How to stop procrastinating by making any kind of work interesting

Originally published at: How to stop procrastinating by making any kind of work interesting | Boing Boing

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Eh, I’ll read this article tomorrow.

I guess /s since I read it and will maybe procrastinate actually trying some of the ideas.

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Unsurprisingly, my brain totally skipped over “reducing” in that sentence and I was all “woo hoo!” until I read it again and saw that they weren’t recommending drugs, candy and video games after all.

Dang.

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http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/
Winner of an ignoble prize.

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I remember once reading an article about “back pain” and how a big problem with treating “back pain” is that there are more than a dozen relatively common physical problems that end up causing pain in your back. So when people talk about “back pain” they might be talking about very different things that need to be treated differently.

I’m reminded of that now, because when I read these suggestions I feel like this person is saying “procrastination” and I’m saying “procrastination” but we are talking about completely unrelated problems that happen to have similar symptoms. This stuff sounds like absolute madness to me.

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Is there a version for 10 year olds doing remote learning?

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I have several books on my shelf, and articles clipped, and pages bookmarked, on getting past procrastination. I just can’t get myself to read them.

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Meh, I’ll look into it later…

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“Is this article a sign that I should stop reading Boing Boing at my desk and actually do some work?” he thought while typing a snarky reply.
“I’ll just see if anyone has replied to my last reddit post then make a coffee then I’ll get right to updating that spreadsheet”

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The authors recommend staring at a wall for 15 minutes. "For the first few minutes, you might feel alright, thinking about your day. However, after 5 or 10 minutes, you’ll be itching to do something, anything really.

Jokes on them, that’s how I’d turn procrastination into taking a nap. It’s very rare that I can sit still. Without external stimulation of some sort my mind drifts and basically just switches off. Then I wake up 20-30 mins later drooling on myself. I realize that I’m not “normal” in my ability to sleep. From people I’ve talked to it seems like it is difficult for most people to fall asleep. For me it’s about 20-30 seconds from the time my head hits the pillow.

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This is a big “if you want to cure a headache, stub your toe and your head won’t hurt anymore” mood.

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That line also had me scratching my head. So I find myself being a person who has the willpower to stare at a wall for 15 minutes but does not have the willpower to just do the thing I’m supposed to be doing?

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I stare at a wall for half an hour every morning and yet here I am.

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I have a copy of said book. I believe I made it half way through reading it - 3 times.

The browser I am writing this on has an open tab from Boing Boing titled “How to stop procrastinating using behavior model by Stanford’s B.J. Fogg”. It’s from August 2020, posted by your good self. I still haven’t read it.

During our various UK lockdowns I have been finding ADHD meme accounts on Instagram waaaayyyyyy too relatable. At 52, this is simultaneously surprising, and yet starting to explain so much…

¯\(ツ)

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I meant to write the same joke, but I didn’t get around to it.

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Hearing David Allen talk about GTD makes reading the book less necessary. He makes so much sense… but be sure it’s an interview or lecture, not tje audiobook :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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I’ll put it on my to-do list :wink:

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