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43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Mark Taw on Procrastination

Mark Taw has written a terrific article about procrastination that gets to the core problems that cause people to get derailed, distracted, and off-target. From low blood sugar through Skinnerian reward hacking, Mark unpacks the range of real-world problems most of us face in trying to attach ourselves to our work as well as find and maintain flow.

Although I’ve never seen Nanny 911 it sounds like a good metaphor for the occasional need to hide our treats and remove the shiny objects at the edges of peripheral vision.

Where in your life are you randomly reinforcing negative behaviors? Where do you need tough love?

So what do these nannies do to turn around all this negative behavior? They take away all the rewards. When the rewards are always available, there’s no need to do the work. They take away television privileges, and make the kids and parents go cold turkey with any negative habits they may have (like pacifiers).

Procrastination is the reward for not doing work.

Don’t miss this piece (as well as your accompanying new home page). Smart, thoughtful stuff.


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Recap: Turning procrastination into action | 43 Folders's picture

[...] Mark Taw on Procrastination...

[…] Mark Taw on Procrastination - Mark’s article gets to the core problems that cause people to get derailed, distracted, and perpetually off-target. […]

josh's picture

I love this! For me the...

I love this!

For me the browser is definitely the harbinger of productivity doom. A little twist on this, I just set my homepage to my list at http://www.tadalist.com/

Victor's picture

Very interesting.... There are two apps,...

Very interesting…. There are two apps, a Calendaring app and Notetaking app designed with the “Flow” ideas in mind. Check it out, if you have time :)

http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/v5i27_bederson.html

John's picture

great article! i did find...

great article! i did find some other links that i just HAD to check out again….not getting work done is all due to self discipline over here.

sometimes its so stupidly simple when you just hack away at your to-do-list and accomplish so many things in little time.

let me log off and learn for my Literature exams tonight!

patrick's picture

thanks again for the Macworld...

thanks again for the Macworld Nerd-a-thon. I pulled the 43Folders Hipster PDA out of my bag yesterday and it reminded me to find this link for you - http://www.graphicimagenewyork.com/dnpipjtr.html

It seems a nice solution to what I dislike most about the Hipster PDA - the damn binder clip catching on things. I saw the thing at Cranes in Embarcadero Center

Patrick, who you will probably not remember but you signed my Moleskine.

Idleton's picture

May I propose Thomas Barriot...

May I propose Thomas Barriot as a patron saint of procrastination?

He wrote one of the first accounts of natural life in North America in 1585. He looked at the moon and sun through a telescope before Galileo in 1610. He made significant contributions to algebra and physics. And yet, ‘he struggled to put the final touches on his research. He stalled, tinkering with details… A friend tried to appeal to his ego, writing to Harriot that his procrastination “hath rob’d you… of glories.’ But he still had difficulty completing projects.”

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0305/resources_who.html

Farting through my Fingertips's picture

101 Galimatias I read three articles...

101 Galimatias

I read three articles yesterday which I regard as being a bit special, and I thought I’d quickly throw them out in the interests of timeliness:

jkOnTheRun's picture

Procrastination and Pavlov's dogs I am...

Procrastination and Pavlov’s dogs

I am discovering as I age that it is easier to procrastinate than it used to be. I’m not sure what the reason is but these days if the task at hand is not one I’m going to enjoy there’s an even money chance I will procrastinate doing it. Mark

About Merlin Mann

Merlin Mann's picture

Bio

Merlin Mann is an independent writer, speaker, and broadcaster. He’s best known for being the guy who started the website you’re reading right now. He lives in San Francisco, does lots of public speaking, and helps make cool things like You Look Nice Today. Also? He looks like this, answers questions, and has something like a life.

The best thing Merlin’s ever written is a short essay called, “Better.”

 
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