The Procrastination Demons

[mediaflare]

well i used to be in the military, which meant i was up early, doing work, working out, and then after work i went and took care of my own personal stuff.

then i got out, and suddenly became an amorphous blob of laziness.

basically i just had to get mad at myself, "what the hell Mike? you used to be way better than this!" That was my first step, that got me MENTALLY worked up, now i just had to get off my feet and get myself going.

the next step was to motivate a friend to want to work out, or go socialize, make future plans etc. Once I got someone ELSE motivated to do things, I had to keep going or else I look bad to my friend, and I didn't want to look bad, or let my friend down, so it motivated me to get off my ass and start.

Next step was to keep going! once you get off your feet, at least a week or so you are automatically 'pumped' to do many things, work out, get things in order, change diets etc. the next issue is to KEEP going forward. I'm still working on a game-plan for the best way to accomplish that. basically my way of staying moving forward right now is that i'm also trying to stay away from the depression i'm also struggling from, and so long as i move forward, i feel good about myself

[GreenEyesBright]

Thank you Media Flare! I needed to hear this! I can't pinpoint exactly what it was but I just heard a huge giant :CLICK: in my head. :thumbup::o:o:o:thumbup::o:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

[mediaflare]

you're welcome, hope to hear positive results!

[shagy2303]

This is one of the things i get stuck on often... ie every day countless time a day

[Aqweei]

This is one of the things I am having a terrible time with. Especially when it comes to my school work and stuff of that nature. I have all the time in the world to do it but I have an online math class and I absolutely loathe it. Like right now I brought my laptop to work just so I could log in and do some home work. Its been an hour and I still havent written down the first problem..... I suppose after I finish typing this I will make myself go do it. Its just kind of ridiculous. Over the past year Ive noticed that I have gotten completely scatter brained and its hard for me to concentrate like I used to. If I am reading a book or something noone in the world can bother me. Bombs could be going off and I could still tune them out and read my book. I guess the problem with math is that I hate it so much I look for anything better to do than it. Ive started blocking sites until I get atleast one lesson done and if I have to study for my other courses I go to another room and live all the internet enabled things in there as well.

Checking out Flylady for a max of 10 min then Im getting started on my homework. First step towards being better ENGAGE!

[Skip66]

I've noticed for me most of the procrastination is due to wanting it to be perfect. I'd love for all my files to be immaculately organized, but I can't get them perfect, so I'll end up not doing it. So I try to find a happy medium where stuff is in a place that I could fairly easily find it, but not so crazy that I waste my time or don't do it.

The second thing I've noticed is that momentum is key. If I'm on a roll, I can go forever. But if I haven't started, it's not gonna get started. I haven't tried the timer yet, but I try to find the easy stuff and get that done first so I have momentum going to be able to tackle bigger stuff.

[minx34]

I'm the same way, I have problems focusing as well. Something that helps is calling some one who motivates you to do well. Sometimes when I am procrastinating on a project I call my mom. I may not tell her what I am doing, but talking to her makes me realize I need get my stuff together.

 

Also, if you have a mac, try using the app SelfControl. It works wonders when you have restricted internet access. It only works on mac, but I heard that SelfRestraint is the PC alternative. And put your tv/videogames in the upper shelf of the closet until you can get your stuff done.

 

One thing I did during finals week was give my Sims3 games to my roommate and used SelfControl. My procrastination dragon was flaming in protest but darnnit I got through the week.

 

Just some suggestions, hope they help

[Guest asdf]

This is something I struggle with too. At school I find the best way for me to get stuff done and do things when I really don't feel like it is to stay out of my room where I do all my fun stuff and go somewhere like the library or an academic building that I associate with work and productivity and do things there.

[direrael]

Sometimes cleaning or organizing helps me. Just taking like 5 minutes to do laundry, organize a desk drawer, or whatever. It gives me a boost of feeling "clean and organized", and helps to clear the mind to attack whatever I need to do.

[Krisis]

Are you kidding?  I AM a procrastination demon!  :-) 

 

I seriously have to get better on this.  I will pick up a book and then neglect my house or my cooking or my homework.  I will take naps instead of clean.  I have been the wooorssttt lately.  I am getting ready to start up a new term at my college and will be adjusting to a new schedule, so I'll start working on specifics once I have my new routine down.  

[El Exorcisto]

The secret to not procrastinating is to get a lot of things that tuly matter into your life. Whether it is a job where people can actually die, a kid that you need to care for solo often, or time down in the gym being the one thing keeping you from commiting unspeakable crimes. I found that until there were real consequences of me not getting off my ass, there was zero reason for me to get up. The more real scary shit that can happen by being lazy, the easier it is to triage the rest of the things and get... at least most of them... done.

[iatetheyeti]

Yes... procrastination demons... Getting started is difficult enough, then I get the bright idea to stop for 'just a second' and find myself still on my ass three hours later. It's developed into a huge problem. Thankfully I'm getting better by just taking it a step at a time. I used to use a lot of negative self talk to try and goad myself into action, but I've found the positive kind works far better. And once you find something you really enjoy doing, you can use that as a kind of tool to get yourself going.

 

Some people are able to convince themselves to get up and go immediately, and after that they're never bothered with it again. Some people need to take it step by step, doing it bit by bit so they don't end up doing too much and shunting themselves back to square one. Once you've found a method that works, stick at it and you'll be all the better for it.

[Krisis]

One thing that really helps me is to do something medium sized first thing in the morning.  An object in motion stays in motion - if I start off productive, I usually continue being productive for a few hours.  Then even if I am a lazy lump of death in the afternoon, I still got a ton done in the morningtime. 

 

'Course, I say this, having slept in late (fed my kid a protein bar for breakfast) and now we're in our pajamas watching a movie while I play Portal.  Lucky we both have school this afternoon or today would be a lazy movie day. 

[El Exorcisto]

Oh to have a lazy movie day again... Get up and get moving. Somewhere, someone WAY busier than you is squatting right now.

[Artinum]

Let them. I was moving sofas last night. I may never move again.

[Krisis]

Let them. I was moving sofas last night. I may never move again.

 

Bahahaha, I know how you feel.  

 

You're invited to come help me move in September.  You ought to be recovered by then, right?  :-)

[Artinum]

Depends. September of which year?

[crosenblum]

I have battled procrastination most of my life, and only recently found a few tips, that seem to work for me.

 

Based on my fastfood days, i take a look at all aspects of my home, my car, my garage, my kitchen, my bedroom, and come up with thing's that need to be cleaned and organized.

 

Secondly, I got the free Wunderlist.com to do list organizer, plus the firefox addon.

 

So anytime I see an idea for something I could do, or work on, or whatever, I can use the addon, to add it to any of my todo lists.

 

Each Sunday, I review last week's to do list, then add for next week.

 

Also I got the Pinterest app or joined Pinterest.com which has a neat photo / idea system that uses photos in an organized fashion to help see tons of people's ideas, thoughts, projects, organization tips.

 

Then as I see neat ideas, that i'd like to do myself, I add them to my own Pinterest Groups, that I use to remind me of what I want to work on, or to give me future goals.

 

Besides my weekly goals, I also have short term, mid term and long term goals, and I try very hard to come up with small steps to gradually move me forward in many directions of my life.

 

Like this last 2-3 weeks, I finally put together my own little workbench/pegboard system out of my own hands, and I never used any tools or had any woodworking on repair skills of any kind before.

 

You can do anything you put your mind and heart to.

 

Just break it into little steps.

 

Also besides my to do list, I use Google Calendar, to help both remind me of anniversaries, birthdays, and other events to help plan each week, and to come up with as many ways to keep myself busy.

 

The busier I am the more life I am living, and more I am moving forward.

 

Thank you.

[Artinum]

I'm struggling recently. It's not a case of not knowing what to do, or not having enough to do. I know what I should be doing. It's just a vast demotivational cloud is passing through my brain and making all but the simplest tasks deeply unappealing.

 

I've just forced myself to get a workout done, and I'm already feeling more alert. Hopefully that will kick some activity off.

[jaymz]

I found that breaking every single decision down into a win/lose scenario helped me massively.

 

If I grab a milkshake after the gym, I lose. If I walk straight past the shop, I win.

If I log into Facebook instead of doing work, I lose. If I actually get the work done, I win.

 

I used an app on iOS that used the 'don't break the chain' methodology, which worked well for me. I'm on Android now, so am playing around with new apps

[AverageFish]

How dd I not find this thread before??? So many kindred spirits...

For me, sleep is the most important thing. A sleep-deprived Fish is an unproductive Fish.

Now it's time to stop procrastinating and go exercise -- the sooner I start, the more sleep I'll get.

[Krisis]

I found that breaking every single decision down into a win/lose scenario helped me massively.

 

If I grab a milkshake after the gym, I lose. If I walk straight past the shop, I win.

If I log into Facebook instead of doing work, I lose. If I actually get the work done, I win.

 

I used an app on iOS that used the 'don't break the chain' methodology, which worked well for me. I'm on Android now, so am playing around with new apps

 

Which app did you have for iOS?  I am using HabitList right now, but I don't really like it.  I have kept it since I bought it and don't want to waste my money, but I liked "Way of Life Journal" better.  Darn it. 

[jaymz]

I wish i could remember, but unfortunately I've just got rid of my iPhone and can't find the app in iTunes. Lifehacker recommends with Wonderful Day or Commit