Causes of procrastination

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Joined: 28 Feb 2012
Gender: Male
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29 Feb 2012, 5:51 pm

I tend to get behind work that is not interesting to me. If something at home is more interesting than something that needs to be done for work, then I will probably do what is at home more interesting. I also find it hard for me to associate my computer with anything other than the internet. My special interest tend to call me. Especially after being tired after work and school. I also tend to realize things like, when I go to sit down for my homework I realize the laundry needs to be done, but I also have to clean the bathroom. And that puts my work load higher and the more work I have to do the more it stresses me out.

yukari
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29 Feb 2012, 6:10 pm

Forgot to say, I think there are 2 types of procrastination. First is caused by fear of some kind... It is by me with some official deals often... when I need to visit ossicial organisations and do something with documents, I will put it away until the last day, until I will have no other opportunity then do it.
And second... everyday procrastination, small distractions during work and so on... I dont know the reason.

Mayel
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01 Mar 2012, 2:50 am

MrXxx wrote:

If it's happening because of a lowered or nonexistent ability to prioritize, that isn't procrastination, because it is not deliberate.

This is where Autistics can get into trouble, not being able to put down something they're in the middle of to take care of more time sensitive matters. We end up being called procrastinators because of this, and even convince ourselves that we are procrastinators. ADDer's are prone to the same thing. Imagine having both. I do, and it SUCKS.

The only way I have found to deal with it that works is to study prioritizing strategies, and OBSESS over them to the point that they drive what you do. The hardest part of adjusting to priorities though, is forcing yourself to put one thing down to start something else, or picking up where you left off with a previous unfinished task. The best way I've found to deal with that problem if find ways to "leave tracks" (notes of anything you think you'll most easily forget) or find ways of identifying the best stages at which to leave a project so that it can be easily picked up and continued without too much thought.

It ain't easy! And I suck at it. I suck so bad at it that I haven't even had a planning book going for a few years now. :roll:

I have gone through periods of keeping scheduling books, task and priority lists. When I do use them, it works very well and a get a LOT done. But I DO have to obsess over the organizational process, else it falls to the wayside and the usual chaos eventually ensues.

So procrastination is deliberate? And when it's involuntary it's not?

Obsessing over overcoming this problem......I wonder if that would help. Could be a possibility.

aussiebloke
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01 Mar 2012, 8:51 pm

Your all here.

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Sweetleaf
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01 Mar 2012, 8:55 pm

Stargazer43 wrote:

One of the best methods I've developed to combat procrastination is extensive planning. For example, Let's say I have two reports and 1 project that I know are due in exactly two weeks. I will judge approx. how much time each will take, and then set up a schedule of exactly when and how long I will work on each. Then, I follow the schedule no matter what. If I finish early that's great, and if not then I readjust my schedule to try to make it work (that or pull an all-nighter lol). I find that the biggest factor of procrastination for me is a lack of motivation (and also as you said, a difficulty in multitasking). But since I have started planning out schedules like this I have gotten much much better about procrastination.

I would go insane if I had tried that...or was ever to try it. But that seems to be the typical advice people give about issues like this. So it has some truth I guess it just would not work for everyone.

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riot_gun
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01 Mar 2012, 9:08 pm

I'm a horrible procrastinator, but I've been getting a lot better in the past two weeks. I've been seeing a counselor at school and that has really helped as far as coming up with strategies to combat it. One of the big reasons I end up procrastinating is that I get stuck doing stuff that's interesting to me and completely forget about what I need to be doing, or if I do remember I can't manage to pull myself away.

One thing that has really helped with that is to force myself every now and then to completely disengage from what I'm doing and just look over homework for a few minutes, even if I don't work on it. It has really helped me build my ability to get myself unstuck so that I am able to do things that are less interesting.

Mayel
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02 Mar 2012, 2:33 am

riot_gun wrote:

One thing that has really helped with that is to force myself every now and then to completely disengage from what I'm doing and just look over homework for a few minutes, even if I don't work on it. It has really helped me build my ability to get myself unstuck so that I am able to do things that are less interesting.

Getting unstuck in some way is probably the solution. The shift of attention has to be redirected completely.

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