
The real reasons you procrastinate – and how to stop - saeranv
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/27/why-you-cant-help-read-this-article-about-procrastination-instead-of-doing-your-job/
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JoeAltmaier
And how to stop!?! Their brilliant advice: "just ignore how you feel and get
started". Thanks a lot, that fixes everything.

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saeranv
Well in context it's slightly better, there are in fact two strategies they
suggest:

\- Forgive yourself for procrastinating b/c procrastination is linked to
negative feelings

\- recognize you don't have to be in a good mood to do a certain task, just
ignore how you feel and get started

But I agree that is not very useful. However I think the answer lies in a
section earlier in the article:

"Pychyl discusses the idea of the "monkey mind" — that our thoughts are
constantly darting all over the place, preventing us from concentrating. And
psychologists agree that the problem with procrastinators is that they are
tempted to give in to instant gratification, which brings people the kind of
instant relief psychologists call "hedonic pleasure," rather than staying
focused on the long-term goal."

This is important! There are concrete methods that have been proven to rewire
your brain to lengthen your focus and concentration. One is long distance
running. The other is mindful meditation. If you suffer from procrastination,
try them, it will make a difference in your ability to concentrate, and
thereby allow you to make better long-term decisions.

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kseistrup
While I haven't tried long-distance running, I've been meditating for the past
25+ years and I'm probably just as procrastinating now as then – if not more.

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leonroy
Just curious but are you able to maintain focus during the meditation period?
Has your focus increased with time?

Not being condescending (intentionally at least) but I also meditate and some
weeks it feels like I make no progress whatsoever with my mind all over the
place and others a little bit of effort to still the mind before the
meditation seems to really help in improving my meditations as a whole. More
the former than the latter though, but I could easily see myself falling into
a habit of meditating for years by rote without progressing or improving my
focus.

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kseistrup
Obviously meditation is not a static thing – some days I'm able to maintain
focus, other days I'm not. My longest meditation in one sitting was more than
8 hours, but I aim at 2 × 30 minutes a day (or 45 minutes in a single sitting
if I'm unable to do 2 sittings for some reason).

My general equanimity has definitely increased throughout the years, but I
can't say meditation has decreased my procrastination (it has increased my
general acceptance of procrastination, though).

