I Hate Procrastination So Much
Hi blog. Today’s post is PGP based. The topic for this post is James Clear. James Clear is the same author that wrote atomic habits. Remember, the post I made about the book? It was an awesome book and I’m glad that we’re continuing on talking about it. For this post, we were assigned to read an article from his website and connect it to our life. He has hundreds of articles about everything and anything to do with goals, habit, etc. Basically anything to help you do and feel good . The selection is great because everyone in the class can find an article that connects and relates to them. So, what article did I choose?
Procrastination: A Scientific Guide on How to Stop Procrastinating.
Of course I picked an article about procrastination… If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know I am the procrastination queen. No matter what I do, or how I do it, I will always put it off late. It never affects the quality level, it’s just annoying. I will put something off until it is literallyI mpossible to put off any longer. I decided to read this article because well sometimes I’ll get better at avoiding procrastinating, I still struggle and I think reading about procrastination, and actually learning about the causes of it, may help me.
The first line from this article says someone that immediately I relate to, “How to make those rare moments of productivity more routine.” Thats spot on what I want and need, especially in times like this. Being honest, this whole online school thing and being home all the time, doesn’t really work well for me. Im still hard working, but that determination starts to fade when I’m not actually going to school. Being home all day is literally ideal for me to procrastinate. I will do anything but what I have to. Yesterday I vacuumed my room, and all of the house, without being asked to by my mom, just to avoid doing this blog post. Anyways, let’s continue.
“Akrasia is the state of acting against your better judgment. It is when you do one thing even though you know you should do something else. Loosely translated, you could say that akrasia is procrastination or a lack of self-control.”
Akrasia is a word that ancient Greek philosophers used before the word “procrastination.”
That definition stuck with me and honestly was a reminder that yes, it is just basically a self control issue. The overall article basically sums up what procrastination is, and then gives some tips to how to deal with it. So, what is it? Behavioural psychology research has revealed a phenomenon called “time inconsistency,” which helps explain procrastination. Us humans like short fast rewards, not long term.
He talks about how a lot of us go to bed with the motivation to get started on something, or do finish something, but then wake up unmotivated and fall into old patterns.
This is because our brain VALUES long term benefits when they are in the future (the next morning in this case) but when the future actually comes (when you wake up) you then value the immediate gratification of not doing it more than the long term goal. This is really really helpful for me to learn, because I find myself in the future stage and present stage a lot (relating to this example) and I know for a fact when I’m in that future stage, and I tell myself oh yes I’ll do that tomorrow, I know I probably won’t. Which is really bad, and why I believe the best time for me to do work is when I’m actually in that future stage and have the motivation. I find the time I have best motivation is when someone is JUST assigned, and the reason I never do it then is because I’ll have a week or so to do the assignment and I think “oh yes I have a lot of time, no need to do it now” even if I have that motivation. Then, I end up doing it the morning of all stressed out.
At that point I’ve past the action line, and my motivation is purely terror to get it in. The guilt and fear and anxiety I feel when procrastinating is actually worse than the energy and dedication I have to put in when doing the assignment. The problem is not doing the work, it’s starting the work.
My goal for this post wasn’t necessarily to find a new way to help me to stop procrastinating (I feel like I’ve tried a lot of things and wanted to come at a new approach) it was more to learn about why I procrastinate, so I can tackle those issues personally, instead of using someone else’s method. I feel some (some!!! Not all) methods are just a Band-Aid but then I get bored of them and I go back to procrastinating. Learning about it, I feel will be more beneficial. Before this article, I barely knew what it meant besides the fact it’s avoiding to do work, so I’m grateful this was an assignment as I know this knowledge has made me change the way I look at procrastination and the way I think.
My ”adjusted to corona times” goal for the rest of the school year, is get stuff started and finished right when it’s assigned and I have that brief amount of motivation, as starting it is always the hardest part. I don’t have that 3:00 after school motivation anymore to set my goals on!