Procrastination

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12-5-13, 12:46pm
catherine

Procrastination

I'm putting this in the "organizing" forum because procrastination is SO counterproductive, with the result usually being total disorganization.

I am a world class procrastinator, and the evidence is right here, right now--a deliverable due by 2pm, and I'm desperately looking for ANY reason to avoid finishing this work!!!!

So, just curious--who considers themselves to be procrastinators here? How do you overcome it?

(I have to now make a promise to myself to NOT check this site for responses until 2:01, and if I do, moderator, please kick me off!!!!)
12-5-13, 1:19pm
SteveinMN

* raises hand *

I've discovered I'm all in on about 80% of almost any project. It takes an effort to do the remaining 20%. But I push myself to do it so I can take that task off my to-do list and because I lose too much energy when I look at all the tasks which are tantalizingly close to complete. But that's me. I don't have a problem focusing on a task on my computer even with a dozen open windows behind the one I'm using; I know others don't want to see anything on their desktop but the task at hand. I think it's a matter of deciding what it is that distracts you the most and then addressing that. It won't be the same for everyone.

I should add that I've (finally) learned to quit saying 'yes' to more when I am juggling too many balls (projects). Let me finish some projects before I can even consider taking on more.
12-5-13, 2:01pm
lmerullo

* me too *

Steve - my boss will come in and ask how I can think with so many windows open... I say, they may be open, but I don't have to look at them all... he is totally the "one thing at a time" kind of person, where I can put blinders on to other distractions yet still be cognizant of them.

I know it's a cliche, but setting a timer and working for that amount of time on that one task is really a good strategy. When I get into the sinking sensation of "oh well, it's so bad - I won't even bother..." mentality, then I find the amount of headway that can be made in a short time is very encouraging. And, a side effect of dedicating say 15 - 30 minutes on a task is that you can then often see the light at the end of the tunnel and just push on to completion.

Another technique is to reward yourself... if I do X, I can then do Y... X being what you are avoiding, and Y being either something you enjoy (reading, cup of tea, etc) for a personal task or the mindless, easy, zone-out tasks of work days.
12-5-13, 2:06pm
catherine

Here I am! 2:02 and I just hit the "send" button! Great to see I'm in some good company!

Yes, lmerullo, I actually have a great app that you can set for any amount of time. So I'll set it for 20 minutes or 45 minutes and determine not to let anything distract me in that short timeframe. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

And Steve, yes, I'm the one with so many windows open on my computer, I'm surprised it doesn't crash.

I think one of the reasons I love flying so much is because I'm strapped into a seat, with no internet (well, now you can get access to internet on some planes), and I'm forced to just work on ONE THING. Thank goodness I don't like spending the $7 for DirectTV when flying.
12-5-13, 2:19pm
Spartana

Quote:

Originally Posted by catherine

So, just curious--who considers themselves to be procrastinators here? How do you overcome it?

(I have to now make a promise to myself to NOT check this site for responses until 2:01, and if I do, moderator, please kick me off!!!!)

OK, don't hate me because I'm..... speedy :-)! I am the complete opposite of a procrastinator - to the extreme. I am almost obsessed with doing everything even before it needs to be done. Can't hack having things undone. Drives me batty. Makes me stressed. Makes me unable to enjoy the other aspects of my life. Makes me unable to relax.

So that being said, I don't think procrastination is always a bad thing. I have often done things to "get them out of the way" in a rush and often regretted that I didn't take some time to think things thru. So I think finding a middle ground is probably the best way. Not that I have found it - and am unlikely to ever find it just because I seem to be wired this way - but don't hate your procrastination tendancies as they may actually help more than harm sometimes. Of course you'd drive me insane (as my procrastinator sister does) but, like my sister, if you procrastinate doing something long enough then others (me!) will often come along and do it for you :-)!
12-5-13, 5:19pm
fidgiegirl

I am also a procrastinator!! In fact I have done so little this week (work gets my prime hours - I'm a morning person - and the evening light is soooooo short right now - a very hard time of year for me) that I finally made myself a long list this morning over breakfast of things that are ongoing that could be done in an evening or at least partially done. I don't plan to overwhelm myself with them but man that get-up-and-go is hard lately. Or maybe it's not quite procrastination? Anyway, I also do it :)

Glad you got your project sent off . . .
12-5-13, 10:46pm
chrissieq

OMG I was just thinking today that I am a 90% of the time person - so close and yet so far!
12-5-13, 11:33pm
Gardenarian

My dd has a real problem with this, but we call it akrasia.
12-6-13, 7:51am
catherine

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spartana

OK, don't hate me because I'm..... speedy :-)

I don't hate you--I love people like you! I'm just in awe! I have a few friends who are real "doers." They just.. do! While I'm sitting there, mulling, analyzing, planning, listing, goofing off, taking breaks, these folks just GET IT DONE. Really--I admire that trait so much.

One of my project managers I hired to work with me was perfect for me, because she is a doer. Doers and thinkers make great partners. I'd be sitting there mulling, and her mantra was "Push it forward. Push it forward." In other words, she was telling me I don't have to bite off the whole thing at that moment. I could do one little thing to advance it--to push it forward. I still use that little motivational mantra to this day because it really helps break my inertia.

As it turned out, that project manager I hired about 10 years ago became a VP, and after I broke off from my company, she continues to hire me for contract work (and I'm actually doing a presentation for one of her clients today!) I knew she was going to be successful.
12-6-13, 7:59am
Florence

Well, I guess I have put off reading this thread as long as I could....
12-6-13, 9:53am
Float On

**me**
Here it is December and I'm so far behind on my bookkeeping for the business. There is a drawer full of papers that need filed before I can start. Today is a snow day so I should get started on it.....we'll see.
12-6-13, 1:13pm
Spartana

Quote:

Originally Posted by catherine

I don't hate you--I love people like you! I'm just in awe! I have a few friends who are real "doers." They just.. do! While I'm sitting there, mulling, analyzing, planning, listing, goofing off, taking breaks, these folks just GET IT DONE. Really--I admire that trait so much.

One of my project managers I hired to work with me was perfect for me, because she is a doer. Doers and thinkers make great partners. I'd be sitting there mulling, and her mantra was "Push it forward. Push it forward." In other words, she was telling me I don't have to bite off the whole thing at that moment. I could do one little thing to advance it--to push it forward. I still use that little motivational mantra to this day because it really helps break my inertia.

As it turned out, that project manager I hired about 10 years ago became a VP, and after I broke off from my company, she continues to hire me for contract work (and I'm actually doing a presentation for one of her clients today!) I knew she was going to be successful.

Well it helps ALOT that I purposely have very few things that I actually need to do. Makes getting things done fast much much easier :-)!

One thing I personally have found in procrastinators is that they seem to have a huge amount of projects that they work on - often all at the same time and many of them, from my point of view, seemingly to be both unneccesary and in some ways an excuse to not actually get things done. I see this in my procrastinator sister all the time. She is always adding more stuff to an already over burdened life and seems to use it as an excuse ("just have too much to do, read, write, go thru, etc...") to never work on or finish any one thing. I think this is called something in psychology but can't remember what. Maybe just plain old "avoidance".

Multi-tasking also seems to fall into this - working a little bit on a lot of stuff seems to keep people from actually finishing (or even starting) a task. Also the endless "getting set up" before tackling something. The moving of piles of paper, setting up elaborate work areas, etc... Again, from my perspective it is a way of putting off actually doing a task. My advice to her was just to try to limit her projects and activities down to as few as possible and then work on one at a time until it is finished before moving on to the next thing. Clear off the workspace and keep it that way. Use it for that one project only and don't add it it or move stuff around or re shuffle and start all over again. All these things get in the way of actually completing - or starting - a project.

And probably the biggest thing I see about procrastinators is that they are perfectionists. Everything has to be "just right" or they are unsatisfied. It seems they won't start a project unless conditions are "right" to begin (and of course they never are :-)!) and once hey do begin they seem to spend a large amount of time going over and over the project, making adjustments and changes to get it perfect. Us speedy people generally don't fuss with things much or multi-task or create perfect set ups. We just do something fast and call it "good 'nuf!!" :-)!
12-6-13, 7:06pm
catherine

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spartana

And probably the biggest thing I see about procrastinators is that they are perfectionists. Everything has to be "just right" or they are unsatisfied. It seems they won't start a project unless conditions are "right" to begin (and of course they never are :-)!) and once hey do begin they seem to spend a large amount of time going over and over the project, making adjustments and changes to get it perfect. Us speedy people generally don't fuss with things much or multi-task or create perfect set ups. We just do something fast and call it "good 'nuf!!" :-)!

Absolutely. I totally agree. DH is like me, and he had a "doer" of an assistant--boy, she was great. He'd tell her to contact sales leads and get appointments. Well, she wasted no time thinking about it, or even checking spelling or accuracy in her emails. DH was aghast because he would have spent a day just getting a sales letter "just right" but Maria just pounded them out, and as a result they were constantly following up on the sales calls Maria got. How many sales calls did DH get with his "perfect" emails? Hmmm...
12-6-13, 9:38pm
Blackdog Lin

* waving madly * yep, me too!

My name is Lin, and I am a procrastinator. It works for me, waiting till I absolutely HAVE to accomplish something.....to accomplish it.

My pet theory is that there are two kinds of people in this world: those who need/have to stay busy all day every day, and accomplish goals; and those who don't. I am in the latter category.

It also keeps me in the Simple Living category. For me, Simple Living means a little bit of procrastination.....living the life, instead of.....feeling I have go go Go GO all the time.....
12-7-13, 9:51am
KayLR

ITA with what Spartana said about perfection. I procrastinate badly, too, and when I discover I am doing it, I try asking myself what I'm afraid of, why I'm procrastinating. Usually it is because either a) I'm afraid I will make a mistake, or 2) there's some factor (like a personal relationship conflict) I'm avoiding. Sometimes it's because I'm feeling overwhelmed because due to being a procrastinator, my projects pile up.

So....lots of self-talk, pumping myself up, visioning what it will look/feel like to have the project done...usually helps.
12-7-13, 1:02pm
Spartana

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackdog Lin

My pet theory is that there are two kinds of people in this world: those who need/have to stay busy all day every day, and accomplish goals; and those who don't. I am in the latter category.

It also keeps me in the Simple Living category. For me, Simple Living means a little bit of procrastination.....living the life, instead of.....feeling I have go go Go GO all the time.....

Ha Ha - these are my feelings exactly but from the other perspective. I want to get the "chores" out of the way asap so I can then go "live the life" of play, play, play or relax, relax, relax, or do-nothing, do-nothing, do-nothing without that worry and nagging feeling of tasks left undone (oh how I hate that nagging feeling) hanging over my head. Get stuff done, get the monkey off the back, and then breath a sigh of relief at all that freedom and time you have for yourself.
12-11-13, 9:01pm
Paige

Spartana: These are all of the reasons I procrastinate. I feel like I just went to a psychologist or something. My husband does one task at a time and accomplishes so much more than me. I have a lot of projects going on and lots of ideas and yet, I never finish many projects. Yours and my DH's methods are obviously great. Also, I do watch you efficient people and you just do it. You don't mull it over like us procrastinators. I have been from restaurant to restaurant to work to home trying to find the perfect place/feeling to correct papers and get little done until the last minute and then I bulldoze through and wonder why I didn't do it earlier. MY LESSON: Just do it. Quit fretting. Sit down and get it done, one project at a time. We should have a follow up threat next month! Thanks for the observations. I hope they change me life, even a little. The procrastination causes a lot of stress in so many ways--work, home, finances, friends, etc.
12-11-13, 9:13pm
Spartana

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paige

Spartana: These are all of the reasons I procrastinate. I feel like I just went to a psychologist or something. My husband does one task at a time and accomplishes so much more than me. I have a lot of projects going on and lots of ideas and yet, I never finish many projects. Yours and my DH's methods are obviously great. Also, I do watch you efficient people and you just do it. You don't mull it over like us procrastinators. I have been from restaurant to restaurant to work to home trying to find the perfect place/feeling to correct papers and get little done until the last minute and then I bulldoze through and wonder why I didn't do it earlier. MY LESSON: Just do it. Quit fretting. Sit down and get it done, one project at a time. We should have a follow up threat next month! Thanks for the observations. I hope they change me life, even a little. The procrastination causes a lot of stress in so many ways--work, home, finances, friends, etc.

Well I have vast experience because my sister, who I share a house with, is the world' greatest procrastinator "-)! She's also a pack rat so I wonder if the two go hand in hand? I do see all her stalling techniques so am probably more familiar with them then even she is. She is a perfectionist and does a beautiful job on anything she tackles, but getting her to start and be even moderately speedy is impossible. Not too long ago we painted our dining room. We did it in all white - walls, ceiling, trim - so we could do it easily and with minimal hassle with no taping or prep work involved (my suggestion of course :-)!). Yet she only did one corner of the room in the same amount of time it took me to completely paint the rest - including ceilings. And while it was a beautiful corner, it didn't look all that much different from my "slap the paint on" job. But again, I think being a procrastinator has a lot of merits to it so don't see it as always a negative thing. And of course my sister, by procrastinating, got me to do almost all the paint job. Hmmm... me suspects extreme sneakiness rather than procrastination on her part. And I fell for it. DOH!
12-12-13, 9:03am
mtnlaurel

I haven't read through this thread yet, but I wanted to put this little insight I made about myself recently.....

I figured out I often use procrastination as a tool to help me par things down & make quick decisions.

I will let big project and my 'Big Ideas' linger on & on & on and then at about the 11th hour - it's GO TIME Baby!
I love the rush, I love the excitement, I love the adrenaline of making something happen lickety split.

NOT a good way to live especially when it stresses out those around me -- i.e. packing for family trips last minute, etc.
12-12-13, 9:39am
catherine

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtnlaurel

I haven't read through this thread yet, but I wanted to put this little insight I made about myself recently.....

I figured out I often use procrastination as a tool to help me par things down & make quick decisions.

I will let big project and my 'Big Ideas' linger on & on & on and then at about the 11th hour - it's GO TIME Baby!
I love the rush, I love the excitement, I love the adrenaline of making something happen lickety split.

NOT a good way to live especially when it stresses out those around me -- i.e. packing for family trips last minute, etc.

That is my modus operandi for sure. I've learned to pace myself with report-writing, however, because writing is like farming--you can't just harvest the day after you sow--at least I can't.

But almost everything else is definitely a last minute adrenaline rush, and unfortunately (or fortunately, because otherwise one of us might kill the other), DH is the exact same way, and we've just learned to accept it. We do 80% of our home improvements two days before we have a big party, for instance. We buy 80% of our Christmas presents two days before Christmas. We do 80% of our cleaning 2 hours before our guests arrive.

I guess it's the Procrastinator's version of the Pareto Principle.
12-12-13, 5:49pm
Bethers

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spartana

... I am the complete opposite of a procrastinator - to the extreme. I am almost obsessed with doing everything even before it needs to be done. Can't hack having things undone. Drives me batty. Makes me stressed. Makes me unable to enjoy the other aspects of my life. Makes me unable to relax

Oh boy, I sure can relate to this. My problem is I have stuff around the house needing attention (mostly due to a recent move) which drives me batty because it all needs to be done and it's hard to decide what needs to be done first. I started to keep a prioritized "To Do" list and check off a few items each day which I think is helping. Also found the following very helpful...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spartana

"...limit projects and activities down to as few as possible and then work on one at a time until it is finished before moving on to the next thing.."

THANKS!