January 13th, 2005

Filed under:
Mixed Bag
2 Comments »

Overcoming Procrastination

Here’s a really interesting-looking article on overcoming procrastination. I was going to read it, but I couldn’t be bothered.

Okay, I did read it. There was plenty of sensible advice in it, such as:

The solution to the deprivation mindset is to simply do the opposite. Guarantee the fun parts of your life first, and then schedule your work around them. This may sound counterproductive, but this reverse psychology works extremely well. Decide in advance what times you will allot each week to family time, entertainment, exercise, social activities, and personal hobbies. Guarantee an abundance of all your favorite leisure activities.

That’s the kind of sense-making I can get behind.

Comments: 2 Responses so far

alexis
January 13th, 2005
10:54 am

THat is an excellent article. It made me feel better about my one day off policy. As someone trying to freelance etc, it’s very hard for me not to become a slight workaholic and burn myself out. I tend to work best in small blocks of time, with time out for reading, watching movies, and exercise. I’m also not a big procrastinator because I’d rather have something done than spend time worrying about it.

Reply

Wayne
January 13th, 2005
7:35 pm

Agreed — an excellent article. The author also has some more writing on the subject of self improvement at his blog stevepavlina.com.

Also on the subject, the book The Now Habit has plenty of sensible advice along the lines of this article in it, and largely avoids the scientific treatise on procrastination without any solution that many self help books contain. Recommended.

Some quotes:

Perfectionistic demands -> fear of failure -> PROCRASTINATION -> self-criticism -> anxiety and depression -> loss of confidence -> greater fear of failure -> stronger need to use PROCRASTINATION

Keep Starting. Finishing will take care of itself. When it is time to start the last thirty minutes that will finish the project, that too will be an act of starting — the start of the conclusion of your current project, as well as the beginning of your next. So forget about finishing. If you must worry, worry about starting. In order to finish, that’s all you have to do. Keep on starting.

Reply

Add a comment