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Show HN: Why Do I Procrastinate? – Web MD for Procrastination

611 points by ppterodactyl 8y ago

jgladch 8y ago
feeling like you have to do something is dopamine resistance.
dintech 8y ago
OK I'll read this, just gotta check facebook first...
arfo 8y ago
Pretty useful app.
- onion2k 8y ago
  I'll check it out later.
- 0xbxd 8y ago
  Could you elaborate why? To me this seems like your typical, not based on actual science, 1 minute to conclude form put together by content marketing in typeform or something similar.
  - trevyn 8y ago
    It is, just leadgen for something called “Boss as a service”.
  - mariedm 8y ago
    It's based on a book mentioned at the end, "The Procrastination Equation". There is also a link explaining how the equation works.
abrichr 8y ago
"Oops. Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is."
- MitjaBezensek 8y ago
  Same here.
- 52-6F-62 8y ago
  Also same here. And here I thought I was uniquely troubled
mariedm 8y ago
Smooth, went to the end of the quizz and appreciated the suggestions. Now I need to apply the advice :) Makes me want to read the book mentioned.
0xbxd 8y ago
Ok, so what actual science is this based on? Why should I give out personal stuff like "What are you avoiding right now" if it doesn't have an effect on the outcome when completing this form (because you're probably trying to figure out what people procrastinate most often...)? Anyways, not sure about this type of application. In general one should avoid medical apps or forms put together by a start up. It typically doesn't involve any science or actual medical advice, and with things that can also be caused by some serious medical issue (procrastination can be caused by depression) I don't really think this is the right way to go. If you actually did not just pull a content marketing thing, and this is based on actual science, then why not include some sources?
Flimm 8y ago
This quiz is based on the The Procrastination Equation by Piers Steel, which is perhaps the best book I have read on the topic.
anoncoward111 8y ago
It turns out that I'm procrastinating on my work because I feel it isn't valuable to society or rewarding. I wonder if I'm right!
- glitchc 8y ago
  I think you're on to something there.
- hh3k0 8y ago
  And you do valuable things when you procrastinate?
  - anoncoward111 8y ago
    That's actually debatable. I certainly do rewarding things for myself when procrastinating. And my job honestly is a negative value to society. I am a salesman at a rent seeking corporation. I would literally do society more good if I wasn't driving a gas guzzler to work every day and sitting in a giant air conditioned office.
    - gazsp 8y ago
      Time for a new job?
      - anoncoward111 8y ago
        It took me a year to land this one! My expenses are pretty low and my savings are decent, but if I quit this, I would be on the streets pretty quickly. I don't have many skills besides convincing people to buy something. These skills aren't particularly marketable in life :)
        ComodoHacker 8y ago
        What about convincing people to buy something really good?
droidist2 8y ago
WebMD? So the reason you procrastinate: you probably have a brain tumor?
- overcast 8y ago
  It's not a tumah! It's not!
- bausshf 8y ago
  I lost
asimpletune 8y ago
Looks cool! I was going to fill it out, but I decided to put it off.
sandrobfc 8y ago
"The reason you’re procrastinating is simply that you find this task unpleasant to do." Well... that wasn't very helpful, was it? Isn't this the usual reason that one can easily identify?
tgb 8y ago
Seems like a good idea. Two thoughts. I always dislike conjuctions in these kinds of questions: "Today, I tried working on [X], and got distracted everytime." I worry that if I answer 1 out of 5 that it'll assume that that I didn't get distracted every time while instead I just haven't tried working on [X] today. Even if the website handles this correctly, why not make it two questions with the second only done if the first is a yes? How well supported are the suggestions of this site? One of the ones I got was to imagine the worst case scenario if you kept procrastinating. But, okay, I imagined the worst case scenario and it meant I just had to wing something on the spot and do a little worse at it. Is that supposed to motivate me to stop procrastinating? Or is it supposed to make me realize that "everything's okay, stop worrying about it and maybe you'll enjoy doing it more"?
sharemywin 8y ago
Did you create this?
r3bl 8y ago
Can I suggest either carefully stripping away user input or not using it at all in questions? Clear security issue appeared when I typed: <script>alert("this is bad")</script> ...as a reason of my procrastination: https://imgur.com/a/Xmdi9VQ https://imgur.com/a/Xmdi9VQ EDIT: Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting
- jannyfer 8y ago
  Mind explaining how that text input field creates an XSS opportunity? > XSS enables attackers to inject client-side scripts into web pages viewed by other users. Nobody other than you will see your alert("this is bad") so this doesn't seem like XSS.
  - erickj 8y ago
    that's until OP decides tonight that the tool is so pouplar that sticking a database behind it to serve anonymous examples MUST be a good idea, e.g.
- ChristianBundy 8y ago
  This is just a self-XSS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting#Self-XSS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting#Self-XSS If it were a reflected XSS you could trigger it with something like https://whydoiprocrastinate.com/#%3Cscript%3Ealert%28%22this%20is%20bad%22%29%3C%2Fscript%3E https://whydoiprocrastinate.com/#%3Cscript%3Ealert%28%22this..., but I don't think this actually matters. Sloppy programming, sure, but it isn't a real security issue.
- ben509 8y ago
  Yes, in this particular case, it doesn't open a security hole. But scrub all your inputs anyway. That one time you forget, it will be a cosmetic error due to double encoding instead of a security hole due to no encoding.
  - typpo 8y ago
lucideer 8y ago
> Oops. > Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is. > TRY AGAIN? A little disappointing but the link to the book this is based on at the bottom of the page is good. Maybe put that front-and-centre for failures like this?
nickjj 8y ago
One thing that helped me with procrastination is to expose it for what it really is. Let's say you wanted to quit smoking (I've done it cold turkey after smoking a pack a day for over 10 years btw). The only real way you'll have a fighting chance to quit without any alternative drugs is to really want to quit. Not "oh man I wish I could stop smoking", but "ok, I'm done with this, I'm ready to stop". If you break down and smoke again, you're just creating a negative feedback loop on your self worth while taking the short term gains on how smoking makes you feel. You get some nicotine, but every time you "cheat" on yourself it's a constant reminder that you lack willpower and are worthless. Then suddenly you become that person who thinks they can't quit because it's wired in your DNA, when really, it's just poor habits. Procrastination is the same thing. Instead of smoking, you're doing something else (reading HN, Youtube, playing games) instead of what you "should" be doing. Sometimes I still need to remind myself that what I'm working on is worth doing and nothing works better than a simple pros / cons sheet. Then you can prove to yourself how ridiculous it is to sit there and spend 6 hours watching Youtube instead of moving towards your goals which likely have very positive benefits to your life. No apps or gimmicks needed. You'll eventually cure yourself of all procrastination (which by the way shouldn't be confused with taking breaks and giving yourself some time to slack off, because that's completely fine).
- WhompingWindows 8y ago
  Interesting comparison between smoking and procrastination. If we examine the neurology of both, we see a dopamine-centric reward system behind task completion, and probably a very small dopamine hit after procrastination. Similarly, nicotine has been shown to affect the very dopaminergic pathways involved in reward/pleasure systems. So, in a very real neurological way, the comparison is apt. I wonder if people who succesfully go cold-turkey off nicotine have some tendency to procrastinate or not? Or generally, do those who smoke have a tendency to procrastinate or not?
  - aidenn0 8y ago
    Smoking and procrastination are both correlated with ADHD (for which dopamine has also been implicated) so there almost certainly is a correlation between them.
JeanMarcS 8y ago
I tried doing this during breakfast. So I was honest and said that’s what I’m doing. Made no sense :D ! I’ll try it later during a procrastination break.
cableshaft 8y ago
So how do these suggestions work if what you're procrastinating on is your job? Asking for a friend.
WhompingWindows 8y ago
Procrastination is the avoidance of activity due to a discomfort/fear/anxiety and subsequent inability to scale the discomfort wall that exists between you and the tasks' completion. Other comments mention a pointlessness or lack of purpose, which I consider secondary, since it's arguable if it's truly procrastination if the work is truly pointless. Procrastination as a term seems best applied to important/mandatory tasks. Though, I acknowledge many BS tasks of today's workplace are both pointless and mandatory.
- aidenn0 8y ago
  The reason for the discomfort wall's existence is important to figuring out the best way to get over it. Certainly being required to do something day-in and day-out that you find purposeless is one way that the wall might be created. For me, a lot of times it's boredom. It's boring to have to do 2 hours of work sometime in the next week; it's far less boring to have to do 2 hours of work in the next 90 minutes. (Note I'm not recommending this, as it's basically medicating your boredom with stress, and stress has a lot of well documented side-effects).
  - notheguyouthink 8y ago
    That's another good point. I work far better when I have a challenging work-load with real goals. As I mentioned in a nearby post, I found micro-todos to help me visualize my workload (which is usually bigger than I imagined lol), and cause me to understand the weight of the work ahead of me.. thus, giving me a kick to get it the hell out of the way.
    - projektfu 8y ago
      Googling failed me. Is micro-todos a term you use to describe what you do, or is it a technique I can learn more about?
      - notheguyouthink 8y ago
        Apologies, it's a made up term. It seems fitting though. Rather than plan the todos like it's something anyone else could read, I write them for me. And because they're just for me, I can make them as tiny as I want. My general rule of thumb for writing them is: 1. As I'm writing, if it's in my head as a "oh, that needs to be done", I write it down. Tiny or large. 2. If it's really large, I tend to word the task as to break it up. Otherwise I'll spend a day working on that one item, which defeats the purpose of trying to give my brain dopamine/etc. 3. If at any point in code I think of those "oh, I gotta remember to fix/refactor/add that" I write it down. It's quick because I don't need to give others context. It's short, because it's just for me and it shouldn't be too far away from my current context anyway. And finally it helps me actually take breaks, and come back getting right into it. I try to never leave without writing what I should do next. To pair with that, I chose a todo app (Dynalist atm) that I enjoy using. It should be quick to get ideas onto paper so to say, and not bogged down with features. This is more of a notebook, than a todo. Anyway, it's all an experiment for me. I'm on week two or so of it, and it's been great so far. Good luck if you try it :) edit: fix stupid list formatting.
maximp 8y ago
Just wanted to say - this is great, and I enjoyed it! thank you!
nihil75 8y ago
This questionnaire is entirely incompatible with enterprise environments, where the work is not only boring, but also pointless (as results are way further down the line and deliverables will surely change multiple times).
- erickj 8y ago
  that's what i'm procrastinating on right now
- quadrangle 8y ago
  http://strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/ http://strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/ … and the full-length new book it inspired… to the heart of what you're saying
throw7 8y ago
"Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is."
1maginary 8y ago
It'd be cool see some stats for the results people get. I'm sure a lot of people are taking the quiz right now. Could we find what makes people procrastinate most often? Spoiler, I got 'lack of value' and for some reason I bet it's gonna be a winner, at least when it comes to the HN userbase
esseti 8y ago
nice one, and good advertising for BAAS = boss as a service . PS: how many user does BAAS have, and: is it automated?
kibwen 8y ago
With regard to dealing with impulsiveness on the internet by "throwing away the keys", the site recommends the StayFocusd extension for Chrome, but doesn't recommend anything for other browsers. For Firefox users, I recommend LeechBlock, which has a long history of maintenance, lots of users, and versions for both old and new Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock-ng/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock-ng...
- abagh0703 8y ago
  freedom.to costs money but works across multiple browsers and your mobile devices. not free but I've found it's worth the cost.
thisthatand 8y ago
"Oops. Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is." Well, that makes two of us.
logeek 8y ago
Nice concept, but all I got was: "Oops. Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is."
- have_faith 8y ago
  Ditto. In my case it's just that the amount of work I would have to do to be happy with my own side projects causes me to procrastinate on starting them, as I don't have a perfect image in my head of an objectively successful outcome yet so I just delay.
  - DigitalBison 8y ago
    The way you put this really resonates with me. Often when I'm procrastinating it's because a task seems/feels/sounds really daunting, but the "daunting" feeling is because I'm imagining just how damn hard it's going to be to do the task perfectly. It creates this mental barrier to getting started because completing it perfectly (or, to my expectations) seems too hard. Breaking out of this by realizing that "perfect" is not the goal, and setting more attainable sub-goals for myself is key, but hard.
lamename 8y ago
Kind of a step by step walk that takes you through this: https://alexvermeer.com/getmotivated/ https://alexvermeer.com/getmotivated/
- diimdeep 8y ago
  Wow, this is really handy!
hindsightbias 8y ago
Incubating has saved me 1000's of hours of wasted work time going down the wrong path. http://interactions.acm.org/blog/view/the-joy-of-procrastination http://interactions.acm.org/blog/view/the-joy-of-procrastina...
skriticos2 8y ago
Well, maybe sometimes this happens to me.. "I just go check the headlines on my favorite news sites and then I start my productive day.. and I drink this cup of coffee." .. 2 hours later. "Just this one headline, then I'm ready." .. 2 hours later. "Damn, where did the day go all of a sudden?" Of course the solution is to first do the work and then read the news.. but that's the rational part of my brain speaking - not the sleepy, non-morning person persona of myself. Of course ToDo lists, interesting tasks, deadline pressure and gamification work. Like pretending to be a character in an RPG - playing the game of my life. And then come up with ideas on how to level, quest and progress with the tasks/projects I have. Questlog: You have leveld up. You are now a level 14 code conjurer. You have completed the quest: Subjugate the data.. And then come up with fun side-quests (rewards) that I can only unlock at specific levels or after a particular quest is completed - like building a project RPG gamification tracker utility. On the other hand, I am very productive once the day is over and I sit in front of the screen at night in the natural light of my computer screen, so there is that.
- sp332 8y ago
  I think habits are probably stronger when we're sleepy and have less "executive function". When you're awake, make plans to disrupt your sleepy self. Set a timer or block your news sites or something. Because trying to break a habit when you're sleepy is going to be tough.
- el_benhameen 8y ago
  I've started going for a long walk before I start working, and I've since found it much easier to dive into work before "just checking out this one article". I think it's because I feel like I've already had a part of my day devoted to something that's just for me, so I don't feel like my day is belongs to someone else's goals from the get go. That, and I'm more awake, which makes it easier to think about complex tasks.
- padobson 8y ago
  Self discipline definitely has a momentum effect. My most productive days are the ones that start at 5am with a run, followed by a shower, meditation, and writing up a list of things I want to accomplish that day. Then I start working with my noise cancelling headphones and my flow-state playlist. It's very deliberate from start to finish. My least productive days are the ones where I roll out of bed randomly, when the sun has been up for a while, and sit down at my desk still in my pajamas. HN or YouTube tend to be my first tasks of the day, and sometimes I don't get to any others. These types of days seem to be something that's happening to me, rather than something I'm choosing. I struggle with depression, and I find the second kind of day is a feedback loop of anxiety and procrastination. The first kind of day is a virtuous cycle of productivity and serenity. That 5am alarm is the best way I know to set the whole thing in motion.
deleted 8y ago
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bitL 8y ago
Insert "hurting my brain" as the first answer and enjoy a comedy of questions.
swarnie_ 8y ago
Might just be me but the start button over laps with the "Made with" message and sends me off on a hyperlink somewhere else.
cmplxconjugate 8y ago
My one little life hack for the morning procrastination is this: Always make sure you have set yourself a simple task to complete/continue the following morning. It gives an achievable goal that can help kickstart your working flow for the day.
- dctoedt 8y ago
  > Always make sure you have set yourself a simple task to complete/continue the following morning. [¶] It gives an achievable goal that can help kickstart your working flow for the day. Or as Admiral William McRaven (Navy SEAL, at the time the head of Special Ops) put it: "Make your bed." [0] [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6OoCaGsz94 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6OoCaGsz94
rudedogg 8y ago
The iProcrastinate podcast (http://iprocrastinate.libsyn.com/ http://iprocrastinate.libsyn.com/) is really good. Some of the early episodes have audio issues, but they are worth listening to. The host has been researching procrastination for like 20+ years. Their main website is http://www.procrastination.ca/ http://www.procrastination.ca/
debt 8y ago
The people in life that are most successful are usually the ones that are compelled to do a thing for whatever reason. If you're procrastinating; it's simply an indication you don't want to do a thing. Sure, you can use hacks etc to get the thing done, but at the end of the day, there's no real, underlying driving will within yourself to get the thing done. Perhaps spending time finding the things you willfully do rather than focusing on the things you tend to avoid might be great way to avoid procrastination. I get it though. That buzzing lazy feeling of getting some things done but not all the things; or the things you need to get done while lazily avoiding the things you supposedly want to do. I have noticed in my life that I willfully do some things to completion because I just have an underlying will to get it done.
aclsid 8y ago
I know people hate to admit it and create these fancy terms for ages old behavior. Procrastinate is being lazy,as simple as that. Reading news and watching YouTube videos while you are getting paid to do work is being lazy with a capital L. So yeah, please stop coming up with excuses if you procrastinate as if it is some sort of disease, drop the distractions and just get to work.
zacts_pi 8y ago
I would perhaps argue that most modern procrastination is fundamentally due to tech and social media addiction.
vfinn 8y ago
Procrastination is due to not doing things on your own terms, which means that what you feel you have to do comes from the outside. Often this symptom comes from disparity between what you think you want to do and what should be done (the outside). For example, what you do in the university is something you want to do, but not always in a way you think things should be done. Here procrastination comes along. The solution is to do things on your own terms as often as possible. It's debatable how far you can go with this idea, because in the end it becomes a question of what's the meaningful relationship between you and the society. When you have to give in to outside pressure, then some tricks might help you. But what I said before that, IMHO, is what the issue is really about.
spraak 8y ago
Also check out "The Now Habit". Sounds corny but it really identifies the baste causes of procrastination and has some great tools for overcoming it. I can't say I'm completely cured yet, but it did help me to read it.
igtztorrero 8y ago
Because I see HackerNews everyday ...
DannyB2 8y ago
March is national procrastination week. So it is okay to procrastinate then, in observance of the event. But people don't always get around to observing it right at the beginning of March.
atemerev 8y ago
“You have impulsiveness — by far the worst form of procrastination” Yeah, thank you, as somebody with severe adult ADD diagnosis I know this perfectly well. The problem is what to do with it. I always will crave new things, to the point of ignoring anything else. I will always be distracted. The problem is what to do with all that...
virusduck 8y ago
Whew! I thought this was going to be a link to tvtropes!
mrleinad 8y ago
The service sounds really good, though I think the subscription payment should also include Paypal. I think many people would like to avoid handing over their credit card information to more sites if they can.
hesk 8y ago
"Oops. Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is." I guess I should stop procrastinating by finding out why I'm procrastinating and go back to work.
Senderman 8y ago
Protip: Typing in the word "Nothing" makes this pretty hilarious.
grafelic 8y ago
I wish had the time to procrastinate more. Ironically, my job, which is the reason for my lack of procrastination time, I got directly as a result of the many hours I procrastinated during the last year of university. Sometimes procrastination pays of, you just don't know it whilst procrastinating, which makes it valid procrastination at the time.
- kaybe 8y ago
  How did you procrastinate during your final university year?
  - grafelic 8y ago
    How: When the deadline for handing in your thesis is many months ahead and you spend countless hours in a quiet setting with an old laptop "in need of optimization", an okish internet connection and an endless array of Linux subjects (all terrifically more exciting than the thesis) to delve into, procrastination instead of writing said thesis was no problem at all and proved not to be in the long run. N.b. I did actually hand in the thesis on time. The last push to get in done was excruciating hard due to time pressure - the price of procrastination I guess.
Yen 8y ago
There's another potential cause for procrastination, that this website doesn't seem to diagnose or offer advice on - I have a hypothetical task in front of me, which is interesting, impactful, within my skill range, well-defined, and I know the first couple steps to start on it. I estimate that I can complete the task with 2~3 hours of solid work. This sounds like the _ideal_ anti-procrastination scenario, right? But, I know I have a meeting at some point in the next 20~40 minutes, and that meeting will end 15~5 minutes before lunch starts. And then, hypothetically, the meeting gets canceled, or is shortened to ~5 minutes, and basically the whole morning's worth of time has been wasted. Any advice for either > how to overcome the hump of starting to spin up on a deep work task you're likely to be interrupted for or > how to commit to starting a deep work task in a known uninterrupted block of time later in the day, and find _meaningful_ shallow work to do now, in a way that won't delay spinning up on the important task when the time becomes available
- Retric 8y ago
  If you have 10 minutes or more then trying to spin up is still useful. You are not going to make progress directly, but you will have a few hooks to think about during the meeting. If it's a wasteful meeting you get something worthwhile to do, and if it's a useful meeting then no harm done.
iblaine 8y ago
Site needs a favicon.ico
hessenwolf 8y ago
I just used it to consult with a young woman who cancelled her open heart surgery today, which gives her two years to live. The result was low expectancy, and the advice is indeed helpful.
- owenversteeg 8y ago
  Wow, that's a heavy thing to deal with. Why'd she cancel the surgery and how was it related to procrastination?
  - hessenwolf 8y ago
    Low in expectation. The site argued she just didn't expect it to be successful. She seemed to agree.
deleted 8y ago
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enodios 8y ago
I had pretty low expectations when I opened this, but was pleasantly surprised. It's not that the advice was that helpful (I enjoyed the reminder, but I've heard that all before), but simply asking me questions like "can you do successfully do this, once you start?" helped adjust my thinking. By choosing "I can do this", I remembered that I can
Siah 8y ago
My biggest source of procrastination is Hacker News!
yranadive 8y ago
Too many questions to answer IMHO. Can't see anyone using this tool more than once. Should narrow it down to 5 questions tops to get any value on daily basis
- latexr 8y ago
  “Twelve questions? I’ll do it later.”
iamben 8y ago
I see and work on a lot of content marketing pieces. This is an example of content marketing executed _reeeeallyy_ well. Massive props to Boss As A Service.
User23 8y ago
One of the major causes of procrastination is being assigned obviously pointless busy-work. It's hard to be motivated when you know that you're just box-checking.
rhacker 8y ago
I found BossAsAService through this. Nice idea.
sasaf5 8y ago
You procrastinate because you are tired. Sleep, and entertain yourself with the presence of good people. Boom, procrastination gone.
Yokohiii 8y ago
They couldn't find out why I am procrastinating. We are on par.
delinka 8y ago
“Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is.” I know what the problem is: it’s a hobby project and 1) employer work takes priority and 2) I’m so stinking tired at the end of a day and 3) adult chores take priority on the weekend.
keyle 8y ago
I liked the gamification hints: - give yourself a clock, and race against the clock - it may be boring, so add some difficulty to it, extra challenges, stretch goal. neither may apply to all task though.
tfolbrecht 8y ago
PERSONAL ANECDOTE ALERT: Since I've began working from home, something I've found helpful is assigning context to a physical space and moving from space to space to context switch. For example, I browse the internet and read news on my front porch, but my office is strictly work mode. My living room is strictly a space for relaxing and entertaining guests, my kitchen/dining area is for cooking and eating. It may sound weird but if I get a phone call or have to make an email. I move to my office ( my note pads, and desktop is ready to go which is a plus ) I think the work-from-anywhere play-from-anywhere meme has been damaging to my productivity and happiness. I feel a lot less anxious and more focused.
- fyfy18 8y ago
  When I started working from home last year, this was my biggest concern as I live in a one bedroom apartment so there isn’t space for multiple desks, and I use the same desktop PC for work and play. It turned out not to be a problem, as long as I am motivated by the work then I have no problem focussing no matter where I am working.
- DoingIsLearning 8y ago
  100% agree on the importance of managing environmental queues! Also not just physical spaces but other things like type of background noise, light conditions, even trivial things like posture, I feel they all seem to influence my ability to get into a state of 'flow'.
willart4food 8y ago
https://imgur.com/a/asNrBd2 https://imgur.com/a/asNrBd2
- sandmanxc 8y ago
  https://imgur.com/IPV0YJ1 https://imgur.com/IPV0YJ1
chinmayan 8y ago
Okay, I'll read it later!
tmhussain 8y ago
"Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is." Neither can my friend, neither can I.
deleted 8y ago
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sritrisna 8y ago
In my case, I believe I managed to identify the root cause: 90% of the work I do is slightly over my head. As a bootstrapped solo founder and to stretch out the money I saved up I must do a lot of the tasks myself, which you would usually hire a specialist to do. This is not restricted to the technical aspect of my business but also concerns the legal, financial and sales side. So, imagine you’re a top of the line DBA with many years of experience and I ask you to take care of the front-end of the app as well as the backend, deal with the GDPR (without the help of a lawyer) and figure out sales in a market where traditional sales don’t work, you will eventually spread yourself thin. Now, this is how I overcome the challenge: as soon as I get a task which I don’t know how to tackle e.g. getting a firm grasp on double taxation avoidance agreements and procrastination sets in because I’m unsure where to get started, I break everything down into a single task and try to conquer it. Depending on the complexity of the task and lack of my knowledge how to tackle it the greater the procrastination. That procrastination, however, helps me, in turn, to process the task in ‘the background’ until I find a way to get started. Not sure if this makes sense, or if it is just me. On the other hand, constantly working on different tasks across professions has helped me to quickly learn the fundamentals of each sector/topic/issue/field. If it is really needed I can still consult with a specialist and save some money, because there is a baseline for discussion and I know exactly what I need/want.
stared 8y ago
One remark: with "What are you avoiding doing right now?" it prompts to answer many activities. In my case they were different (chores vs creative and open-ended stuff), so it was not easy to answer questions in a meaningful way. (It should clearly prompt to write a single thing/activity.)
marv3lls 8y ago
Oh wait. I input "lying in bed" cuz I should be asleep. That was kinda meta…
callesgg 8y ago
I don’t like to do the thing I need to do cause it has no instant internal feedback. It has long term goal feedback. Like the feedback comes sort of in 6 months. And even then it was only a step to more work. Hard work leads to gratification. Fuck ADHD.
mendelsd 8y ago
I believe I procrastinate because life is so demanding and complex that I am constantly straining against the limits of my productivity for imposed work. It is due largely to a mismatch between my natural interests and society's demands. The question is what to do about that so I can be more effective. "Because baboons are rarely threatened by famine, plague or predators, they are good models for socialized disease, Sapolsky says: 'Baboon societies are ironically a lot like Westernized humans. We're ecologically privileged enough that we can invent social and psychological stress. Baboons in the Serengeti, who only work three hours a day to meet their caloric needs, are similarly privileged. They ulcerate because of social complexities.'" [1] Procrastination, it seems to me, ultimately falls in the category of "ulcerating because of social complexities". [1] https://news.stanford.edu/news/2001/february21/aaassapolsky-221.html https://news.stanford.edu/news/2001/february21/aaassapolsky-...
mbdharan 8y ago
I don't want to take the test right now. Maybe tonight. I know there is something motivational at the end of the test that would make me want to do it, but I'm not going to do it anyway. Basically, I'm procrastinating by writing this comment and not doing the test.
lmagno 8y ago
"Nobody procrastinates doing what they enjoy." I'm guessing mental illnesses are out of the picture here then.
ekoczwara 8y ago
Every time I hear about procrastination it reminds me about great talk by Evan Czaplicki and his approach to Elm development, actually it can be good thing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSjbTC-hvqQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSjbTC-hvqQ see 19:15 Batching Work).

611 points by ppterodactyl 8y ago

jgladch 8y ago

feeling like you have to do something is dopamine resistance.

dintech 8y ago

OK I'll read this, just gotta check facebook first...

arfo 8y ago

Pretty useful app.

onion2k 8y ago
I'll check it out later.
0xbxd 8y ago
Could you elaborate why? To me this seems like your typical, not based on actual science, 1 minute to conclude form put together by content marketing in typeform or something similar.
- trevyn 8y ago
  It is, just leadgen for something called “Boss as a service”.
- mariedm 8y ago
  It's based on a book mentioned at the end, "The Procrastination Equation". There is also a link explaining how the equation works.

abrichr 8y ago

"Oops. Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is."

MitjaBezensek 8y ago
Same here.
52-6F-62 8y ago
Also same here. And here I thought I was uniquely troubled

mariedm 8y ago

Smooth, went to the end of the quizz and appreciated the suggestions. Now I need to apply the advice :) Makes me want to read the book mentioned.

0xbxd 8y ago

Ok, so what actual science is this based on? Why should I give out personal stuff like "What are you avoiding right now" if it doesn't have an effect on the outcome when completing this form (because you're probably trying to figure out what people procrastinate most often...)? Anyways, not sure about this type of application. In general one should avoid medical apps or forms put together by a start up. It typically doesn't involve any science or actual medical advice, and with things that can also be caused by some serious medical issue (procrastination can be caused by depression) I don't really think this is the right way to go. If you actually did not just pull a content marketing thing, and this is based on actual science, then why not include some sources?

Flimm 8y ago

This quiz is based on the The Procrastination Equation by Piers Steel, which is perhaps the best book I have read on the topic.

anoncoward111 8y ago

It turns out that I'm procrastinating on my work because I feel it isn't valuable to society or rewarding. I wonder if I'm right!

glitchc 8y ago
I think you're on to something there.
hh3k0 8y ago
And you do valuable things when you procrastinate?
- anoncoward111 8y ago
  That's actually debatable. I certainly do rewarding things for myself when procrastinating. And my job honestly is a negative value to society. I am a salesman at a rent seeking corporation. I would literally do society more good if I wasn't driving a gas guzzler to work every day and sitting in a giant air conditioned office.
  - gazsp 8y ago
    Time for a new job?
    - anoncoward111 8y ago
      It took me a year to land this one! My expenses are pretty low and my savings are decent, but if I quit this, I would be on the streets pretty quickly. I don't have many skills besides convincing people to buy something. These skills aren't particularly marketable in life :)
      - ComodoHacker 8y ago
        What about convincing people to buy something really good?

droidist2 8y ago

WebMD? So the reason you procrastinate: you probably have a brain tumor?

overcast 8y ago
It's not a tumah! It's not!
bausshf 8y ago
I lost

asimpletune 8y ago

Looks cool! I was going to fill it out, but I decided to put it off.

sandrobfc 8y ago

"The reason you’re procrastinating is simply that you find this task unpleasant to do." Well... that wasn't very helpful, was it? Isn't this the usual reason that one can easily identify?

tgb 8y ago

Seems like a good idea. Two thoughts. I always dislike conjuctions in these kinds of questions: "Today, I tried working on [X], and got distracted everytime." I worry that if I answer 1 out of 5 that it'll assume that that I didn't get distracted every time while instead I just haven't tried working on [X] today. Even if the website handles this correctly, why not make it two questions with the second only done if the first is a yes? How well supported are the suggestions of this site? One of the ones I got was to imagine the worst case scenario if you kept procrastinating. But, okay, I imagined the worst case scenario and it meant I just had to wing something on the spot and do a little worse at it. Is that supposed to motivate me to stop procrastinating? Or is it supposed to make me realize that "everything's okay, stop worrying about it and maybe you'll enjoy doing it more"?

sharemywin 8y ago

Did you create this?

r3bl 8y ago

Can I suggest either carefully stripping away user input or not using it at all in questions? Clear security issue appeared when I typed: <script>alert("this is bad")</script> ...as a reason of my procrastination: https://imgur.com/a/Xmdi9VQ https://imgur.com/a/Xmdi9VQ EDIT: Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting

jannyfer 8y ago
Mind explaining how that text input field creates an XSS opportunity? > XSS enables attackers to inject client-side scripts into web pages viewed by other users. Nobody other than you will see your alert("this is bad") so this doesn't seem like XSS.
- erickj 8y ago
  that's until OP decides tonight that the tool is so pouplar that sticking a database behind it to serve anonymous examples MUST be a good idea, e.g.
ChristianBundy 8y ago
This is just a self-XSS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting#Self-XSS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting#Self-XSS If it were a reflected XSS you could trigger it with something like https://whydoiprocrastinate.com/#%3Cscript%3Ealert%28%22this%20is%20bad%22%29%3C%2Fscript%3E https://whydoiprocrastinate.com/#%3Cscript%3Ealert%28%22this..., but I don't think this actually matters. Sloppy programming, sure, but it isn't a real security issue.
ben509 8y ago
Yes, in this particular case, it doesn't open a security hole. But scrub all your inputs anyway. That one time you forget, it will be a cosmetic error due to double encoding instead of a security hole due to no encoding.
- typpo 8y ago

lucideer 8y ago

> Oops. > Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is. > TRY AGAIN? A little disappointing but the link to the book this is based on at the bottom of the page is good. Maybe put that front-and-centre for failures like this?

nickjj 8y ago

One thing that helped me with procrastination is to expose it for what it really is. Let's say you wanted to quit smoking (I've done it cold turkey after smoking a pack a day for over 10 years btw). The only real way you'll have a fighting chance to quit without any alternative drugs is to really want to quit. Not "oh man I wish I could stop smoking", but "ok, I'm done with this, I'm ready to stop". If you break down and smoke again, you're just creating a negative feedback loop on your self worth while taking the short term gains on how smoking makes you feel. You get some nicotine, but every time you "cheat" on yourself it's a constant reminder that you lack willpower and are worthless. Then suddenly you become that person who thinks they can't quit because it's wired in your DNA, when really, it's just poor habits. Procrastination is the same thing. Instead of smoking, you're doing something else (reading HN, Youtube, playing games) instead of what you "should" be doing. Sometimes I still need to remind myself that what I'm working on is worth doing and nothing works better than a simple pros / cons sheet. Then you can prove to yourself how ridiculous it is to sit there and spend 6 hours watching Youtube instead of moving towards your goals which likely have very positive benefits to your life. No apps or gimmicks needed. You'll eventually cure yourself of all procrastination (which by the way shouldn't be confused with taking breaks and giving yourself some time to slack off, because that's completely fine).

WhompingWindows 8y ago
Interesting comparison between smoking and procrastination. If we examine the neurology of both, we see a dopamine-centric reward system behind task completion, and probably a very small dopamine hit after procrastination. Similarly, nicotine has been shown to affect the very dopaminergic pathways involved in reward/pleasure systems. So, in a very real neurological way, the comparison is apt. I wonder if people who succesfully go cold-turkey off nicotine have some tendency to procrastinate or not? Or generally, do those who smoke have a tendency to procrastinate or not?
- aidenn0 8y ago
  Smoking and procrastination are both correlated with ADHD (for which dopamine has also been implicated) so there almost certainly is a correlation between them.

JeanMarcS 8y ago

I tried doing this during breakfast. So I was honest and said that’s what I’m doing. Made no sense :D ! I’ll try it later during a procrastination break.

cableshaft 8y ago

So how do these suggestions work if what you're procrastinating on is your job? Asking for a friend.

WhompingWindows 8y ago

Procrastination is the avoidance of activity due to a discomfort/fear/anxiety and subsequent inability to scale the discomfort wall that exists between you and the tasks' completion. Other comments mention a pointlessness or lack of purpose, which I consider secondary, since it's arguable if it's truly procrastination if the work is truly pointless. Procrastination as a term seems best applied to important/mandatory tasks. Though, I acknowledge many BS tasks of today's workplace are both pointless and mandatory.

aidenn0 8y ago
The reason for the discomfort wall's existence is important to figuring out the best way to get over it. Certainly being required to do something day-in and day-out that you find purposeless is one way that the wall might be created. For me, a lot of times it's boredom. It's boring to have to do 2 hours of work sometime in the next week; it's far less boring to have to do 2 hours of work in the next 90 minutes. (Note I'm not recommending this, as it's basically medicating your boredom with stress, and stress has a lot of well documented side-effects).
- notheguyouthink 8y ago
  That's another good point. I work far better when I have a challenging work-load with real goals. As I mentioned in a nearby post, I found micro-todos to help me visualize my workload (which is usually bigger than I imagined lol), and cause me to understand the weight of the work ahead of me.. thus, giving me a kick to get it the hell out of the way.
  - projektfu 8y ago
    Googling failed me. Is micro-todos a term you use to describe what you do, or is it a technique I can learn more about?
    - notheguyouthink 8y ago
      Apologies, it's a made up term. It seems fitting though. Rather than plan the todos like it's something anyone else could read, I write them for me. And because they're just for me, I can make them as tiny as I want. My general rule of thumb for writing them is: 1. As I'm writing, if it's in my head as a "oh, that needs to be done", I write it down. Tiny or large. 2. If it's really large, I tend to word the task as to break it up. Otherwise I'll spend a day working on that one item, which defeats the purpose of trying to give my brain dopamine/etc. 3. If at any point in code I think of those "oh, I gotta remember to fix/refactor/add that" I write it down. It's quick because I don't need to give others context. It's short, because it's just for me and it shouldn't be too far away from my current context anyway. And finally it helps me actually take breaks, and come back getting right into it. I try to never leave without writing what I should do next. To pair with that, I chose a todo app (Dynalist atm) that I enjoy using. It should be quick to get ideas onto paper so to say, and not bogged down with features. This is more of a notebook, than a todo. Anyway, it's all an experiment for me. I'm on week two or so of it, and it's been great so far. Good luck if you try it :) edit: fix stupid list formatting.

maximp 8y ago

Just wanted to say - this is great, and I enjoyed it! thank you!

nihil75 8y ago

This questionnaire is entirely incompatible with enterprise environments, where the work is not only boring, but also pointless (as results are way further down the line and deliverables will surely change multiple times).

erickj 8y ago
that's what i'm procrastinating on right now
quadrangle 8y ago
http://strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/ http://strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/ … and the full-length new book it inspired… to the heart of what you're saying

throw7 8y ago

"Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is."

1maginary 8y ago

It'd be cool see some stats for the results people get. I'm sure a lot of people are taking the quiz right now. Could we find what makes people procrastinate most often? Spoiler, I got 'lack of value' and for some reason I bet it's gonna be a winner, at least when it comes to the HN userbase

esseti 8y ago

nice one, and good advertising for BAAS = boss as a service . PS: how many user does BAAS have, and: is it automated?

kibwen 8y ago

With regard to dealing with impulsiveness on the internet by "throwing away the keys", the site recommends the StayFocusd extension for Chrome, but doesn't recommend anything for other browsers. For Firefox users, I recommend LeechBlock, which has a long history of maintenance, lots of users, and versions for both old and new Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock-ng/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock-ng...

abagh0703 8y ago
freedom.to costs money but works across multiple browsers and your mobile devices. not free but I've found it's worth the cost.

thisthatand 8y ago

"Oops. Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is." Well, that makes two of us.

logeek 8y ago

Nice concept, but all I got was: "Oops. Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is."

have_faith 8y ago
Ditto. In my case it's just that the amount of work I would have to do to be happy with my own side projects causes me to procrastinate on starting them, as I don't have a perfect image in my head of an objectively successful outcome yet so I just delay.
- DigitalBison 8y ago
  The way you put this really resonates with me. Often when I'm procrastinating it's because a task seems/feels/sounds really daunting, but the "daunting" feeling is because I'm imagining just how damn hard it's going to be to do the task perfectly. It creates this mental barrier to getting started because completing it perfectly (or, to my expectations) seems too hard. Breaking out of this by realizing that "perfect" is not the goal, and setting more attainable sub-goals for myself is key, but hard.

lamename 8y ago

Kind of a step by step walk that takes you through this: https://alexvermeer.com/getmotivated/ https://alexvermeer.com/getmotivated/

diimdeep 8y ago
Wow, this is really handy!

hindsightbias 8y ago

Incubating has saved me 1000's of hours of wasted work time going down the wrong path. http://interactions.acm.org/blog/view/the-joy-of-procrastination http://interactions.acm.org/blog/view/the-joy-of-procrastina...

skriticos2 8y ago

Well, maybe sometimes this happens to me.. "I just go check the headlines on my favorite news sites and then I start my productive day.. and I drink this cup of coffee." .. 2 hours later. "Just this one headline, then I'm ready." .. 2 hours later. "Damn, where did the day go all of a sudden?" Of course the solution is to first do the work and then read the news.. but that's the rational part of my brain speaking - not the sleepy, non-morning person persona of myself. Of course ToDo lists, interesting tasks, deadline pressure and gamification work. Like pretending to be a character in an RPG - playing the game of my life. And then come up with ideas on how to level, quest and progress with the tasks/projects I have. Questlog: You have leveld up. You are now a level 14 code conjurer. You have completed the quest: Subjugate the data.. And then come up with fun side-quests (rewards) that I can only unlock at specific levels or after a particular quest is completed - like building a project RPG gamification tracker utility. On the other hand, I am very productive once the day is over and I sit in front of the screen at night in the natural light of my computer screen, so there is that.

sp332 8y ago
I think habits are probably stronger when we're sleepy and have less "executive function". When you're awake, make plans to disrupt your sleepy self. Set a timer or block your news sites or something. Because trying to break a habit when you're sleepy is going to be tough.
el_benhameen 8y ago
I've started going for a long walk before I start working, and I've since found it much easier to dive into work before "just checking out this one article". I think it's because I feel like I've already had a part of my day devoted to something that's just for me, so I don't feel like my day is belongs to someone else's goals from the get go. That, and I'm more awake, which makes it easier to think about complex tasks.
padobson 8y ago
Self discipline definitely has a momentum effect. My most productive days are the ones that start at 5am with a run, followed by a shower, meditation, and writing up a list of things I want to accomplish that day. Then I start working with my noise cancelling headphones and my flow-state playlist. It's very deliberate from start to finish. My least productive days are the ones where I roll out of bed randomly, when the sun has been up for a while, and sit down at my desk still in my pajamas. HN or YouTube tend to be my first tasks of the day, and sometimes I don't get to any others. These types of days seem to be something that's happening to me, rather than something I'm choosing. I struggle with depression, and I find the second kind of day is a feedback loop of anxiety and procrastination. The first kind of day is a virtuous cycle of productivity and serenity. That 5am alarm is the best way I know to set the whole thing in motion.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

bitL 8y ago

Insert "hurting my brain" as the first answer and enjoy a comedy of questions.

swarnie_ 8y ago

Might just be me but the start button over laps with the "Made with" message and sends me off on a hyperlink somewhere else.

cmplxconjugate 8y ago

My one little life hack for the morning procrastination is this: Always make sure you have set yourself a simple task to complete/continue the following morning. It gives an achievable goal that can help kickstart your working flow for the day.

dctoedt 8y ago
> Always make sure you have set yourself a simple task to complete/continue the following morning. [¶] It gives an achievable goal that can help kickstart your working flow for the day. Or as Admiral William McRaven (Navy SEAL, at the time the head of Special Ops) put it: "Make your bed." [0] [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6OoCaGsz94 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6OoCaGsz94

rudedogg 8y ago

The iProcrastinate podcast (http://iprocrastinate.libsyn.com/ http://iprocrastinate.libsyn.com/) is really good. Some of the early episodes have audio issues, but they are worth listening to. The host has been researching procrastination for like 20+ years. Their main website is http://www.procrastination.ca/ http://www.procrastination.ca/

debt 8y ago

The people in life that are most successful are usually the ones that are compelled to do a thing for whatever reason. If you're procrastinating; it's simply an indication you don't want to do a thing. Sure, you can use hacks etc to get the thing done, but at the end of the day, there's no real, underlying driving will within yourself to get the thing done. Perhaps spending time finding the things you willfully do rather than focusing on the things you tend to avoid might be great way to avoid procrastination. I get it though. That buzzing lazy feeling of getting some things done but not all the things; or the things you need to get done while lazily avoiding the things you supposedly want to do. I have noticed in my life that I willfully do some things to completion because I just have an underlying will to get it done.

aclsid 8y ago

I know people hate to admit it and create these fancy terms for ages old behavior. Procrastinate is being lazy,as simple as that. Reading news and watching YouTube videos while you are getting paid to do work is being lazy with a capital L. So yeah, please stop coming up with excuses if you procrastinate as if it is some sort of disease, drop the distractions and just get to work.

zacts_pi 8y ago

I would perhaps argue that most modern procrastination is fundamentally due to tech and social media addiction.

vfinn 8y ago

Procrastination is due to not doing things on your own terms, which means that what you feel you have to do comes from the outside. Often this symptom comes from disparity between what you think you want to do and what should be done (the outside). For example, what you do in the university is something you want to do, but not always in a way you think things should be done. Here procrastination comes along. The solution is to do things on your own terms as often as possible. It's debatable how far you can go with this idea, because in the end it becomes a question of what's the meaningful relationship between you and the society. When you have to give in to outside pressure, then some tricks might help you. But what I said before that, IMHO, is what the issue is really about.

spraak 8y ago

Also check out "The Now Habit". Sounds corny but it really identifies the baste causes of procrastination and has some great tools for overcoming it. I can't say I'm completely cured yet, but it did help me to read it.

igtztorrero 8y ago

Because I see HackerNews everyday ...

DannyB2 8y ago

March is national procrastination week. So it is okay to procrastinate then, in observance of the event. But people don't always get around to observing it right at the beginning of March.

atemerev 8y ago

“You have impulsiveness — by far the worst form of procrastination” Yeah, thank you, as somebody with severe adult ADD diagnosis I know this perfectly well. The problem is what to do with it. I always will crave new things, to the point of ignoring anything else. I will always be distracted. The problem is what to do with all that...

virusduck 8y ago

Whew! I thought this was going to be a link to tvtropes!

mrleinad 8y ago

The service sounds really good, though I think the subscription payment should also include Paypal. I think many people would like to avoid handing over their credit card information to more sites if they can.

hesk 8y ago

"Oops. Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is." I guess I should stop procrastinating by finding out why I'm procrastinating and go back to work.

Senderman 8y ago

Protip: Typing in the word "Nothing" makes this pretty hilarious.

grafelic 8y ago

I wish had the time to procrastinate more. Ironically, my job, which is the reason for my lack of procrastination time, I got directly as a result of the many hours I procrastinated during the last year of university. Sometimes procrastination pays of, you just don't know it whilst procrastinating, which makes it valid procrastination at the time.

kaybe 8y ago
How did you procrastinate during your final university year?
- grafelic 8y ago
  How: When the deadline for handing in your thesis is many months ahead and you spend countless hours in a quiet setting with an old laptop "in need of optimization", an okish internet connection and an endless array of Linux subjects (all terrifically more exciting than the thesis) to delve into, procrastination instead of writing said thesis was no problem at all and proved not to be in the long run. N.b. I did actually hand in the thesis on time. The last push to get in done was excruciating hard due to time pressure - the price of procrastination I guess.

Yen 8y ago

There's another potential cause for procrastination, that this website doesn't seem to diagnose or offer advice on - I have a hypothetical task in front of me, which is interesting, impactful, within my skill range, well-defined, and I know the first couple steps to start on it. I estimate that I can complete the task with 2~3 hours of solid work. This sounds like the _ideal_ anti-procrastination scenario, right? But, I know I have a meeting at some point in the next 20~40 minutes, and that meeting will end 15~5 minutes before lunch starts. And then, hypothetically, the meeting gets canceled, or is shortened to ~5 minutes, and basically the whole morning's worth of time has been wasted. Any advice for either > how to overcome the hump of starting to spin up on a deep work task you're likely to be interrupted for or > how to commit to starting a deep work task in a known uninterrupted block of time later in the day, and find _meaningful_ shallow work to do now, in a way that won't delay spinning up on the important task when the time becomes available

Retric 8y ago
If you have 10 minutes or more then trying to spin up is still useful. You are not going to make progress directly, but you will have a few hooks to think about during the meeting. If it's a wasteful meeting you get something worthwhile to do, and if it's a useful meeting then no harm done.

iblaine 8y ago

Site needs a favicon.ico

hessenwolf 8y ago

I just used it to consult with a young woman who cancelled her open heart surgery today, which gives her two years to live. The result was low expectancy, and the advice is indeed helpful.

owenversteeg 8y ago
Wow, that's a heavy thing to deal with. Why'd she cancel the surgery and how was it related to procrastination?
- hessenwolf 8y ago
  Low in expectation. The site argued she just didn't expect it to be successful. She seemed to agree.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

enodios 8y ago

I had pretty low expectations when I opened this, but was pleasantly surprised. It's not that the advice was that helpful (I enjoyed the reminder, but I've heard that all before), but simply asking me questions like "can you do successfully do this, once you start?" helped adjust my thinking. By choosing "I can do this", I remembered that I can

Siah 8y ago

My biggest source of procrastination is Hacker News!

yranadive 8y ago

Too many questions to answer IMHO. Can't see anyone using this tool more than once. Should narrow it down to 5 questions tops to get any value on daily basis

latexr 8y ago
“Twelve questions? I’ll do it later.”

iamben 8y ago

I see and work on a lot of content marketing pieces. This is an example of content marketing executed _reeeeallyy_ well. Massive props to Boss As A Service.

User23 8y ago

One of the major causes of procrastination is being assigned obviously pointless busy-work. It's hard to be motivated when you know that you're just box-checking.

rhacker 8y ago

I found BossAsAService through this. Nice idea.

sasaf5 8y ago

You procrastinate because you are tired. Sleep, and entertain yourself with the presence of good people. Boom, procrastination gone.

Yokohiii 8y ago

They couldn't find out why I am procrastinating. We are on par.

delinka 8y ago

“Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is.” I know what the problem is: it’s a hobby project and 1) employer work takes priority and 2) I’m so stinking tired at the end of a day and 3) adult chores take priority on the weekend.

keyle 8y ago

I liked the gamification hints: - give yourself a clock, and race against the clock - it may be boring, so add some difficulty to it, extra challenges, stretch goal. neither may apply to all task though.

tfolbrecht 8y ago

PERSONAL ANECDOTE ALERT: Since I've began working from home, something I've found helpful is assigning context to a physical space and moving from space to space to context switch. For example, I browse the internet and read news on my front porch, but my office is strictly work mode. My living room is strictly a space for relaxing and entertaining guests, my kitchen/dining area is for cooking and eating. It may sound weird but if I get a phone call or have to make an email. I move to my office ( my note pads, and desktop is ready to go which is a plus ) I think the work-from-anywhere play-from-anywhere meme has been damaging to my productivity and happiness. I feel a lot less anxious and more focused.

fyfy18 8y ago
When I started working from home last year, this was my biggest concern as I live in a one bedroom apartment so there isn’t space for multiple desks, and I use the same desktop PC for work and play. It turned out not to be a problem, as long as I am motivated by the work then I have no problem focussing no matter where I am working.
DoingIsLearning 8y ago
100% agree on the importance of managing environmental queues! Also not just physical spaces but other things like type of background noise, light conditions, even trivial things like posture, I feel they all seem to influence my ability to get into a state of 'flow'.

willart4food 8y ago

https://imgur.com/a/asNrBd2 https://imgur.com/a/asNrBd2

sandmanxc 8y ago
https://imgur.com/IPV0YJ1 https://imgur.com/IPV0YJ1

chinmayan 8y ago

Okay, I'll read it later!

tmhussain 8y ago

"Sorry, we can't seem to find what the problem is." Neither can my friend, neither can I.

deleted 8y ago

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sritrisna 8y ago

In my case, I believe I managed to identify the root cause: 90% of the work I do is slightly over my head. As a bootstrapped solo founder and to stretch out the money I saved up I must do a lot of the tasks myself, which you would usually hire a specialist to do. This is not restricted to the technical aspect of my business but also concerns the legal, financial and sales side. So, imagine you’re a top of the line DBA with many years of experience and I ask you to take care of the front-end of the app as well as the backend, deal with the GDPR (without the help of a lawyer) and figure out sales in a market where traditional sales don’t work, you will eventually spread yourself thin. Now, this is how I overcome the challenge: as soon as I get a task which I don’t know how to tackle e.g. getting a firm grasp on double taxation avoidance agreements and procrastination sets in because I’m unsure where to get started, I break everything down into a single task and try to conquer it. Depending on the complexity of the task and lack of my knowledge how to tackle it the greater the procrastination. That procrastination, however, helps me, in turn, to process the task in ‘the background’ until I find a way to get started. Not sure if this makes sense, or if it is just me. On the other hand, constantly working on different tasks across professions has helped me to quickly learn the fundamentals of each sector/topic/issue/field. If it is really needed I can still consult with a specialist and save some money, because there is a baseline for discussion and I know exactly what I need/want.

stared 8y ago

One remark: with "What are you avoiding doing right now?" it prompts to answer many activities. In my case they were different (chores vs creative and open-ended stuff), so it was not easy to answer questions in a meaningful way. (It should clearly prompt to write a single thing/activity.)

marv3lls 8y ago

Oh wait. I input "lying in bed" cuz I should be asleep. That was kinda meta…

callesgg 8y ago

I don’t like to do the thing I need to do cause it has no instant internal feedback. It has long term goal feedback. Like the feedback comes sort of in 6 months. And even then it was only a step to more work. Hard work leads to gratification. Fuck ADHD.

mendelsd 8y ago

I believe I procrastinate because life is so demanding and complex that I am constantly straining against the limits of my productivity for imposed work. It is due largely to a mismatch between my natural interests and society's demands. The question is what to do about that so I can be more effective. "Because baboons are rarely threatened by famine, plague or predators, they are good models for socialized disease, Sapolsky says: 'Baboon societies are ironically a lot like Westernized humans. We're ecologically privileged enough that we can invent social and psychological stress. Baboons in the Serengeti, who only work three hours a day to meet their caloric needs, are similarly privileged. They ulcerate because of social complexities.'" [1] Procrastination, it seems to me, ultimately falls in the category of "ulcerating because of social complexities". [1] https://news.stanford.edu/news/2001/february21/aaassapolsky-221.html https://news.stanford.edu/news/2001/february21/aaassapolsky-...

mbdharan 8y ago

I don't want to take the test right now. Maybe tonight. I know there is something motivational at the end of the test that would make me want to do it, but I'm not going to do it anyway. Basically, I'm procrastinating by writing this comment and not doing the test.

lmagno 8y ago

"Nobody procrastinates doing what they enjoy." I'm guessing mental illnesses are out of the picture here then.

ekoczwara 8y ago

Every time I hear about procrastination it reminds me about great talk by Evan Czaplicki and his approach to Elm development, actually it can be good thing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSjbTC-hvqQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSjbTC-hvqQ see 19:15 Batching Work).