So tell me...

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I need ways of beating procrastination...

I've got so many things I'd like to have done, but... well I'm sure most of you will know the story well.

One way which is quite good is to write short-term goals on a piece of paper, prioritise and set deadlines also. It's quite amazing how well this works as a matter of fact.

But I need more!

Last edited by Captain_Brain on 11 Aug 2005, 4:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

I have the same problem.

There is one way to get it done, but I never seem to bother to use it.

Shut your mind off, and get up without even thinking for a second and start doing it. Sitting around to stew in the problem just gives you more time to think of excuses as to why you aren't going to do it.

...I should really clean my room.

yep - that's me

lists are fab - always put something on them you've either already done, or about to finish, cos it looks good, psychologically.

how about promising yourself a reward when you've finished? i go for, "when you've done x, you can have a piece of chocolate/have coffee and a fag" or whatever you like.

and i'm useless at getting off my arse and doing stuff, a lot of the time, but once i start, there's no stopping me. it's the starting which is the problem. i always think about what i'm going to get out of doing it, whether short or long term.

I don't know but if you figure it out let me know. My problem is I plan everything in such detail I am bored with it before I start.

I find breaking big goals down into smaller goals helps. Dividing things up, like instead of cleaning the WHOLE apartment, I will clean my desk.

Then again, many times I don't even have the mental energy to want to do anything but delve into psychology and spend endless (and eye-damaging) hours on the computer. Sigh. Not even breaking it up works completely.

For me, I really have to have that mental boost of whatever the hell that neurochemical is that gets me excited about cleaning and everything else I put off.

Excellent

So far:

1. Decide what we want to get done by today
2. List these as our goals
3. Prioritise list
4. Work out deadlines for each goal.
5. Add to the list something we've already done or are about to finish (Thanks vetivert.)
6. Promise ourself reward upon completion of goal. (Thank again vetivert.)
7. Break down task if it's a big one (Thank you Sophist.)
8. "Shut your mind off, and get up without even thinking for a second and start doing it. Sitting around to stew in the problem just gives you more time to think of excuses as to why you aren't going to do it." (Thank you hale_bopp!)

More more more!! ! Power power power!! !

Last edited by Captain_Brain on 11 Aug 2005, 4:38 am, edited 2 times in total.

8. get off the sodding discussion board and DO IT!

Grrr....I was waiting for this.

If you can do lists than that is very good - I tend to operate more effectively when there is a list, because you simply start at the top and work your way down.

I have a problem estimating timescales for things to be completed, not when doing routine stuff like washing up, tidying up and so forth but I do have difficulties estimating for work related to the computer eg doing web design or resolving hardware faults and so on.

It is much easier to think about things than to actually do them; I have a problem not so much with laziness itself, but with distraction.

There are a LOT of reasons why I don't get things done:

No end state -- If I can't visualize the completed task then I find it very difficult to visualize the steps I need to take to get there.

Excessive scope -- Sometimes I can see the end state but the task is depressingly large. I own an older home on a mature lot, so there's always a zillion things that need to be done. I know what I would like the house and yard to look like, but the amount of work required to get there is daunting.

Procrastination -- Sometimes I just don't want to do the work. Vaccuuming the livingroom is nowhere near as interesting as grabbing an issue of Linux Journal and a can of beer and sitting on the back deck under the afternoon sun.

ADD -- Without proper medication it can be very hard to complete anything. I might be very well intentioned, but if I have to leave a task for a minute I'll forget what I was doing and launch into something entirely different.

Perseverative interests take priority -- You know all about this one. Sometimes you just can't pull yourself away from that mental magnet.

I somehow manage to get things done eventually. Often it's a matter of doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that and a little bit of something else (interspersed with little bits of nothing at all) until eventually all the tasks get done. It's frustrating for the people around me but the alternative is for someone to hover over me telling me what to do all the time (which I don't like anyway).

Make a list, pick the tasks that you hate doing. Then, do those tasks first. Once the boring jobs are out of the way, the others don't seem so bad.

No need to get snappy.

I got some good tips for you, but I'll tell you tomorrow...

One of the benefits of Asperger's is concentration on desired topics. What I try to do is translate that focus on to other things. I'm not always successful, but when it works, it works very well.

If it doesn't, things just don't get done. I try other methods, but nothing successful...

Yes, I'll agree with this.

I reckon it's all about having your "cold intellect" in full control (which is hard as heck most of the time for me).

I'm a very bad procratinator.

I never make lists or prioritise anything I do.

I just look around to see what needs to get done.

Then I force myself to do them someday.

That someday come and goes.

Then one day I get it done.

What works for me, on occasion, is having someone else volunteer to do the task for me. It has to be a genuine offer-person willing to actually do it-sometimes being told this (in a nice way) motivates me to do the task myself. I worry person will do task wrong (not "my way"), or I feel too guilty/bad at idea of person doing task on my behalf. So, when I say I don't want to do this chore but it has to be done, my live-in partner "threatens" (not seriously) to do it himself (which he means). That CAN be the "push" I need to get me to do it. Otherwise, he'll do the chore (here & now). Maybe I'll be productive later on, in another way, partially "inspired by his example". Sounds rather vague & it's an unreliable, hit-or-miss method. Hardly advice, depends on having good relationship w/other person & many folks don't have that in their lives.