just one more video" and end up doing 3-5 hours more, do that with your
> other tasks too! "just one line of code", "just one tutorial", "just one
> rep", "just one line of reading/writing".

And from a linked Reddit post:

"Eat the frog first doesn't work for many of the groups who struggle with
procrastination. My ADHD group often gets newcomers who say they've tried
everything. There must be something terribly wrong with them because trying to
eat the frog first makes things worse for them.

In fact, trying to eat the frog first makes it worse for most people with
ADHD. We do better with small things, and even better with a small, well-
chosen fun thing before the important thing. It builds dopamine and success
and reduces anxiety. Also, sometimes we need to de-stress. Yes, I let my kids
play video games after school. They relaxed until after supper. They knew that
if they didn't get their work done before class started, and were cranky from
lack of sleep, we'd have to change the rules."

~~~
megous
> Procrastination is related to fear, and the fight, flight & freeze responses
> for work. Procrastination = flight. Pulling an all-nighter = fight

I guess only vaguely related, because it's nothing like actual
fight/flight/freeze where your sympathetic nervous system kicks into high
gear.

~~~
stared
Maybe it is just a metaphor. Then it is one I find enlightening.

However, stress (yes, including work stress) kicks your sympathetic nervous
system into high gear, as you put it. (With all other effects, from hormone
levels to heart rate.)

Sure, effects of short-term and long-term stress may be different, but the
statement "because it's nothing like actual" is far from obvious.

------
juzerali
It was high time for someone to put it in perspective and thankfully someone
has. Managing to do lists or calendars are no substitute to living an
authentic life.

It might help to understand from where does the stress of procrastinating
originate. My hypothesis is that it comes from the procrastinator getting hung
up on a "desired outcome". Procrastinator expects certain reward in lieu of
his work, for instance making someone feel a certain way about them. But they
realise how unlikely the exact outcome is. Inability, perceived or real, of
managing with even slightly different outcomes is what causes the stress in
the first place. Then later, the guilt works as double whammy for the
procrastinator.

Here is where I disagree with the article. Taking first step might be a
stimulant, but not a solution. It might cause further stress when it becomes
clearer that the desired outcome is more unlikely. Possible solution might be
to let go of desire to control the world and people who are going to be
affected by the work. Building confidence in oneself, trusting others, and
self awareness are the only way out.

------
moron4hire
When I first started Escitalopram (Lexapro), I noticed a marked improvement in
my ability to get things done. I was a big exploiter of "productive
procrastination", where I would work on smaller jobs to procrastinate bigger
ones. With the anti-anxiety medication, that stopped completely, and it became
pretty clear that it was feelings of anxiety towards that
big/unknown/unbounded/boring/detestable job that was fueling the
procrastination.

Unfortunately, after about a year and a half, that all went away. Those
baseless feelings of doom towards nebulously defined work creeped back. I
found myself getting irritated at little things again. And on top of that, my
work life had gotten significantly _better_ , so it wasn't like I could blame
stress anymore. The drugs just seemed to stop fulfilling their beneficial
purpose, leaving me only with the side-effects (insomnia, teeth-grinding,
anorgasmia). So I weaned myself off.

Still irritable, but at least I can get to sleep at night, which is having a
bigger effect on the irritability than the drugs did.

------
twodave
I struggled with procrastination through much of my childhood and young adult
life. Like most real-life problems, there is no magic solution, but I've found
the most impactful helpers to be:

1\. Having others depending on me. Since I've been married and had children,
I'm the one who has to support them. This adds a little anxiety to the mix, of
course, but it's a net positive for me.

2\. Removing things from my life that I do not need. Facebook, non-casual
video games, unhealthy relationships, excessive <fill in the blank>. I find
that this is not a one-time decision but rather a continual pruning of "bad
branches" from my life.

3\. Regular exercise. If I feel good about my activity level and my own body,
I begin to find work and other responsibilities to be less of a drain.

4\. Caffeine, but without overdoing it. If I drink a cup or two of coffee
throughout the day, it allows me to focus in ways that are otherwise beyond my
ability. Too much caffeine actually produces the opposite effect, and I'll get
nothing done.

------
lcall
Other somewhat related discussion:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22096571](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22096571)
("Ask HN: I don't want to be a worker any more I want to be a professional")

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20930439](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20930439)
("how do you keep your programming motivation up?")

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18903886](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18903886)
"Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project? "

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19777976](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19777976)
"ask hn: how do you stay disciplined in the long run?"

------
pdkl95
> ‘Just get started’

An unexpected side-effect of learning to use version control tools (esp. git)
was significantly reduced friction before starting something. I might delay or
avoid a messy refactoring or architectural change that I intelectually
understood was important. Making sweeping changes across many parts of a
project became a fear of "ruining the entire project". While logic usually
overcame that unreasonable fear, some friction/hesitation could remain.

Training myself to always "git init" before even trivial projects and
religiously commit changes while writing/editing completely removed that
friction. "Of course I can start now - if I mess it up, I can just revert back
to the master branch."

~~~
ajayyy
I agree. It also lets you know where you left off since you can look at your
commit message history. And, if you get lost, you can check what you've
actually done since your last commit with git diff.

------
Udik
I want a way to pin this article to the top of the front page. Twice this
morning I got slightly unnerved by something and automatically opened hacker
news: then I read the title, realised I was trying to avoid thinking about
something, and closed the tab again. :)

------
darod
Granted all of us have lots of work to do but I'm interested in knowing where
others think the line is between procrastination and curiosity. I read HN
almost everyday because I feel it keeps me in the know to tech related issues.
I also read cnn, nytimes, and a few other industry specific sites. If these
reads are time boxed, I imagine it wouldn't be considered procrastination.
Yet, if I went back too often then it slowly creeps into that procrastination
zone. thoughts?

------
saboot
Has anyone tried the therapy described in the article? Did it help your
procrastination, perhaps in a dramatic way? I agree with the article, now I'm
looking for solutions.

------
rb808
I wonder how much procrastination is due to people doing things they dont
really want to do. Ie people doing a course and University not because its
their dream its because everyone expects then to go there and that course is a
route to a good career. Combined with hot housed kids that were given lots of
homework but no time to play. Its a recipe for office blocks full of people
doing respectable jobs they don't really want to do and procrastinating all
day.

~~~
jmcqk6
I can't speak generally, but specifically for me, procrastination is more
about perfectionism than avoiding something I don't want to do.

------
myth_buster
Past/related:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17878716](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17878716)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19482238](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19482238)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19975862](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19975862)

------
tylerjwilk00
We procrastinate because a lot of what we do _really_ doesn't truly matter.
That thing you're procrastinating probably won't mean jack when you are on
your death bed. The conflict is that we feel like that thing should matter and
yet we don't want to do it. Which choice is the delusion?

"The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide." ~ Tyler Durden

------
mlatu
> By this view, I haven’t fully appreciated how long my assignment is going to
> take and I’m not paying enough attention to how much time I’m currently
> wasting on ‘cyberloafing’. With better scheduling and a better grip on time,
> so the logic goes, I will stop procrastinating and get on with my work.

My guess is whoever came up with that BS never procrastinated themselves.

------
LoreleiPenn
In my personal case, I procrastinated way too much for not being "myself".
Once I fixed that.... I stopped procrastination a lot.

Indeed I agree with the opinion that it is more a problem of emotions rather
than time managing and my personal experience showed it to me.

Fortunately for me I knew me and knew what was wrong and when I attended that,
it just worked out as expected.

------
didibus
> The task we’re putting off is making us feel bad – perhaps it’s boring, too
> difficult or we’re worried about failing – and to make ourselves feel better
> in the moment, we start doing something else, like watching videos

I always thought this was the agreed upon perspective. I actually had never
heard that some people explained it as a time management problem.

------
Balanceinfinity
Ironically, procrastination is often tied to boredom (just because we have
something to do doesn't mean we aren't bored). Boredom is no small thing:

[http://www.toolsforhealthandwellness.com/negative-effects-
of...](http://www.toolsforhealthandwellness.com/negative-effects-of-boredom)

------
KaoruAoiShiho
Being healthy is a key to solving procrastination. Feeling good about
yourself, feeling prepared and optimistic, feeling good about your body, all
puts you in the right state of mind to achieve and "exercise willpower". Being
tired or out of shape really hurts that! So sleep well, eat well, and get some
exercise.

------
johnnyAghands
Interesting; it almost seems obvious now. Sidebar: This BBC mobile site
experience is freaking refreshing!

------
gyulai
I really don't see the point of studying statistical correlations between cat
videos and heart disease.

The way I see it, these statistical correlations give you clues about where to
start looking for mechanisms of causation, but as long as there is no causal
mechanism, there's just nothing there. -- It's like a detective forming a
theory of a crime so they know where to start looking for evidence. But the
evidence is what a court is going to need to convict someone.

If you look purely at correlations, I bet that almost any psychological
condition correlates with almost any other, to the extent that they are all
caused by an unobserved outside factor. Let's call that factor "having a
shitty life". A shitty life probably involves having a boring job, which makes
you more likely to procrastinate. But a shitty life will also make it more
likely that you'd be an alcoholic, drug-addict, suffer from depression and/or
anxiety, etc etc

------
romain_o
In my case procrastination mostly happens when I don't schedule things
properly. I think it's more a time-management issue rather than an emotional
thing. Timeboxing my daily schedule and commitment are the best solutions.

------
fxtentacle
Procrastination is a word often used to describe others without knowing the
internal state.

If my boss decides on a fancy but obviously useless project and I work on
something else instead, then to the uninitiated onlooker it might look as if I
am procrastinating, whereas in reality I am following up on a rational
decision not to waste my valuable lifetime on a useless initiative.

Similarly, students not studying for a test looks like procrastination to the
parents, but if the student knows that the test results don't matter, it can
be a good and rational decision to spend your effort on something else
instead. "Procrastinating" on learning for a Latin exam and instead coding in
C++ for fun seems like a highly profitable choice.

------
ohmyblock
Almost exactly same title:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19975862](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19975862)

------
99chrisbard
Set SMART goals?
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria)

------
mikorym
I can't blame anyone for procrastinating if they don't like what they are
doing. I procrastinate a lot more if I am not satisfied with what I am
supposed to be doing.

------
Thorentis
Agree with lots of the article but:

> One study used ‘mood-freezing candles’ to trick some volunteers into
> thinking their low mood was frozen and, in this case, they didn’t bother
> procrastinating.

What?

~~~
cjg
In "The Regulation of Emotion": "the experimenter burned scented candles in
the room, which she presented as part of her research on aromatherapy. She
told some participants that the candles would freeze their current mode state
for about an hour. The rest were told that the candles would not affect their
moods."

------
surds
Procrastinating on HN reading about procrastination...

Better get back to work.

------
suyash
This is a gem of an article, I always looked at Procrastination from a logical
approach, turns out the real reason is emotional.

~~~
adventured
They don't inherently conflict. Emotions can be logical, so it can stem from
both at the same time.

That is, a logical emotion isn't necessarily a contradiction. Procrastination
may be more heavily dictated by emotion and that emotion may exist for a
logical reason that has deep roots which you still need to introspect and
resolve. The emotion itself has a cause. I view the two as more likely to be
deeply connected, rather than two things to be regarded separately.

~~~
coldtea
> _They don 't inherently conflict. Emotions can be logical_

This is a semantics issue. Parent means logical in the sense of the process of
thought, analysis, etc. Not in "makes sense".

Given that, emotions can be reasonable, but not logical. I.e. they can be
valid descriptions of the situation, but they are not themselves some kind of
logical analysis or reasoning - they are just feelings.

(On the other hand, a logical analysis can produce emotions. I.e. logically
determining "the oxygen in our cabin runs out in 2 hours" can produce panic.
And the opposite: an emotion might get us to think / perform a logical
analysis).

~~~
serioussecurity
Most of my interesting papers have resulted from letting go of my "logical"
brain and letting my emotions play with the problem until a line of attack
opens, then I turn on the logic brain to get it done.

------
isaikumar
Well I am reading this while procrastinating...

------
cryptozeus
Procrastination articles start to appear on HN as we get close to end of
January. There is a lesson in there somewhere.

------
hathym
here I am procrastinating by reading about procrastination instead of working
on my dream project...

~~~
newqer
Same here! I've read so much about it, I think i could write a thesis about
the subject. But you know.. Before a project is finished, it needs to start
first :)

------
walterkrankheit
Is procrastination really the biggest ailment we suffer in today's world?
There's an awful lot of concern over it. Although remote working is possibly
its biggest contributor when it comes to professional procrastination. I mean,
when in an office surrounded by others, sure, you could, but only if everyone
else is and that's not likely to be the case.

~~~
matwood
> Is procrastination really the biggest ailment we suffer in today's world?

I think about procrastination as part a larger discipline problem. Other parts
of the same problem are people's lack of willingness to exercise and eat
properly. When framed in a larger sense, I do think it is a big ailment in
todays society.

------
adamnemecek
Procrastination is a signal that you hate what you are supposed to be doing.
Don't ignore it.

~~~
temporaryvector
Not always true. I frequently procrastinate on things that I actively enjoy
doing and want to do. There are times when I want nothing more than to be
doing something and I still procrastinate doing it. This applies to things
that aren't work or aren't productive just the same, things that take little
effort like watching a series or playing a video game.

Medication does make it a lot better and I don't procrastinate nearly as much
as I used to, but before I started taking it, there were times where I'd lie
on the sofa with the remote control next to me and I would just stare at the
ceiling thinking about watching that movie I've been wanting to watch and I
still couldn't bring myself to do it.

~~~
kuerbel
I don't take medication even though I'm diagnosed with ADD. I guess there is
the procrastination from ADD and the one talked about in the article.

The one from ADD makes me do... nothing. I feel paralyzed somehow. I scream at
myself in my mind to finally start the task, I know I have to but my body
won't move. It's hard to explain.

Then there is the procrastination as described in the article. I think it
makes me do something else instead that I have put off, like cleaning or the
sudden urge to finally learn a new programming language / framework. Like, I
feel better and worse at the same time! I did something productive, at the
cost of what I should have done.

They might overlap, I guess.

~~~
temporaryvector
I definitely understand. As I got older, I found myself doing the first type
of procrastination (the do nothing type) more and more, and after talking
through some things with my psychiatrist we came to the conclusion that it's
because that bad feeling you get after the second type of procrastination (the
do something else type) started overpowering the good feeling of doing
something, so I would end up paralyzed and doing nothing more often.

Now, on the good days I actually do the things I want to do or need to do, but
on the days when I procrastinate, I tend to do the type where I do something
else. The days where I get completely paralyzed are far less frequent now.
Part of it is the medication but another part was learning to control my guilt
and anxiety over not doing what I'm "supposed to." This is why I tell people
that medication is not a magic solution to your problems, it'll help but
you'll still have bad days and it won't work automatically, you still gotta
put in the effort to get better, the medicine will just help a bit with that.

------
Sepova
The article is written by Captain Obvious but I really enjoy the quality
comments here!

~~~
toyg
Some topics on HN really need little more than a title to trigger a good
comment thread. A lot of people don't even read TFA anyway and the best
comments come from personal experience. Sometimes I think a random topic
generator would suffice - which is almost what Ask HN is, but not quite.

~~~
mszcz
Yep, had the same realisation. The quality of links varies somewhat, but the
quality of comments here rarely does.

------
timwaagh
so if procrastination is usually sadness masquerading as inaction (and it
might well be), why don't they address the root cause and just put everyone on
prozac?

------
moneywoes
Where do I begin to solve this problem?

~~~
nabla9
There are some tricks.

Instead of trying to force yourself to do the thing, refuse to do anything
else. Instead of replacing activity with another, just sit still either eyes
closed or looking at a wall or desk (not a screen or anything entertaining).
Only replacement activity should be no activity, pure boredom. Don't judge
yourself and don't feel quilt. If you are stubborn with this, you may notice
that you start doing the thing as an impulse without seeing the decision to
act coming. Somehow the motivation is there but your constant emotional
monitoring is blocking it.

If you start to procrastinate with the procrastination avoidance, all hope is
lost.

------
cbar_tx
procrastination is also the reason I'm here

------
adrianmonk
I've only just recently started to appreciate how much emotions can utterly
dominate our thinking. We believe we are rational creatures, but we have all
these emotional mechanisms in our brain that kick in and do a hardware
override of everything. For me the first step in getting better control of
this is just to understand that it's happening.

I came to this realization from a fascinating book about anger[1]. The idea of
this book is to explain how your brain activates anger so that you can deal
with it better. Hopefully my explanation won't butcher the technical stuff too
badly, but I believe the gist is that anger is a useful mechanism in your
brain that is supposed to kick in when certain conditions are met and drive
you toward taking action when you really need to.

As such, there's a part of your brain that's sitting around monitoring to
figure out if any such conditions have been met. When it decides they have,
then two things happen. One is that it sort of juices your brain with
something that heightens alertness and focus. This boost gives you the mental
energy to act. (Think of something kind of like an adrenaline rush.) The other
is that it directs your attention to the issue. It does this over and over and
over again until it is resolved. If you don't act (because of impulse control,
lack of opportunity, or failure to decide how), it's like hitting a snooze
button. You can put the thought out of your mind, but the alarm will go off
again and bring it back.

So, in computer terms, there's a hardware control system here. It turns on and
periodically generates a non-maskable interrupt which jumps you into a routine
it provides. And it cranks up the CPU clock speed to the point of nearly
overheating. And there is no instruction to just make it stop. The only way to
shut it off is to change the conditions that enabled it.

Anyway, the point is that our thoughts exist within the framework of this
system. Our brains are capable of rationality, but this framework can kick in
and preempt that. And anger is just one of many systems!

Therefore, if you want to gain control of your thinking, you must gain control
of your emotions. (Emotional regulation is supposed to be important to mental
health, and after learning about this one emotion, I can see why.) Gaining
control might be a misleading phrase here because you can't stop or eliminate
them. Instead, your only choice is to learn how they work and how to manage
them. You need to learn to work within the framework. Which takes practice and
honing skills. If you don't, then you are just being led around blindly by
them, leaving everything up to chance. Either you get a handle on them, or
they control you. Or maybe I should say they _do_ control you, and your only
choice is to control _how_ they control you.

\---

[1]: The book is called "Healing the Angry Brain: How Understanding the Way
Your Brain Works Can Help You Control Anger and Aggression". See
[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Healing_the_Angry_Brain...](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Healing_the_Angry_Brain/IknhPaMyPkkC)

------
edisonjoao
this is true

------
elfexec
Isn't this like the 3rd or 4th post about procrastination on the frontpage the
past few days? People seem to love to procrastinate by reading about
procrastination.

Haiku time.

"Procrastinate by

Reading articles about

Procrastination"

~~~
TeMPOraL
Perhaps. HN has had a steady stream of procrastination articles ever since I
remembered. They're of interest to those of us that come here to procrastinate
:).

------
naniid
Why is that piece dated in future?

~~~
suyash
It was probably published in another time zone, ahead of yours.

~~~
naniid
Unlikely.. I am in Australia.. and its not 24/Jan/2020 anywhere on planet.
Nevertheless, yes the comment was meant to be a joke.

~~~
mercora
it has written "23rd January 2020" on it when i fetch it and the URL suggests
this article has been created (not necessarily written) 21st January 2020 on
their CMS.

------
juskrey
Procrastination is a BS detector.

~~~
onion2k
If that's true then all my school work and university assignments were BS.

~~~
adrianmonk
This BS detector has a notoriously high false-positive rate. (Which,
furthermore, acts as an enabler for making excuses.)

But it actually does detect BS sometimes. Sometimes it even tells you that
your mind is in conflict with itself. In the case of school work, maybe some
part of you believes the material is useful to understand, but some other part
of you is not convinced.

Sometimes that feeling can even nudge you toward harmonizing those parts of
your mind. Which can be nice. (But not always truly necessarily.) For example,
my CS degree required a digital circuit design (EE) class that I didn't enjoy
at all.

But in hindsight, I am _now_ absolutely convinced of its usefulness and
relevance. If I could have been convinced of that while I was taking it, it
might have been easier to do the work. Although I wouldn't assume that's a
realistic approach because maybe I needed to learn it first and then apply it
before I could appreciate why it's useful. Sometimes you need to just power
through even though you're not feeling it.

Still, the point is that procrastination served as a kind of an indicator that
I felt it was BS. It doesn't necessarily fix anything to know that, but it's
not wrong either.

