5 ms·

The real reason you procrastinate: You fundamentally don't want to be doing whatever task it is that you're avoiding, and while it might be the logically "corre

The real reason you procrastinate: You fundamentally don't want to be doing whatever task it is that you're avoiding, and while it might be the logically "correct" thing to do, that doesn't mean you want to do it. What we want and what we are pushed into doing are not always aligned. News at ten.

swah 10y ago
But when you do it (or start doing it), you actually feel good/better.
- 55acdda48ab5 10y ago
  I procrastinate a lot and will never stop because in so many cases it makes perfect sense and works out well. I can't tell you how many times it turned out I didn't even need to do something I was procrastinating on, or a far easier way to proceed came up. It's so easy to wind up with an infinite list of chores. Continually pushing a lot of them off as late as possible works rather well, in my experience.
  - padobson 10y ago
    Yes! It's incredible how many things we think we need to do that we don't actually need to do. 1) Finding a better solution and 2) Finding out you didn't need to do it at all are two great outcomes from procrastinating.
justsaysmthng 10y ago
I disagree. I often procrastinate on the things that I really really want to do. My explanation for that is not the fundamental lack of interest in the project, but the hidden fear of failure that accompanies every project that I work on. I've worked on so many failed projects that I've kind of lost hope of actually producing something that won't be forgotten immediately. (Mind that this is not necessarily true - some of my work (as a comedian/writer/actor) has been viewed millions of times, while some of the code I've written is being executed by millions of machines every day, but I still feel like I've failed at everything, because that was just "blind luck" ). If all this effort results in disappointment and depression, why bother waste energy on it now - this is the kind of hidden thought process that's going on in my head and I guess in many other's people's heads too. Paradoxically, this is the thought process that also disarms you a little bit every day, until the task becomes painful and not worth pursuing and once again you've failed to accomplished what you've set out to. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, but also hard to break since it's not happening on a "rational" level, but on a lower "fight or flight" subconscious level, which is very hard to control.
- zepto 10y ago
  Do you want to do then because they give you pleasure to do, or because you desire the results?
- nojvek 10y ago
  I do agree on the fear of failure part. I've really procrastinated hitting the gym because I saw very little gains the last few months I went hard.
dreeves 10y ago
Sounds like you're espousing the doctrine of Revealed Preference! Here's my reductio proof that actions don't always reveal preferences: http://blog.beeminder.com/revealed/ http://blog.beeminder.com/revealed/ Short version: People sometimes use commitment devices (like Beeminder!). Doing so is an action and the preference it reveals is that the person engages in actions contrary to their own preferences!
ycosynot 10y ago
For me, the 2 reasons are 1) forced labor, we're too proud to submit fully and blindly to the system, we're meant to be free, or at least trust the government more, and 2) all the superhero movies and games stuff which make us worried about not being as exceptional as we should, so we need an excuse not to be exceptional, and that's procrastination. I couldn't be a hero, because I have this mysterious disease which stops me from trying, blocking my potential.

swah 10y ago

But when you do it (or start doing it), you actually feel good/better.

55acdda48ab5 10y ago
I procrastinate a lot and will never stop because in so many cases it makes perfect sense and works out well. I can't tell you how many times it turned out I didn't even need to do something I was procrastinating on, or a far easier way to proceed came up. It's so easy to wind up with an infinite list of chores. Continually pushing a lot of them off as late as possible works rather well, in my experience.
- padobson 10y ago
  Yes! It's incredible how many things we think we need to do that we don't actually need to do. 1) Finding a better solution and 2) Finding out you didn't need to do it at all are two great outcomes from procrastinating.

justsaysmthng 10y ago

I disagree. I often procrastinate on the things that I really really want to do. My explanation for that is not the fundamental lack of interest in the project, but the hidden fear of failure that accompanies every project that I work on. I've worked on so many failed projects that I've kind of lost hope of actually producing something that won't be forgotten immediately. (Mind that this is not necessarily true - some of my work (as a comedian/writer/actor) has been viewed millions of times, while some of the code I've written is being executed by millions of machines every day, but I still feel like I've failed at everything, because that was just "blind luck" ). If all this effort results in disappointment and depression, why bother waste energy on it now - this is the kind of hidden thought process that's going on in my head and I guess in many other's people's heads too. Paradoxically, this is the thought process that also disarms you a little bit every day, until the task becomes painful and not worth pursuing and once again you've failed to accomplished what you've set out to. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, but also hard to break since it's not happening on a "rational" level, but on a lower "fight or flight" subconscious level, which is very hard to control.

zepto 10y ago
Do you want to do then because they give you pleasure to do, or because you desire the results?
nojvek 10y ago
I do agree on the fear of failure part. I've really procrastinated hitting the gym because I saw very little gains the last few months I went hard.

dreeves 10y ago

Sounds like you're espousing the doctrine of Revealed Preference! Here's my reductio proof that actions don't always reveal preferences: http://blog.beeminder.com/revealed/ http://blog.beeminder.com/revealed/ Short version: People sometimes use commitment devices (like Beeminder!). Doing so is an action and the preference it reveals is that the person engages in actions contrary to their own preferences!

ycosynot 10y ago

For me, the 2 reasons are 1) forced labor, we're too proud to submit fully and blindly to the system, we're meant to be free, or at least trust the government more, and 2) all the superhero movies and games stuff which make us worried about not being as exceptional as we should, so we need an excuse not to be exceptional, and that's procrastination. I couldn't be a hero, because I have this mysterious disease which stops me from trying, blocking my potential.