How To Beat Procrastination – A Research Summary

[Bill]

Just read this article: http://lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/

I was really impressed by the analysis of procrastination in this article and the implied solutions. The comments at the end are worth reading as well.

“Eat That Frog” by Brian Tracy was recommended to me for procrastination. Any other books that have really worked for you?

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[Anonymous]

interesting article:

“To beat procrastination, you need to increase your motivation to do each task on which you are tempted to procrastinate. To do that, you can (1) optimize your optimism for success on the task, (2) make the task more pleasant, and (3) take steps to overcome your impulsiveness.”

will consider this

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[Bill]

That’s what I thought. I have read lots about procrastination. This was the first article I’ve read that tried to lay out all of the causes.

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[billd]

If I could do all this:

>>”To beat procrastination, you need to increase your motivation to do each task on which you are tempted to procrastinate. To do that, you can (1) optimize your optimism for success on the task, (2) make the task more pleasant, and (3) take steps to overcome your impulsiveness.”<<

Then I’d not have been diagnosed with ADD! LOL

I mean, really – how does one make cleaning a toilet more pleasant? Use lemon flavored cleaner?

How does one make tilling a garden, cleaning a pool, sorting out crap that piled up because it’s unpleasant stuff?

The solutions are obvious, I’d say “duh” but it’s SO easy to say “oh, just do this and it will make it easier”.

If I could “just do this”, I’d have been doing it.

Sorry, for the ADD person, at least THIS PARTICULAR ADD person, it’s a whole lot harder than that. It’s not really that simple to just conjur up interest or make something more pleasant. I HATE doing the dishes for example, I hate the food junk in the water, I hate standing there doing a boring chore. Hard to see how it would be more pleasant.

I’ve got a stack of things do to that I normally LIKE doing……but because it’s going to be rather routine, time consuming, and take some “work”, it’s been put off. I’m trying really hard to convince myself that I really need to do it – and remind myself I really do enjoy that sort of work, but it’s not going well.

I can see if it’s a non-ADD person with procrastination issues – but these aren’t just “in our head”, there is a “medical reason”, so just thinking myself into a correction won’t be that simple.

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[Anonymous]

Mindfulness for Dummies is FANTASTIC! If you would like to learn how to focus on a single task this is a very powerful tool.

An old quote but worth repeating: Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you can do. Attitude determines how well you do it. – Lou Holtz.

I’m feeling like I’m getting the upper hand on ADD for the first time in my life and looking at starting my own business to keep me going down the right path. Working a ‘normal’ 9-5 is not for me, just knowing I can do something else has been very helpful, believing it priceless.

Cheers.

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[Anonymous]

“I can see if it’s a non-ADD person with procrastination issues – but these aren’t just “in our head”, there is a “medical reason”, so just thinking myself into a correction won’t be that simple.”

Yes it is, but it takes lots of practice.

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[billd]

I’ve had 54 years worth……… of practice. (and confirmed via the last doc that “it’s for a lifetime”, and I’d always forever have those issues. Best I can do is the best I can do –

It’s gotten me by this long and I’m doing well, so I’m not thinking that I’ve failed or am failing, just that in the case of some of us, if it was really that simple, I’d be there by now.

Remember, each person with ADD is as unique as each person without. And it hits in “degrees” – some won’t have the same symptoms that I do, and I won’t have the same as many others. There will be overlaps with some of us, but not always and not with all.

I’m glad some can read a book, take a class, and actually improve through self-effort – I’ve been those routes. (at times even at an employer’s expense).

I will say I’ve gotten more done with the adderall than I had before, and I’ve started cleaning things up, and have lost a small percentage of my “pack-rat” tendencies (there’s a minor miracle there!) but it’s going to take external things to help with the other areas….

I’ve found that having my D-I-L over to help me really helps a lot! She’s a motivator, and can walk me through things – and you don’t realize you are being “manipulated” or guided into doing some of those chores. She’d make a good ADD coach!

I’ve run a couple of businesses. The last was VERY successful, but we were beat, exhausted, and things were getting sour with the economy and all, so we sold out. Good timing. We made a good deal of money, got out at the right time.

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[anniea]

Billd I too hate food stuff in the water, I did the dishes under running water with a soapy cloth for years. Drives me crazy when my daughter does it now, hows that for full circle..

At some point I found I really LIKE my hands in the warm/hot water..I still rinse all the dishes off completely before washing in water.. and my brother told me how he used washing the dishes as a meditation..which I tried and waalaa another thing that helps with the chore. I do wait until there are “enough” dishes to do.. say 2-3 days worth..this however drives my honey a bit crazy so I am attempting to do them a little more often.

The Ritalin helps with everything usually… I am having a hard time with some meetings I am trying to set up..getting started, being frozen… all that frustration.. Uuuughh.

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[billd]

Thanks anniea – I feel better reading your post.

I don’t want to DISS or dismiss those for whom the OP helped. I’m glad – I love it when folks succeed and improve. I wish it for all people, really, even though I do have social anxiety and don’t bond with humans, I want everyone here with ADD/ADHD to find the help and success they need and deserve. Just that for me personally, one of the frustrations is seeing how others can use that tool, book, whatever and find some help in it, and I’ve tried and failed.

NOT THEIR FAULT for my issues. I want to get that straight now. And I don’t want to hold anyone back who MAY be helped by such suggestions. Go for it!

Anyway, my hope is that with TIME, and the help offered by the professional nurse and the neuro-psyc doc and meds, and adjusting them over the months and years ahead that maybe something will help unlock those areas where maybe, just maybe, I’ll try again and find success.

Unfortunately, I think even ADD aside, I”m an impatient person just by personality, so imagine doubling that by adding ADD’s impatience on top of it!

On doing dishes and the not liking the stuff in the water. Guess I”m not so weird! Others laugh at me, make fun, call me a “woose” and so on. Odd, I farmed, raised hogs and helped neighbors castrate the pigs, but when I find a chunk of last nights meal in the dish water it grosses me out! So I rinse them so thoroughly under hot running water before they get into the sink full of water, there’s not much left to clean!

Maybe I need to use your brother’s tip………….. There’s got to be something I can do.

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[Bill]

Honestly, when I look at the work that I have done on my ADHD, it hasn’t changed how distractible or impulsive I am at all. That may never change. What has changed is the self-hatred and feeling-like-a-loser I had. When I got rid of the emotional baggage, some of the other stuff started working.

I accepted who I am and started changing other things, like how I work and my relationships. I can now laugh at my eccentricities. My wife and I joke about my forgetfulness. It’s still a struggle to get a full 8 hours of focused work done in a day, but I don’t beat myself up over it. Oddly enough, going easier on myself has actually helped me be more productive.

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[ricker2]

Procrastination? I thought I was just lazy 😀

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[Author]

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