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Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Procrastination Hacks
lifehack.org: "We all procrastinate in some facet of our lives. Although most people believe that procrastination is a sign of laziness, procrastination is simply a reluctance to complete a task. "
5 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I think I've gotten pretty close to mastering the art of procrastination. I can put something off just long enough that when I do get around to starting it, I can finish it before the wee hours of the night and I usually don't sacrafice any effort.
I think part of that is because once I do finally get around to starting something it's full steam ahead. I just keep going until the task is complete. It seems the hardest part is just starting it for me. But once I get going, even a TV being turned on won't snap me out of "the zone." *dramatic music plays*
I completely agree that procrastination has very little to do with laziness. It is not that I don't have enough energy to complete the task but that more often than not I am too bored to continue. Let's face it, there are many boring tasks we must complete in life, and there are no excuses as to why we don't. However, what I find helpful is to alternate between one boring task and another. For example, being the slow paced reader that I am, when reading a large portion of a novel I will read maybe ten pages, then put my laundry in the washing machine, then read another ten pages while it washes. What better way to conquer two mundane tasks? Result: CLEAN CLOTHES!
Procrastination is not something that comes from boredom...it comes for us knowing that there is time to complete a given task and then losing sight of precous time that would push the project to a higher standard had we not procrastinated. we all grow up learning what procrastination is because everyone excersizes at some point in our lives...it is after we see the sometimes treacherous results on the final project that we learn to do things in a timely matter...i have found that some people are better procrastinators than others...it's a personal thing...i don't like being the one whose up 3 or 4 days for the project that was assigned over a very manageable 2 weeks...what i've learned: more time in the beginning devoted to the task the less time i lose in the end and the more time i have for doing things that i truly want to do...simple.
Everything in this website is so true. Even though I try to avoid procrasination at all cost - especially since after getting to CMU, I still manage to do it. I've definitely realized that the fear of failure makes me not want to do a task. Sometimes I'll find though, that I can procrastinate productively. There are always tons of little, or not so little tasks that need to be done, and I'll find that I can do them quite well when I have something else I should be doing. So while sometimes I truly can't afford to do something else, every so often, you get more done or out of the way, and then can finally get your main work done.
What definitely stops me from proctastination is the fact that I know it won't be physically possible for me to finish a certain assignment anywhere near as well as I would like if I do procrastinate. Also, if I start right away I'm more likely to be able to keep start up again and maybe even get the work done early.
I am defintely a procrasinator, through I have improved over the years. I also don't believe procrasination is a sign of lazyness. I know I am hardworking, but if the work I have to do something I don't like it takes the craziness of the night before to get me to do it.
5 comments:
I think I've gotten pretty close to mastering the art of procrastination. I can put something off just long enough that when I do get around to starting it, I can finish it before the wee hours of the night and I usually don't sacrafice any effort.
I think part of that is because once I do finally get around to starting something it's full steam ahead. I just keep going until the task is complete. It seems the hardest part is just starting it for me. But once I get going, even a TV being turned on won't snap me out of "the zone." *dramatic music plays*
I completely agree that procrastination has very little to do with laziness. It is not that I don't have enough energy to complete the task but that more often than not I am too bored to continue.
Let's face it, there are many boring tasks we must complete in life, and there are no excuses as to why we don't.
However, what I find helpful is to alternate between one boring task and another.
For example, being the slow paced reader that I am, when reading a large portion of a novel I will read maybe ten pages, then put my laundry in the washing machine, then read another ten pages while it washes.
What better way to conquer two mundane tasks?
Result: CLEAN CLOTHES!
Procrastination is not something that comes from boredom...it comes for us knowing that there is time to complete a given task and then losing sight of precous time that would push the project to a higher standard had we not procrastinated. we all grow up learning what procrastination is because everyone excersizes at some point in our lives...it is after we see the sometimes treacherous results on the final project that we learn to do things in a timely matter...i have found that some people are better procrastinators than others...it's a personal thing...i don't like being the one whose up 3 or 4 days for the project that was assigned over a very manageable 2 weeks...what i've learned: more time in the beginning devoted to the task the less time i lose in the end and the more time i have for doing things that i truly want to do...simple.
Everything in this website is so true. Even though I try to avoid procrasination at all cost - especially since after getting to CMU, I still manage to do it. I've definitely realized that the fear of failure makes me not want to do a task. Sometimes I'll find though, that I can procrastinate productively. There are always tons of little, or not so little tasks that need to be done, and I'll find that I can do them quite well when I have something else I should be doing. So while sometimes I truly can't afford to do something else, every so often, you get more done or out of the way, and then can finally get your main work done.
What definitely stops me from proctastination is the fact that I know it won't be physically possible for me to finish a certain assignment anywhere near as well as I would like if I do procrastinate. Also, if I start right away I'm more likely to be able to keep start up again and maybe even get the work done early.
I am defintely a procrasinator, through I have improved over the years. I also don't believe procrasination is a sign of lazyness. I know I am hardworking, but if the work I have to do something I don't like it takes the craziness of the night before to get me to do it.
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