Procrastination
May 29, 2009
Right now, the single greatest demon I face is procrastination. Sure, dealing with the monstrous complexities of a social life that even merely fringes on Sarah Lawrence requires a fair amount of labour, but the headache and heartache of dealing with all of Alma Mater’s children pales in comparison to the crises induced by my inability to work productively and efficiently under anything less than excessive deadline pressure.
In recent times, I have forsaken the practice of trying to coerce myself into working by forcing myself to sit at my computer, and have instead taken to trying to get other things done while waiting for the work urge to strike.
For example, I tend to just go to sleep when tired now, even in the face of excessive deadline pressure. I’ve stopped backing out of social and extracurricular engagements for fear of not completing my work. On the whole, it has made me a happier person, and more productive on all fronts – my work has improved (perhaps less than it would if I actually forsook procrastination, but it has improved), my sense of accomplishment has improved, and I feel more prepared to undertake any task I confront.
How To Stop Procrastinating, a set of tips for beating procrastination from Pace Productivity, has put thinks in perspective, as well. I haven’t successfully implemented a single suggestion, but the divide and conquer approach of categorizing the sources of procrastination and then looking for specific solutions to each source appeals to me.
LifeHacker is another source of inspiration for me. Less a way of beating procrastination, LifeHacker provides links, articles, and downloads to help get things done. In my thinking, a two-pronged attack of increasing functional working time (that is, reducing procrastination), and increasing efficacy while working (that is, actually getting things done), should theoretically engender a positive feedback loop: as I prove to myself that I can get things done, I will be encouraged to spend more time working, and as I practice better working habits, I will get more things done.
How do you approach procrastination? Is it quite such a demon for you as well? Have you found any alternative means of combatting it? For that matter, what do you make of the tools mentioned above? They’re just a starting point – the resources on procrastination and productivity are seemingly endless.
Don’t procrastinate, folks! Get started and write your comment now!
May 30, 2009 at 2:10 am
I am reading a book (again) called Care of the Soul. In it the author speaks about observing and respecting the self in all of our complexity. He posits rather than trying to change through some heroic measure, we need to find a way to accept and witness our demons within; because they are there to serve us in some way. Is productivity the ultimate goal? Poets need time to dream, and so does everyone else.
P.A.C.T. rules!
June 9, 2009 at 1:54 am
Personally, I’ve found that I procrastinate when I find something easier, if ultimately less rewarding, to distract myself with instead of the thing at hand. Say, instead of writing more of a cartoon or screenplay, I’ll end up reading a blog, checking websites, chatting with friends, researching web development options, etc. I’ll go on my computer with the intent to write, but these other distractions pop up, are easy, and if I don’t gently but firmly steer my mind back on course, I’ll get lost in a train of events that will suck hours. Also, another tactic for my particular dilemma is to write by hand. I find it FAR less distracting then the computer, and I feel like I have more space to mess up and experiment than the crisp, formatted text of a word processor. Anyway, that’s my two cents.