Notes on procrastination

The notes are based on "The now habit" by Neil Fiore:

• Procrastionation is not laziness.
• It could be fear of criticism, fear of judgement, even fear of success.
• You can overcome it by focusing on getting started.
• Think about what you can do right now, rather than about a hypothetical future where the work is in a "finished" state.
• Introspect and understand why it occurs in your case.
• Make time for guilt-free play.
  • Use the "unschedule" to plan guilt-free play time first
  • Remember to add constraints with respect to how much work you want to get done (no more than 5h/day, no more than 20/h week)
• Read the "walk the plank" example to learn to observe yourself from aside and understand that most often you have what it takes to get it done, and the pressure is actually self-induced.
• Find ways to rely on intrinsic motivation to work on something (rather than external forces).
• Don't push yourself too hard, accept your flaws and limitations. Your imperfections are a part of you, learn to live with them, and perhaps gradually improve yourself, but don't try to change everything at once (you will probably fail and this will dampen your spirits).
• When desperate, think about the worst thing that could happen - is it that bad? Most often it isn't! And even if it does happen - what will you do? Sometimes there are very simple measures that can be applied, once you're aware of them, your anxiety is reduced.
• Learn how to get into the flow state and how to stay there.

• Procrastination is not a problem, it is a solution to a problem (albeit, not an optimal one), or at least a symptom
• Identify the 6 signs of procrastination (what are they?)
• It is partially caused by fear of criticism, or fear of attaining sub-perfect results
• It also leads to self-criticism, self-judgment. We raise the bar high ourselves. So we defensively postpone the moment of truth.
• If we identify with our work, criticism of work can be perceived as criticism of us - even though objectively that is not true.
• It could be rooted in a childhood pattern, the will to meet the expectations of parents and elder siblings
• It is not necessarily an indication of laziness (if you describe it like that, you're creating self-induced pressure)

Rewards of procrastination

• reduces fear of being judged. (but does it? It just postpones it)
• if the work that wasn't done turns out to be unnecessary, this is a second "return of investment", procrastination saved us from doing unnecessary things (it conserves energy).
  • it can be done by someone else
  • it can cancel itself (wasn't necessary in the first place)
  • the item you postponed buying is now on sale, so you even saved some resources
  • it often goes unpunished (there are no consequences, either because of a miracle, or because someone forgot to check your work)
  • postponing can give you extra time to cool down and make a better decision, or avoid unnecessary conflict escalation
  • sometimes issues resolve themselves, or more information is available as you keep waiting - so you can make a better decision)
• we may become addicted to procrastination
• it can be seen as a disregard of authority (like a mini-rebellion)

Exercises

• Introspect, observe yourself procrastinating: what caused it in that particular instance? What were the trigger factors?
• Learn not to identify yourself with your work, this leads to potential negative outcomes

If you're involved in multiple activities, failure in one of them is less likely to bring you down.

Think about the example of a plank you have to walk

• basic case - no problem
• same case, but the plank is between 2 skyscrapers - you have fear
• same thing, but there is a fire behind you, or there is a crying child on the other side - forget the fear, you just go ahead and do this
• same thing, plank is between skyscrapers, but a few meters underneath you have your family and support network, who encourage you, and promise their help in case of need

Every "I have to do X" statement must be converted into

• a concrete action step towards the goal
• or a dialogue with your boss about "I won't do it"

Specific changes in wording your statements:

• Work on changing "I have to" to "I choose to"
• "I must finish" , this relates to a future state, but doesn't tell you what to do now (so it is not constructive) -> "when/where can I start?" or "when is the next time I can start? -" this project is so big and important " sounds like" this is my one big chance in life "or" I can't find a way to deal with it " - >" I can take a small step "or" I can start with a 15min effort " -" I must be perfect ". You're setting yourself up for not accepting small steps and iterative versions, because you already set the bar high. - >" I can be perfectly human [and make mistakes in my intermediate iterations] ". Intentionally, work in beta mode to produce low-fidelity versions
• "I don't have time to play" or "I cannot join you tonight". This creates a feeling of hatred towards the job, a zombie mode feeling -> "I must have time to play" or "I need guilt-free rest time in my schedule". It should increase your inner worth

Detect these patterns and act immediately - this is a moment when you can consciously decide to not follow the old path.

Guilt-free play

• Children are always motivated to get involved (clean, do dishes :) it is only when you start demanding it, that this becomes a nuisance.
• Remember Churchill's quote: I am always eager to learn, but I don't like being taught.
• It also helps you relax without pressure/guilt and it gives your mind a chance to work it out in the background.

Motivation to start

• push vs pull
• push someone into the work with pressure and threats (if you don't do X, you won't get Y). Example for students: in the first semester you will have to read this shelf, by the end of the course - this entire wall of shelves.
• pull - assume a person's built-in curiosity is going to do the work for you. If you do X, you'll get an extension to your vacation. For students: imagine an empty shelf, as you progress through the semester you will fill one entire shelf, and as your knowledge grows throughout the course - your expertise will fill the entire wall!

Avoiding unpleasant work

• You can do this via procrastination, if you fear criticism, even from yourself.
• There are 3 main mechanisms involved
  • fear of not finishing
  • fear of failure
  • terror of being overwhelmed

Overcoming one of them will weaken the others, because you gain confidence as you do so.

Beware of the fear of success. Sometimes, succeeding will bring more headaches, for example if you apply for a new job and actually pass the interview, this will potentially lead to some unpleasant effects - moving to a different city, quitting the current job (and having "the talk" with your current boss, etc). At times, just thinking about these things makes you less motivated to work on getting the new job!

3D thinking

Dealing with a project requires an understanding of its

• size
• length
• breadth

The unschedule

• B.F. Skinner had a button linked to his chair, which would count the time of work and collect stats
• keep track of your work time, 30min increments should be enough of a resolution to give you some practical results
• when scheduling, start by planning the guilt-free playtime
  • this helps create the habit of using a schedule and planning, but not in an unpleasant way.

Set anti constraints

• do not work more than 20h a week
• do not work more than 5h a day

It seems that some procrastination is a way to disrespect/resist/object authority, by insubordination. You can turn the context upside down, by setting these constraints and then defying them.

• schedule for the nearest starting point, rather than for finishing
• do something fun after hard work, this will associate work with something positive.

The worst thing

• What is the worst that could happen?
• What would I do if it happened?
• How would I lessen the pain and get on with as much happiness as possible if the worse did occur?
• What alternatives would I have?
• What can I do now to lessen the probability?
• Is there anything I can do now to increase my chances of achieving my goal?

Focus on getting started

• Treat the whole process as a series of start events.
• Focus on nudging yourself towards starting, and the rest will take care of itself.

Flow

All this other stuff, just take it from the source - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has a TED talk where he explains the concept of flow.