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Beating Procrastination with Self-Imposed Deadlines
castironwok writes "Procrastination attracts us because of hyperbolic time discounting: the immediate (guilty) rewards are disproportionally more compelling than the greater delayed cost. Procrastination is the reward itself. An MIT professor found that when he allowed his students to give themselves their own homework deadlines, they would artificially restrict themselves to counter procrastination. However, they did not set deadlines for optimal effectiveness. I am personally a huge procrastinator and it's always a pull between rational logic (giving yourself the most time by choosing end dates as the deadline), and your past experience saying you will put it off so force yourself to start early."
I was gonna post this yesterday, but...
Nevermind.
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Of course it's also inefficient to start late, but one should not try to start earlier than necessary. The task will occupy your mind longer and especially if you don't like to do the work, it will stress you longer. The task does not become more difficult if you put it off until you need to do it. It just gets longer, because you will allow interruptions (there's still time, so...).
Forces me into finishing up early. I can't watch TV or listen to the radio and sometimes it is a little odd like when I showed up for last week's Christmas celebrations, but I'm making the deadlines.
P.S. Happy New Year!
I find that deadlines I set for myself don't help - unless it's a real deadline with definite consequences beyond my own limitations, I tend to ignore it. And even if it is a 'real' deadline, at the last moment I'll weigh the consequences of not having the job done against Yet Another All-Nighter... and sleep generally wins - or another game. Or movie. Or anything else...
... what else am I going to do at work all day?
You can learn a lot about a person if you just take the time to inject them with sodium pentathol
I've had a lot of issues with procrastination and anxiety, and recently I realized that procrastination is actually due to anxiety-you feel anxious about a task, so you choose to ignore it for the time being. Thus, doing things that help with anxiety often help with procrastination. I think exercise is the best answer for this, but I imagine things like meditation, yoga, etc. help as well.
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...but laziness always pays off now. http://www.despair.com/proc24x30pri.html
It's a big problem for me, and one that I've only had limited success in dealing with. So I don't want to claim to have found the answer or anything.
But I think the key is to formalize the process of deciding what to do *now*. Another way of saying that is that procrastination is a problem with deciding what to do in the moment -- that if you procrastinate, you have to recognize that your ability to do that is broken.
The easiest way to manage this is with a to-do list -- you just go through the things on your list, and try not to think about what else you could be doing, or what you should be doing. Just work the list.
The more robust way is to try to embrace the "Getting Things Done" system (it's described in a book of the same name). The book describes a system that's good enough to keep track of pretty much everything you have going on, and an algorithm that will let you pop off tasks and do them effectively. If you do the system, presumably (it's a big jump, and I haven't made it), you won't drop the ball on tasks, and you'll always know what to do right now.
But instead, i'm reading an article on slashdot about procrastination.
Talk about the right story for the right job!
"Freedom in the USA is not the ability to do what you want. It is the ability to stop others from doing what THEY want"
Top ten reasons for procrastination: 1.
I read a book that really helped me called "Overcoming Procrastination" by Fiore. Turns out perfectionism can play a huge part (always a struggle for me), as can the fear of success (being afraid that if you do a good/outstanding job, you will have to one-up yourself each time - a thought that can be overwhelming). The book isn't particularly well-written and the last chapter(s) is totally lame, but it does have some very good information otherwise - so if you suffer from procrastination it's worth a read. Fiore also has a newer book out called "The Now Habit" (which also relates to procrastination and builds on ideas in the first book) but I haven't picked that one up yet.
Work for a company that rewards effort with recognition, money and benefits. People have this habit of not caring unless either they get recognition/are engaged or have a fire under their ass like a spouse and child to support. When I was in college, I was one of the worst procrastinators in my CS classes half the time, but in classes where I could work on my own projects for class credit and recognition, I would put in as one person at least as many hours as an entire three to four person team. Reward people who work, punish those who don't, and show off cool stuff. That tends to motivate people.
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Or any of the other techniques from 43folders.com http://www.43folders.com/2005/10/15/recap-procrast ination-hacks-email-overload-kinkless-gtd-and-a-vi sit-from-the-word-spy/ .
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I find that when properly applied, procrastination results in increased efficiency.
By delaying my work significantly (but not to the point where I'll have to reduce my delivered quality) I find that I do not wind up coding stuff against docs and specs that will be changed.
I learned this in college. We'd bust our butts trying to code something early, and the next class the prof would alter the spec because the problem contained unexpected (by him) challenges that he had not intended. If you waited a bit, the prof would code up his solution as an answer key to diff ours against, and he'd hit the challenges and recast the problem.
So by putting off stuff to some extent, I wind up not coding stuff that I'll just wind up throwing out anyway.
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I've had a lot of issues with procrastination and anxiety, and recently I realized that procrastination is actually due to anxiety-you feel anxious about a task, so you choose to ignore it for the time being. Thus, doing things that help with anxiety often help with procrastination. I think exercise is the best answer for this, but I imagine things like meditation, yoga, etc. help as well.
Another reason people procrastinate is perfectionism. Some put off doing or finishing something because they want it to be perfect but knowing whatever it is won't be perfect they delay doing it. I was kind of disappointed the article didn't mention this at all. If you know why you procrastinate you may be able to work on it easier than if you don't know why.
FalconShould there be a Law?
That's what works for me. Need to implement a large piece of code and don't know where to start? Pick the easiest part of the project, and implement that. Repeat. Before you know it, you're all done. This works particularly well with an object-oriented language like C++, since there are usually lots of little methods you can work on.
Another thing I find that helps: At the end of the day, try to leave something trivial for the start of the next day. That way, if you're not a morning person, you have something to warm up with until the coffee kicks in.
The above also works for writing. Tell yourself that you're going to write a 200-page novel, and you'll probably never get started. Instead, think of how a story might begin, and just write a couple pages. The next day, you'll think about what might happen next, and you add another page or two.
I went to MIT, so I can explain a bit about the culture in which this research was done.
First of all, there's always something you're supposed to be doing. If you have three assignments for a class due at the end of term, you'll definitely have more important things to get done all term, and then you won't have enough time at the end of term to do the assignments. Even if you didn't do anything fun all term, you'll have procrastinated by getting more of each of the assignments for other classes done than you would have had you worked on the end-of-term assignment earlier. It's really hard to give up on an assignment that's due tomorrow because you haven't started on the one due in two months. It's not just that you have a more immediate reward if you procrastinate the stuff that's not due tomorrow; the reward is calculated and reported to you in advance in percentage points, and you definitely lose those points if you don't go after them immediately.
Also, assignments are designed for maximizing the standard deviation, which gives the most detail for grading. This is achieved by having the average be 50. This, in turn, means that, if you're doing fine, you could do twice as much work and still not get everything done. And you could check over your answers if you really wanted to, and take even more effort. So it's not like you're ever done with all your upcoming assignments and have time to work on the long-range ones.
Also, the main risk isn't doing badly in classes or failing them, it's going insane. If you pass any of your classes (or even if you don't, really), you're better of than if you have to take a term off. So doing something fun and relaxing can actually be quite important. I heard claims that sleeping at night sometimes helps, too, but I didn't try that. Relaxing when you need to is always on a shorter deadline than the end of the term, so it takes precedence.
And, of course, every class has something or other due at the end of the term (or a final just after classes end). You're in trouble if you've got three things due for this class at the same time as every other class has some project or exam.
So the optimal strategy is probably to choose deadlines around when your other classes have big assignments and exams, and stick to those deadlines, but tell the professor you'll have everything in at the end of term (but then forget that you didn't specify your deadlines).
The thing I'd find most interesting is how many students chose to have the deadlines at the end of term, but then turned in the first assignment in the first half of the term.
When I want to beat procrastination I cut down the task in smaller sub-tasks with their own deadline.
For example, if it is 1 January and I have to write a paper until 31 December, then I will try to estimate how long the paper should be and of what parts it should be composed. If I find that I need to write about 10000 words and that the paper should be divided in 6 parts, then I will try to estimate how long each part ought to be. Suppose I find out that 1000 words should go in part 1, 3000 in part 2, 1000 in part 3, 2000 in part 4, 2500 in part 5, and 500 words in part 6.
Then I will attempt to guess the requirements that should be met before writing each part, for example part 2 may require some extensive research before I sit down typing, and part 4 may need to wait until the results of a computer simulation are available. The research may require some reading on my part, so I will have to know how many books I must read and how long or difficult these books are.
If I can calculate the prerequisites for writing the different parts, then I assign deadlines to the completion of each part. I continue breaking the subtasks into smaller and smaller tasks, until I can create weekly or daily schedules. Then I use my PDA, timesheet software, or a personal wiki for tracking my progress.
Another important technique for cutting down procrastination is to minimise startup time/costs. If I need to power up my laptop before typing my essay, then I just leave the laptop open at all times.
Finally, for people who have to spend their days in multiple locations within each day, it is imperative to maximise your mobility. For example, I want to learn some Python, but I have little formal time for investing in it. What I did was to load PythonCE on my HTC Universal PDA (which, by the way, has a QWERTY keyboard and broadband Internet access), so while I commute to work and university I spend the time reading Python tutorials over the Internet and typing programs into the Python interpreter. The fact that this runs on an always-on PDA (with an extended 8h battery and nearly always-on Internet connectivity, too) means that it is very easy to start from where I left even between days (there is no frequent shutdown-bootup cycle in PDAs).
Another example I can give for increased mobility is with e-mail: I was using a POP email server which made life difficult when I couldn't access my mail which was stored on my home's hard disk because I was away from home. What I did was to switch to using my own IMAP server. Combined with RoundCube Webmail software, this really created an environment where I can access my email, including my drafts, from anywhere in the world and with any IMAP client I have in hand.
Other tips for mobility that I know from experience is using laptops with cellular Internet access such as Flybook, and using Web-based tools on your own Web server instead of desktop applications (sometimes I had to write my own Web tools in PHP) so that you are not tied to one particular machine. Use of SSH/VNC with an always-on broadband connection at home is also useful if you need to access your home PC when you travel (assuming you do leave your PC open 24/7 as in my case).
Of course, in actual practice, procrastination still occurs and the planning isn't always reflective of reality, and sometimes you just need to accept this fact and stop worrying too much (especially if you are a Type A personality).
one nice thing about deadlines, if you put them off long enough
you don't have to worry about them any more.
I've always hated this argument. It's based on the notion that obscene overwork will somehow make you forget why you're procrastinating in the first place. Most people procrastinate because the task is so mind nubmingly boring that they'd rather take time off work to clean their house (which they'll procrastinate doing once they're home).
Assign me tasks that are actually interesting. A task I'm interested and excited to be working on I almost never have trouble completing on or even before time.
Taking on extra tasks doesn't work. Sure you're busy and working like a dog just to keep up, but you're still going to be bored. Only now you won't have the wiggle room to procrastinate and prioritize tasks, making you a bundle of nervous energy on it's way to burning out quickly.
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If you look at the "Procedure" section of page 220 of the pdf of the actual paper (because I know all of you of course have now read the paper) it talks about the apparent incentives for the subjects involved in the study by stating "In fact, the external incentives for the students in the free-choice section encouraged submission of all three papers on the last possible day."
In the paragraph prior the writer states "second, students had to announce the [self-chosen] deadlines for submission prior to the second lecture;"
and then on the next page "in fact, only 12 student (27%) chose to submit all three papers on the last day of class."
The study was conducted at MIT. The paper never acknowledges the role peer pressure and the desire to be perceived as a non-procrastinator by the rest of the class might play in an individual's choice of paper submission date, particularly if that "announcement" was public, and instead focuses on how the submission deadlines would best be gamed; Yet peer pressure and performance pressure at MIT is an acknowledged problem very much part of the culture of MIT.
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Procrastination is a modern invention. Deadlines are mere abstractions to turn humans into automations that meet cycle times which produce products (output). If we were to structure our lives with more fluidity, we would be more happier, healthier, and I guarantee wealthier. Procrastination is a natural human form of rebellion. School, work et al inpose these 'deadlines' for some bullshit metric that demeans the human being. The whole system to me is very anti-human, it is designed to control you and turn you into nothing but a fucking battery (coppertop).
'Free your mind' like the great Morpheus said..
If you're having trouble getting yourself to take self-imposed deadlines seriously, try this:
Write down an easy deadline on a twenty dollar bill and commit to tearing it up (!) unless you meet it.
Keep the $20 in front of you as motivation till you finish and then put it back in your wallet.
Pick things that nothing but procrastination could prevent you from completing on time, and have an exemption for unforeseen emergencies.
Now you're just talking out of your semi-colon...
> An MIT professor
Hint #1
> found that when he allowed his students
His MIT students. Hint #2.
> to give themselves their > own homework deadlines, they would
> artificially restrict themselves to counter procrastination.
Leaving aside the begged question as to what is normal/natural restriction
as opposed to "artificial" restriction, the observation is from a situation
that is not representative of the general college student population, and so
no generalization can or should be drawn from it.
I've taught at two different state level colleges which aren't much above
community college level as far as academic rigor among the students. I didn't
require attendance and rarely set a deadline other than the required planned
exams. I rarely got anything until near the end of the semester, and even after.
I finally had to start giving graded quizzes before the lecture to (a) force
attendance and (b) force them to read the material before the lecture (a
requirement of mine because I don't read the book to them, I add to it), or
(c) accumulate evidence in the form of missed quizzes/homework/classes to drop them.
Nothing motivates students to show up and to do their work in a timely manner
like seeing one of their (ex-)classmates being told he doesn't need to be there
ever again because he was dropped because he missed too much.
And it's a damn shame I had to do that. Both places had a large proportion of
"non-traditional", that is, not right out of high school, usually older, have
families, jobs and all the problems that come with these and other normal adult
life. I'd set things up so those students could take the course, and never come
to class at all, if they could learn enough on their own from the book to make the
grades they needed on the exams. And I didn't want to make those changes -- I was
ordered to because too many of my students were failing. Yeah, like I made them
not do their work.
Online courses were the worst. Most (not some, not just the majority, but most)
students would do absolutely nothing* until the day before the exam, and then
spend 1 to 3 hours reading through the material. One third dropped out after
the second of 4 exams because they couldn't possibly pass. One third were urged
to do the same for the same reason, but neglected to even do that, and so failed.
Of the one third that remained, 90% got A's because they had the necessary sense
of responsibility and motivation to do the necessary work on their own.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
Me too. :D
Letting stuff mature in your head on the backburner saves upfront effort. I tend to think of a problem for a while before I start prototyping or implementing. That way, I'll get a clearer picture of potential unintended consequences and implementation cost.
Some procrastination is good, too much procrastination is bad. Finding that sweet spot is kinda difficult, though.
Stop the brainwash