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We humans, Parfit argued, are not a consistent identity moving through time Our identity is more stable at some times than others however. Supposedly, stabilit

We humans, Parfit argued, are not a consistent identity moving through time Our identity is more stable at some times than others however. Supposedly, stability peaks mid-life[1]. I wonder if middle aged people procrastinate less. Also, how much do people differ in their ability to identify with their future selves? We know that people have different time preference and some people emphasize the immediate (discount) more than others. Do they procrastinate more, too? Is this difference innate, cultural, ideological? Peter Frost theorizes that viewing yourself as part of this great chain of ancestors and descendants was very adaptive (maybe even more important than mastering agriculture) at one time and helped drive human expansion.[2] Which would make it at least partially cultural. Finally, some people view procrastination as a fundamentally rational way to avoid doing work that may never need to be done, like you would a gut feeling about someone's trustworthiness. This doesn't work in an artificial setting of term papers but in a complex system you can simply wait things out quite often. [1] http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-stability-of-your-personality-peaks.html http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-stabilit... [2] http://evoandproud.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-agricultural-revolution-that-wasnt.html http://evoandproud.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-agricultural-rev...

visakanv 12y ago
Yeah, I think procrastination, like laziness, might be better described as "work aversion". Procrastination and laziness both imply that the "problem" is with the individual who's afflicted with it, and it also almost implies that the environment has little-to-nothing to do with it. But there are many 'procrastinators' who actually work really hard at certain things. (World of Warcraft strikes me as one of those things that actually requires a lot of hard work.) So again, for the people who do struggle with procrastination in their own lives, figuring out how to do something about it (if they want to do something about it at all!) requires a very thorough self-examination.
- seren 12y ago
  Procrastination is an avoidance mechanism, but you are not necessarily trying to avoid work, it could be pain, unpleasantness, or fear of failure as mentioned earlier. To take your example of WoW, compulsive players are likely trying to avoid some real world issues, but it could be social anxiety and not "work aversion".
  - visakanv 12y ago
    Oh, I don't mean to imply that people play WoW BECAUSE they're averse to work! I just mean that some of us work really hard at some things, and are really averse to doing other things. And I seldom see people acknowledging this. I like using the term work-averse or task-averse because then I'm forced to think about not just the person doing the task, but the context of the task.
    - yellow_and_gray 12y ago
      Hi Visa, sorry to put you on the spot here but you carry the distinction of being both an expert in the procrastination field and able to describe it well. (1) A link from the link you posted (http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/11/how-to-beat-procrastination.html http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/11/how-to-beat-procrastination.ht...) suggests two explanations (low-confidence in kicking the habit, and inability to change their storyline) and some ways to beat procrastination. Do these two explanations ring true? Also, have you tried the advice there? (2) You might have been task-averse in answering this but can you comment on the following point by seren: > it could be social anxiety (3) How can I get in touch with you? I have something to try and fix procrastination if you are willing to be a guinea pig. I would appreciate the feedback.
      - visakanv 12y ago
        Hey, sorry I didn't notice this earlier. You can tweet me at @visakanv or email me at visakanv at referralcandy dot com
- electromagnetic 12y ago
  I've always wondered where the notions of procrastination and laziness came from. No one actively compromises their survivability through either. To me it seems like the notion came from our history of servitude. Of course a Lord is going to pressure his peasants to work harder. So of course the head of a hide is going to be pressuring his nephews to get working. Laziness and procrastination only become negative in the concept that we have to work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I'm sure the generation before Henry Ford reduced work hours to 8 hour days and work weeks to 5 days thought their kids were lazy. Who wouldn't when you're working 12 hour days 6 days a week! My son might be of the generation working 4 hour days 4 days a week. He might be of the generation where mandatory work is a thing of the past.
  - visakanv 12y ago
    Your perspective is completely consistent with my experience. For most of human history, we probably hunted animals in short bursts of activity then sat around "procrastinating". Laziness as a term is almost a subtle act of violence, useful for policing the behavior of others. The idea that we should spend most of our time actively working on things or working towards things is kind of odd when you examine it closer.
  - vidarh 12y ago
    > I'm sure the generation before Henry Ford reduced work hours to 8 hour days and work weeks to 5 days thought their kids were lazy. I doubt it... At the very least you need to go much further back than Ford. While Ford was one of the earlier industrialists to willingly accept and embrace the 8 hour day, it was by no means his doing. AFL and other unions had been fighting for working hours reductions for decades by then - with loss of life on more than once occasion - , and gradually started getting concessions. The first widespread demands for an 8 hour day in the US happened 30 years or so before Ford was even born. The first attempt at introducing 8 hour working day for federal employees passed in 1868, when Ford was 5. New York got partial 8 hour working days (for certain traides) from 1872. In 1889, the Second International agreed with the AFL to make May 1st 1890 a day for demonstrations in commemoration of the Haymarket massacre, and in support of the 8 hour working day. And so, the US unions fight for the 8 hour working day is actually directly responsible for May 1st as the international day for labour demonstrations. It wasn't until 1914 that Ford cut working hours from 9 to 8, at a point when millions of workers in other industries had already achieved it. At that point, 8 hour working day had been a labour demand for 2-3 generations already.

visakanv 12y ago

Yeah, I think procrastination, like laziness, might be better described as "work aversion". Procrastination and laziness both imply that the "problem" is with the individual who's afflicted with it, and it also almost implies that the environment has little-to-nothing to do with it. But there are many 'procrastinators' who actually work really hard at certain things. (World of Warcraft strikes me as one of those things that actually requires a lot of hard work.) So again, for the people who do struggle with procrastination in their own lives, figuring out how to do something about it (if they want to do something about it at all!) requires a very thorough self-examination.

seren 12y ago
Procrastination is an avoidance mechanism, but you are not necessarily trying to avoid work, it could be pain, unpleasantness, or fear of failure as mentioned earlier. To take your example of WoW, compulsive players are likely trying to avoid some real world issues, but it could be social anxiety and not "work aversion".
- visakanv 12y ago
  Oh, I don't mean to imply that people play WoW BECAUSE they're averse to work! I just mean that some of us work really hard at some things, and are really averse to doing other things. And I seldom see people acknowledging this. I like using the term work-averse or task-averse because then I'm forced to think about not just the person doing the task, but the context of the task.
  - yellow_and_gray 12y ago
    Hi Visa, sorry to put you on the spot here but you carry the distinction of being both an expert in the procrastination field and able to describe it well. (1) A link from the link you posted (http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/11/how-to-beat-procrastination.html http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/11/how-to-beat-procrastination.ht...) suggests two explanations (low-confidence in kicking the habit, and inability to change their storyline) and some ways to beat procrastination. Do these two explanations ring true? Also, have you tried the advice there? (2) You might have been task-averse in answering this but can you comment on the following point by seren: > it could be social anxiety (3) How can I get in touch with you? I have something to try and fix procrastination if you are willing to be a guinea pig. I would appreciate the feedback.
    - visakanv 12y ago
      Hey, sorry I didn't notice this earlier. You can tweet me at @visakanv or email me at visakanv at referralcandy dot com
electromagnetic 12y ago
I've always wondered where the notions of procrastination and laziness came from. No one actively compromises their survivability through either. To me it seems like the notion came from our history of servitude. Of course a Lord is going to pressure his peasants to work harder. So of course the head of a hide is going to be pressuring his nephews to get working. Laziness and procrastination only become negative in the concept that we have to work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I'm sure the generation before Henry Ford reduced work hours to 8 hour days and work weeks to 5 days thought their kids were lazy. Who wouldn't when you're working 12 hour days 6 days a week! My son might be of the generation working 4 hour days 4 days a week. He might be of the generation where mandatory work is a thing of the past.
- visakanv 12y ago
  Your perspective is completely consistent with my experience. For most of human history, we probably hunted animals in short bursts of activity then sat around "procrastinating". Laziness as a term is almost a subtle act of violence, useful for policing the behavior of others. The idea that we should spend most of our time actively working on things or working towards things is kind of odd when you examine it closer.
- vidarh 12y ago
  > I'm sure the generation before Henry Ford reduced work hours to 8 hour days and work weeks to 5 days thought their kids were lazy. I doubt it... At the very least you need to go much further back than Ford. While Ford was one of the earlier industrialists to willingly accept and embrace the 8 hour day, it was by no means his doing. AFL and other unions had been fighting for working hours reductions for decades by then - with loss of life on more than once occasion - , and gradually started getting concessions. The first widespread demands for an 8 hour day in the US happened 30 years or so before Ford was even born. The first attempt at introducing 8 hour working day for federal employees passed in 1868, when Ford was 5. New York got partial 8 hour working days (for certain traides) from 1872. In 1889, the Second International agreed with the AFL to make May 1st 1890 a day for demonstrations in commemoration of the Haymarket massacre, and in support of the 8 hour working day. And so, the US unions fight for the 8 hour working day is actually directly responsible for May 1st as the international day for labour demonstrations. It wasn't until 1914 that Ford cut working hours from 9 to 8, at a point when millions of workers in other industries had already achieved it. At that point, 8 hour working day had been a labour demand for 2-3 generations already.