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There is so much ignorance about "procrastination." Stop demonizing it and start respecting yourself. There is wisdom in your procrastination. We are all optimi

There is so much ignorance about "procrastination." Stop demonizing it and start respecting yourself. There is wisdom in your procrastination. We are all optimizing (or satisficing, really) over a great many variables, all the time. I learned decades ago that what I thought was dirty shameful procrastination was a complex and important process of negotiating with my unconscious to get work done. For some kinds of things, my reluctance to get going is evidence that something is not right about the work itself-- I should not have agreed to do it in the first place and I should unagree to it. For other kinds of things, it's just a sign that my unconscious is still working on the problem and I should let it do its thing. I use a method I call "procrastinate and push" which means I spend a little while trying to get the word done and if I feel resistance, I let it go until tomorrow. Then I try again. I alternate between pushing and completely ignoring the work, until at some point, either I conclude I will never do it, or more likely the wall suddenly gives way and I find I have the answers. It's like my brain is in the kitchen, cooking, and it unlocks the door when the soup is more or less ready.

asynchronous 3y ago
A good backup to this, is that in the essay writing example, the student will undoubtedly write a better essay at the end of the semester when he has learned more and has other peers asking questions about it, than if he started right away and wrote it. The math makes perfect sense.
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  Of course this all breaks down as soon as there's an actual deadline attached to the task, with actual negative consequences from not meeting it. Using GP's "if you feel resistance, put it off until tomorrow" method, I ended up putting things off way past their deadlines, which is why I no longer use this approach.
  - satisfice 3y ago
    Yet, I do use this approach. And I've been running a consulting business for 24 years, and I've been a columnist for IEEE Computer Magazine. I've written two books, done zillions of talks. I have missed a few deadlines, yes. That's not the end of the fucking world. But what might be more of a problem is doing poor quality work. When I wrote Software Realities for IEEE Computer, I never missed a deadline. How I did that is I never knew what the real deadline was. I instructed the editor to give me a series of deadlines that I would treat as real. But if I really couldn't meet one with a good article, I would ask for the next (also fake IRL) deadline. Pressure does help, but it's just ignorant and abusive to treat procrastination like a disease and disrespect your intermal mental rhythms. You will burn yourself out that way, kiddo, as I did before I figured this shit out.

asynchronous 3y ago

A good backup to this, is that in the essay writing example, the student will undoubtedly write a better essay at the end of the semester when he has learned more and has other peers asking questions about it, than if he started right away and wrote it. The math makes perfect sense.

TeMPOraL 3y ago
Of course this all breaks down as soon as there's an actual deadline attached to the task, with actual negative consequences from not meeting it. Using GP's "if you feel resistance, put it off until tomorrow" method, I ended up putting things off way past their deadlines, which is why I no longer use this approach.
- satisfice 3y ago
  Yet, I do use this approach. And I've been running a consulting business for 24 years, and I've been a columnist for IEEE Computer Magazine. I've written two books, done zillions of talks. I have missed a few deadlines, yes. That's not the end of the fucking world. But what might be more of a problem is doing poor quality work. When I wrote Software Realities for IEEE Computer, I never missed a deadline. How I did that is I never knew what the real deadline was. I instructed the editor to give me a series of deadlines that I would treat as real. But if I really couldn't meet one with a good article, I would ask for the next (also fake IRL) deadline. Pressure does help, but it's just ignorant and abusive to treat procrastination like a disease and disrespect your intermal mental rhythms. You will burn yourself out that way, kiddo, as I did before I figured this shit out.