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Solid tactics for understanding (and beating) procrastination

Overcoming Procrastination Through the Pull Method

Excellent, Neil Fiore-esque advice on unpacking why you’re procrastinating and rewiring the crummy thinking that supports it.

Advice such as “just buckle down and do it,” “get organized,” and “try harder” are based on a dysfunctional definition of procrastination. What they’re really saying is: “If you weren’t such a lazy bum you could do this. No fooling around. Life is dull and hard. There’s no time for fun. Work is a horrible thing to contemplate, but you have to do it anyway.” Most procrastination happens because through procrastinating we are temporarily able to relieve fears: fear of failure, fear of being imperfect, fear of impossible expectations. Most of these fears, in turn, are ultimately based in the idea that work and life are awful struggles which we must somehow get through and that this whole horrible process will somehow make us better people in the long run.


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Z. D. Smith's picture

Oh god, oh god. That...

Oh god, oh god. That font. I was so excited—I clicked on the link, and then my eyeballs split. Arial Narrow. Boy, that’s bad.

kelly's picture

So WHAT the heck is...

So WHAT the heck is the “board walking metaphor”?

Brendon's picture

http://departments.bloomu.edu/english/111.procrast.htm I quickly

http://departments.bloomu.edu/english/111.procrast.htm I quickly skimmed the above referenced page. It looks like almost the exact same content, plus some. A tad easier on the eyes.

The board walking metaphor appears to be a reference to Fiore’s work: http://hashref.com/reading/summaries/TheNowHabit.pdf

Leila's picture

Brendon, thanks so much for...

Brendon, thanks so much for the link to the summary. It surely can’t be fair use - but it’s wonderful.

Raj's picture

I am a BIG procrastinator,...

I am a BIG procrastinator, and I don’t think that it helps at all becuse then there are a ton of further things sitting on your head, causing more fear and the like.

I have, however, come up with a strategy that works (when I choose to implement it). People swear by lists. Now so do I, but those are usually packing lists so that when I am packing at the absolute last minute, there is some semblance of order and the important things don’t let left behind.

“To do” lists, on the other hand, don’t work for me, at least not the conventional kind. My strategy is to write a “To do” list on an index card (yes, I’ve been using them for years, before this index card PDA craze started), but leave the list blank. At the end of the day, I write down whatever I have done that day that has some sort of importance at all, whether it is work related or not, such as: went to the gym, did laundry, started article, etc. I can also then check them off at the end of the day because they are already done (!). I know this sounds silly, but feeling that you have accomplished SOMETHING in a day makes it easier to accomplish more the next day. And then you don’t feel so bad about giving yourself rewards.

StephanF's picture

A weird way I have...

A weird way I have helped some of my procrastination is to turn everything off and NOT do anything for a timed 10 minutes. No books, magazines. TV, radio, computers, no index cards.

After about 7 minutes I feel like I have to do something or explode. The feeling of time slipping away gets to be unbearable.

That does get me back on track if I notice myself doing dumb things like surfing slashdot or 43folders:) when I should be doing work.

Matthew Gifford's picture

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academom's picture

I (heart) Merlin and other...

I (heart) Merlin and other nerds

43 Folders findssolid tactics for understanding (and beating) procrastination in a technique called the pull method. The blurb Merlin offers jives (and I do mean jive, as in grooves with, not jibe, which might mean something similar, but when I…

academom's picture

I (heart) Merlin and other...

I (heart) Merlin and other nerds

43 Folders finds solid tactics for understanding (and beating) procrastination in a technique called the pull method. The blurb Merlin offers jives (and I do mean jive, as in grooves with, not jibe, which might mean something similar, but when…

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.

 
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