Defeating procrastination: Discomfort therapy

[Drvladivostok]

When I tell you I'm a procrastinator, I mean I'll sit in front of my PC or laptop with around 2 hours of workload left, and 7 hours before deadline, and do nothing but watch youtube videos on filmaking from night to noon, whereby I'm forced to strectch my brain for the 100 meter sprint, usually unde-slept and dozy from hours of consuming unrelated materials, chasing the deadline while cursing my own soul.

I was able to carry out this convention- with major quality of life sacrifices (high stess, little sleep)- up until I got a job in a law firm, there, the demanding team leaders, the narcissistic senior associates, and inconsiderate clinteles seem to force me to reconsider my strategy, with the threat of my sanity or my career.

With each projects, errors, and chatisements, I seem to realize that procrasrination, atleast the variants that have inflicted me, surface when some conditions are fulfilled, 1) Convenient Place to find comfort, either mentally or physically, IE; Bed, Youtube, Couch, Etc. 2) An overbearing feeling of grandure in my ability that I can finish any task in an approximate amount of time. I had to mitigate this two feelings.

So I star forming a strategy;

Everytime I have a project that require homework I start searching for night-clubs, bars, and dicotique at 9AM at 10 I would open my laptop there, the buzzing shitty EDM, flashing lights, and occassional sea of bodies would spike up my introverted nerves to the roof whereby I couldn't even find comfort if I put my laptop down, therefore I was forced to finish my task with the least amount of time by only the encouragement of my own discomfort and marlboro white.

The occasional bump from the crowd and the weird looks (I may also be imagining things) from the other customers only push me to finish whatever task I had at hand. This shit works like a charm I'll tell ya, never have I ever sat down and just typed anything for 3 hours straight, non stop (2 packs of Marlboro White).

It couldn't be any bar either, if the athmosphere was too somber (I've tried Mcds and Cafes) or the patron have nearly all left, the spell is broken, I find myself being too comfortable to want to leave, so my mood may shift to melancholic daydreaming and I might start abbandoning my obligations.

I'm not sure whether this habit is something healthy, my alcohol and ciggarette intake have quadrupled as with my overnight expenditure, but like everything else, it's one step to know oneself.​

 

[fluffy]

I don't day dream but I do think.

It be interesting to know how daydreaming is perceived as introverted.

I can only see my outside environment so in school I read books not to be board when I was done with the work.

In my mind I was thinking about ideas all the time where today I still do but it's hard to know how to get them to be real as the steps involved, I cannot see them.

Do you imagine epic movies in your mind?

When I am uncomfortable I sleep.

Otherwise I go places and look at things.

It's the energy.

 

[Puffy]

I struggle with procrastination historically as well. I would say it improved as I entered my 30s.

What helps me is having structure in my day and week, things that I commit to doing regardless of what's going on.

Though I think it's also important to distinguish between procrastination and thinking time. Free unstructured thinking time is a common trait associated with creative people. For me if I'm working on a creative project then 80% of the work is in the thinking time and 20% is the execution.

 

[dr froyd]

doing work at nightclubs.. lmao that's a wild way of beating procrastination

but you're certainly onto something. At some point one has to accept one's brain alone cannot control one's motivations.

i learned a similar concept some years ago - "burn the boats". You create motivation by simply removing all other options, or making it very costly for yourself to fail

as a less extreme alternative, i sometimes decide to just do the task half-assed or partially - or even just look at it for a few minutes. That requires less motivation, and often results in doing large parts of it. If the original plan is i'm gonna sit down for 7 hours and do this boring shit, then of course i'll never do it.

 

[Hadoblado]

An interesting approach.

I don't think it will work for you long term. It's not sustainable. You're doing shock therapy but your mental will suffer if it becomes your routine.

Changing your surrounds does help. If your previous routine of procrastination was attached to one room, then changing rooms will help. The nicotine also might be helping (it's a stimulant after all). You also might be benefiting from social policing - it's weird to do work in a nightclub, but it'd be wild to go there and watch youtube or play league.

None of this explains why it doesn't work in cafes though.

 

[fluffy]

To me overstimulation blocks my ability to work. That is why I was curious of how it relates to introversion.

Of course under stimulation for me is having nothing to do period, so it might be a technology thing when it comes to YouTube procrastinating? Before Internet what did procrastinating look like? To me is was just having long projects that felt overwhelming so I lost energy. Today I don't need to do long projects on paper so less stress.

 

[Hadoblado]

I'll share something that works for me but it's very targeted to my specific situation.

Through socratic questioning I arrived at an implicit and irrational belief I genuinely hold: If I can't see improvement, improvement isn't occurring. This applies to skill acquisition, but also to task completion or any sort of progress. I need to be able to measure my progress or I genuinely believe nothing is occurring and that my effort is wasted. This belief is so insanely embedded that I can know that improvement has occurred but still not believe in it. For instance, if I weigh 5 kg less than I did a few months ago, but I have not graphed this weight, I will believe I weigh 5 kg less but that also the diet is not doing anything. Pants on head retarded.

Anyway, this means that whenever I'm doing an assignment or whatever, I need to track my progress over time, I need to be able to convince myself that my effort converts to results. So Every ten minutes I bring up a spreadsheet, and write what I've achieved, how close to completion I am, and how much longer I can expect to be working if I continue at my current rate. It's stupid but it works.

 

[Drvladivostok]

I struggle with procrastination historically as well. I would say it improved as I entered my 30s.

What helps me is having structure in my day and week, things that I commit to doing regardless of what's going on.

Though I think it's also important to distinguish between procrastination and thinking time. Free unstructured thinking time is a common trait associated with creative people. For me if I'm working on a creative project then 80% of the work is in the thinking time and 20% is the execution.

The problem with my profession is 60% of my projects and therefore my task is what I call braindead work; drafting due-dilligence report from a pre-ordained format. No need for any thinking, just working on procedures and instructions. Shit that you can teach a middle-schooler and make him a master at high-school.

This would allocate the "thinking time" towards "document checking time". Which makes the roitine so bland and uninteresting. Unfortunetely the analysis that's usually required to do a an interesting project is relegated away for the ability to be extremely detailed, somethinh you can't do while being lazy.

 

[fluffy]

This is a fun fact:

I read a book I hadn't read in 10 years.

173 pages in two hours.

It was a science picture book.

Yet it's for adults, 2003 and advanced concepts I never considered before I reread it.

Most books are not at my level of understanding at the moment I read them. Too easy or too hard. Since it was less than a page per minute I got the concepts right away. But that only because I have background information I never did before the first time.

This has given me a ton to think about.

It might be OP that you need something after work to get you in the mood to think more when you have time unrelated to your job.

You might consider what is your goal in thinking so much? Is it helpful for areas in life you wish were better. Write that down. Flesh it out. All the things you need to structure it.

Work can be boring but you can schedule the time that works best for you at your optimum balance.

 

[birdsnestfern]

I think it (procrastination) has its purpose, in that it gives you a mental break AND it allows you to simmer it, and when it simmers, intuitive flashes or new information will come in psychically about whatever you are avoiding that prepares or informs you. I am an extreme procrastinator too though. School homework was always last minute, had to learn to speed read for all my final exams.

How I sometimes handle it if I catch myself is distraction from the distraction. Just put tennis shoes on and walk around the block if the weather is nice. Then if I go and do an errand outside of the house I can come back and feel more mentally prepared to do something.
I have a black glass dry erase board (small) and chalk pens that I can wipe off with a wet paper towel, and I don't care how fast I get things done, as I try to do one or two things on the list a day. I know my physical limits so I let things drag out when I am tired. But if I have check boxes next to each topic on the list, I get satisfaction when I uncap a marker and check something off the list. I will eventually get through the list if I put it in front of me at the tv. The tv, computer and ipad games are my nowhere mind that I get sucked into. I lose all sense of time in those. So sticky notes or dry erase board are what help me. Or, set a timer and tell yourself, at a certain time I will go to a library to study, or do a task on the list. Or, if you can't get through something, try multi tasking, do ten minutes of many different things and switch when bored. It might be attention deficit or it might be a vitamin deficiency.

Dry erase desk top: https://a.co/d/aUCrC3n
Liquid Chalk Marker: https://a.co/d/bMd1XHJ
I just ask myself to do something each day, or as much as I can.
Also, B complex or ginseng drops early in the day in tea or smoothies might help, they give a lot of energy. https://a.co/d/3uM4Eaz

 

[scorpiomover]

Wild.

1) Watch this video for 2 minutes: Money - Power - Women
2) Now read this: Plot of film Scarface (1983)
3) Then watch this video (about 25 minutes): NIETZSCHE: The Will to Power

The 2nd video explains that Nietzsche's view of power and happiness is that it comes from "self-overcoming", aka "self-discipline".

The 1st video, combined with the plot, shows what happens when people seek power over others, rather than themselves.

Here's a short bit I wrote about it:

Spoiler

True power is power over self

1) Then you have complete power over your body, and then you can control all that is in your power to control.

2) Even when it comes to your feelings, the Pepsi test (most people prefer Pepsi to Coke, when they don't know what they are drinking. But when they know what they're drinking, they prefer Coke to Pepsi) proves that feelings of pleasure are mostly psychological/physiological. Because of the Placebo effect, even your physiology is controlled by your psychology. So in reality, nearly everything you feel is controlled by your psychology.

If, like when people take driving lessons, you can master your actions repeatedly and consistently for at least 3 months, then your subconscious learns from your repeated behaviour, and then it becomes automatic to do things that way. So then your feelings and your thoughts that are driven by your subconscious, end up following your actions, and thus your feelings and thoughts are what you want them to be. So then even if something is out of your control, you make yourself feel good about it. Then you always feel in control, and always feel safe, because you make your feelings and thoughts what you want them to be.

False power is power over others.

1) Then you only have the feeling of power that over those you think you can control. It's an illusion, because it's subjective, and is only dependent on what you believe, not what happens in reality.

2) When you think of situations or people you cannot control, you lose the feeling of control and safety. Even when you exert control over situations and people you think you can control, when it happens that that time, you can't make things go your way, you again lose the feeling of control and safety. So the feeling of power over others is fleeting.

3) When other people are willing to do what you want by their voluntary choice, they are the ones who chose to do that, and so you feel that if they had chosen differently, you would not get what you want. So you don't feel that you have power over others when they do it willingly. The only time you feel power over others, is when you got them to do something that they didn't want to do. But that too is fleeing, as it's only a matter of time till you encounter a situation/person where you didn't get what you wanted. So then your sense of power is gone. So then, in order to restore your feelings of power, you need to "up the scale", to make someone do something they didn't want to do even more than last time. But that too is fleeting and goes away before too long.
So you need to keep making other people do things that they don't want to do, more and more, until you're torturing them with unimaginable pain. But it still won't be enough to make you feel powerful permanently. So you just get worse and worse.

4) The more you try to fulfil your feelings of power over others, the more you'll make others do what they don't want to do, and so you'll increase the amount that people will desire and try to stop you. So then you now feel that others are trying to bring you down, and then you want to make them suffer, so they'll be too afraid of you to go against you. But again, that feeling is fleeting, and so you make even more people afraid of you.

Eventually, you're a Caligula or a Stalin. You still feel terrified that anyone out of the 8 billion in the world might one day take your power away. But you can't give it up, because you believe that's all you have, and without that you have nothing. So that route leads you to becoming worse than Hitler, while being incredibly miserable on the inside. Everyone who is near you, you torture. Those who can leave you, do leave you. You're only left with the incompetents and the lazy manipulators that no-one else will employ or date or be friends with, and those who are completely under your thumb and who would leave you in a heartbeat if they could. That hellish existence continues, until either you die, or someone kills you, or you stop chasing power over others and instead chase power over yourself.

If you can keep doing this for 2 hours once a week for 3 months, your subconscious will realign your motivations, and you'll find it as easy to focus on your work, as it would be for most people to drive (which is pretty easy).

But then you'll need a further 3 months when you're still putting in at least 2 hours a day in the office, so your subconscious can realign for normal situations, as if you keep only doing this in the noisy clubs for a year, you'll become one of those people that need the TV blaring at maximum volume in order to concentrate on anything for long, which will be very annoying to your workmates and partner.

Also, read up on Nietzsche's view of the Eternal Recurrence: one who learns to find pleasure and happiness in doing the washing up, enjoys every day that he has to wash up. So if he has to wash up every day, then he is happy every day. This puts a positive spin on the experience, so then it becomes a joy to do. This makes everything much, much easier.

 

[Drvladivostok]

I'll share something that works for me but it's very targeted to my specific situation.

Through socratic questioning I arrived at an implicit and irrational belief I genuinely hold: If I can't see improvement, improvement isn't occurring. This applies to skill acquisition, but also to task completion or any sort of progress. I need to be able to measure my progress or I genuinely believe nothing is occurring and that my effort is wasted. This belief is so insanely embedded that I can know that improvement has occurred but still not believe in it. For instance, if I weigh 5 kg less than I did a few months ago, but I have not graphed this weight, I will believe I weigh 5 kg less but that also the diet is not doing anything. Pants on head retarded.

Anyway, this means that whenever I'm doing an assignment or whatever, I need to track my progress over time, I need to be able to convince myself that my effort converts to results. So Every ten minutes I bring up a spreadsheet, and write what I've achieved, how close to completion I am, and how much longer I can expect to be working if I continue at my current rate. It's stupid but it works.

I think this technique or perspectice is difficult to apply accurately when you're dealing with complex task.

Say for instance you want to write a Legal Memo on one matter maybe on a transaction scheme, this particular matter is something you're not fammiliar about so you research it, you researched for 1 hour and is able to piece together something you can consider a preliminary understanding of one sub-topic.

But wait a minute, what if that thing you research is all wrong? What if you missed one critical info? What is the descision have been overturned?

It gets exponentially harder when you're dealing with uncertainty of information, is the format that you draft this report have been fixed by your team leader or is it liable to change, since it is liable to change what effort can you input without wasting too much time suffering revisions?

You can be sure that your draft is full-proof in the name of God, but then the client slaps you with a new information, or that the team leader wants you to change this or that to suit with whatever, 'real' improvement is nearly impossible to track. So I just assume I'm making 'de jure' Improvement.

 

[Drvladivostok]

as a less extreme alternative, i sometimes decide to just do the task half-assed or partially - or even just look at it for a few minutes. That requires less motivation, and often results in doing large parts of it. If the original plan is i'm gonna sit down for 7 hours and do this boring shit, then of course i'll never do it.

These days I usually just skim analyse my task on what I ought to do, so I can get an approximate mind-map of what shit I ought to type.

The typing part come when I'm inside the night club.

 

[fluffy]

Nietzsche's view of power and happiness is that it comes from "self-overcoming", aka "self-discipline".

Before I put the water bottles in the fridge I was taking my meds with warm water and I vomited most times so instead I drank sodas allot. But the sodas made me tired.

Because I am using cold water I am drinking a third of the sodas as I did before. Am less tired. I am also taking a real multivitamin for bone health. Exercise got better. Sleep got better.

Having to adjust to your bodies condition requires good habits. Not just in the moment but gradually changing what it can do. For instance skateboarding it something you cannot just learn in a day. You need to become bodily aware of your balance. Which means before you are even on the board you need to practice standing in odd positions and getting your muscles to work that way so you don't fall down.

Psychological control also means you have to come off certain habits. All the ones where you believe you are not in control as you said. Only then can you begin to condition yourself to be self sufficient in what is you believe is making you safer. That you can take care of yourself because relying on others makes you not safe and not independent. Self care then is about getting what you need learning what to do if others become unable to help you.

That part about overcoming oneself is a conditioning to be more intelligently in control.

It cannot happen all at once.

The first step is finding the small things that can be adjusted one doesn't need an overwhelming amount of effort to try.

 

[sushi]

write a plan and steps before you do it

no all or nothing approach

be satisfied you can make 50% of the target or goal.

 

[melin376]

Honestly, that might be one of the wildest productivity hacks I’ve ever read, and somehow, it makes perfect sense. You’ve basically weaponized sensory chaos to force yourself into focus.

The fact that you know exactly what kind of environment disrupts your comfort enough to eliminate procrastination? That’s self-awareness most people don’t reach.

Is it sustainable long-term? Probably not, especially with the booze and cigs piling up, but as a short-term fix or a creative workaround when your brain’s on strike? Weirdly brilliant

 

[Puffy]

I struggle with procrastination historically as well. I would say it improved as I entered my 30s.

What helps me is having structure in my day and week, things that I commit to doing regardless of what's going on.

Though I think it's also important to distinguish between procrastination and thinking time. Free unstructured thinking time is a common trait associated with creative people. For me if I'm working on a creative project then 80% of the work is in the thinking time and 20% is the execution.

The problem with my profession is 60% of my projects and therefore my task is what I call braindead work; drafting due-dilligence report from a pre-ordained format. No need for any thinking, just working on procedures and instructions. Shit that you can teach a middle-schooler and make him a master at high-school.

This would allocate the "thinking time" towards "document checking time". Which makes the roitine so bland and uninteresting. Unfortunetely the analysis that's usually required to do a an interesting project is relegated away for the ability to be extremely detailed, somethinh you can't do while being lazy.

Sure, I had in mind more creative or artistic projects that this applies for me for. Like, writing, research, performing, music. As a researcher in particular I spend most of my time thinking and the outputs might not be apparent until later into the process.

I hear you on the more mundane reality of a lot of jobs. To be honest, I feel it's best to get to the root of why you're procrastinating.

E.g. I used to procrastinate in my digital job years ago as if I'm being honest with myself I don't enjoy it. My workaround was to use it as a means of growing in skills that will be relevant to me in my future career, and as a means funding my training and transition into a career that feels more aligned for me. So my motivation to do my job is there as a means of getting me from A to B.

 

[Drvladivostok]

Honestly, that might be one of the wildest productivity hacks I’ve ever read, and somehow, it makes perfect sense. You’ve basically weaponized sensory chaos to force yourself into focus.

The fact that you know exactly what kind of environment disrupts your comfort enough to eliminate procrastination? That’s self-awareness most people don’t reach.

Is it sustainable long-term? Probably not, especially with the booze and cigs piling up, but as a short-term fix or a creative workaround when your brain’s on strike? Weirdly brilliant

I believe that for nearly everyone that procrastinate, there is a mitigating condition that can force you to perform any task within your capability. Anyone who disagree should consider why prisoners would dig their own grave.

Procrastinating is a state of mind that is influenced by your external-physical world, which is manifested through your action again in the external, by 'plugging' both ends of the input (influnce) and output (action) though limiting your options, you are able to force yourself to stick to your job.

You just require 2 (two) conditions:

1. A condition that you're just uncomfortable enough you want to leave, but not to the degree that it detriment your performance, whereby your ability to leave is dulled before any progress of the task, either by opportunity cost (you drove 6 miles and bought 8$ of Alhohol to do nothing??) or by force (Gun).

2. The Willingness to put yourself in place no 1.

 

[Drvladivostok]

I feel it's best to get to the root of why you're procrastinating.

I think deep down I already know why; the feeling of trust in my own ability and curcumstances that I can still manage even if I don't do the work right NOW.

80% of the time my assumptions are proven true, for the 15% of the time I am willing and forced to sacrificed my quality of life so I can catch up to the blunder, 5% of the time I just don't care since I feel I can take the blow and spit out the oozing blood.

 

[Drvladivostok]

write a plan and steps before you do it

no all or nothing approach

be satisfied you can make 50% of the target or goal.

I start micro-applying this.

I would buy a notebook and before I do any task, I write the preliminary to do-list, very helpfull. Anything beyond that is relegated to be abbandoned.

 

[melin376]

I believe that for nearly everyone that procrastinate, there is a mitigating condition that can force you to perform any task within your capability. Anyone who disagree should consider why prisoners would dig their own grave.

Procrastinating is a state of mind that is influenced by your external-physical world, which is manifested through your action again in the external, by 'plugging' both ends of the input (influnce) and output (action) though limiting your options, you are able to force yourself to stick to your job.

You just require 2 (two) conditions:

1. A condition that you're just uncomfortable enough you want to leave, but not to the degree that it detriment your performance, whereby your ability to leave is dulled before any progress of the task, either by opportunity cost (you drove 6 miles and bought 8$ of Alhohol to do nothing??) or by force (Gun).

2. The Willingness to put yourself in place no 1.

That’s a wild philosophy but honestly kind of brilliant, and yeah your point about prisoners digging their own graves? Dark, but it drives the idea home

 

[birdsnestfern]

Points below are from this link: https://www.choosingtherapy.com/perfectionism-and-procrastination/​

Focus on the Process, Not Just the Outcome​

Shifting focus from only the outcome to recognizing the process can help you push against perfectionism. Enjoying the journey can allow you to learn along the way and foster a healthier relationship with tasks rather than emphasizing only the result. This approach also allows you to recognize that mistakes are a part of the process and gain comfort in making mistakes.

Utilize Time Management Techniques​

Effective time management techniques can help you balance your workload and reduce procrastination. Some helpful methods are the Pomodoro Technique, prioritizing tasks, and scheduling dedicated work periods with breaks to enhance focus and productivity. By breaking tasks up into smaller periods of time, you are able to prevent burnout. When you use time management efficiently, you are able to concentrate and reduce pressure.

Practice Self-Compassion​

Self-compassion can be a tool used to overcome your perfectionist tendencies that go alongside procrastinating. When you treat yourself with kindness, you are able to relieve pressure from unrealistic standards. If you criticize yourself for not meeting deadlines, you are likely to procrastinate because of how harshly you treat yourself if you do not meet your goals.

Instead of being harsh on yourself for not meeting standards, it is helpful to reflect and embrace self-compassion. When you have a resilient mindset, you are able to accept moments of imperfections that will happen along the way to your goal. Forgiveness of yourself can start by accepting a mistake, reflecting on it, and releasing the guilt related to that mistake.

Are Perfectionism & Procrastination Always a Bad Thing?​

Perfectionism and procrastination can sometimes have a positive impact. Perfectionism can drive a motivation of attention to detail and lead to high-quality outcomes. Procrastination can leave time for reflection and insight to make better decisions. The important piece of both of these traits is finding a balance when either trait might become too restrictive.

When perfectionism and procrastination begin to impact deadlines, relationships, and daily activities, the balance has been lost on these traits. It is important to recognize that balance includes understanding when to push to strive for excellence and when to accept that there will be imperfections that can help you learn and grow.

How to Break the Perfectionism & Procrastination Cycle​

Breaking the cycle of perfectionism-induced procrastination starts with challenging your perfectionistic thought patterns. Learning to embrace imperfections will free you up to begin projects that you may not be able to execute perfectly. By gradually exposing yourself to imperfections, you can reframe how you think about success and failure.2