Talk:Procrastination

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I was going to write something here, but I'll do it tomorow. --RB 03:58, 27 Mar 2005 (EST)

[edit] An important point

I think it would be worth mentioning that the most likely root of procrastination is fear--fear of starting, of one's own abilities, or of success/failure. It has to be dealt with honestly if one intends to eliminate such behavior, and it cannot be done immediately, it takes time, courage, faith, discipline, and love. It's hard. Life is hard, overcoming procrastination is hard, and you can't just "hack" it out of your life. I recommend the book The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm, for more on fear, anxiety, rationalization, etc.

[edit] Overwhelmed

My problem with procrastination is generally not fear, but feeling overwhelmed - either feeling like there's too much to be done, or not knowing which thing to start on. Some of the techniques mentioned on this site are actually quite helpful to me. The other thing about procrastination is my being a bit spoiled and just not wanting to do what I'm supposed to do (ahem, cleaning the house, for example). I'm not sure if there's a cure for that. Sure there are ways to combine tasks, make things more fun, etc. But mostly, you've just got to suck it up and DO IT (tomorrow!). --steph 8:49am CDT, 14 July 2005

[edit] Focus?

I would like to more specificly label procrastination as the problem of putting things off for later. I would want to differentiate it from lack of focus.

If you have no problem getting started on a task, but quickly find yourself out on some tangential thread, then that is a problem focusing, not with procrastination. "But if you were able to start again, wouldn't that be just like being focused?" No. Very much not so. It's not called "focused" if you're perpetually starting.

The remedies for procrastination generally focus on getting started. They will not help maintain focus, once you are at a task.

I say this because the article currently says: Procrastination is doing what you're not supposed to be doing. Not true: Procrastination is putting things off until later.