Procrastination

[Amber]

There are periods when this is a problem in my life . It doesn't happen all the time . I go through highs and lows and no matter what kind of activity I have to do , procrastination can still stand in my way. I',m too perfectionistic when I shouldn't be . It is not only this ... sometimes I would just want to focus better on the task at hand and my thoughts wander . Mby it's Te dual - seeking and I am in fact looking for extremely practical tips to work the best you can.


In this thread I'm looking forward to hear what remedies to this you discovered , if you were also affected . If you were never faced with this problem I am still curious to hear how your life is so perfect .
I think in Socionics irrationality has more risk concerning procrastination but I don't really know . I think it's something psychologic....like depression or apathy mby ??

[Pookie]

Procrastination is incredibly effective at doing tasks, when theyre supposed to be doing something else. Just plug away at something. Every journey starts with a step, and that sounds simple but its the hardest thing in the world. That first step. However, if youre walking around aimlessly, its easier to take that first step, because you have the habit of walking. Hopefully that makes sense.

[Beautiful sky]

Not type related

There are other underlying issues to procrastination/ing so you may want to look into them.

Life is tough for everyone, give yourself a break and relax a little.

[ouronis]

It comes from perfectionism for me too. To me, I look at everything as if it were at its most efficient/ideal, and it ends up bothering me when I realize things may not turn out that way if I make the effort.

[Aylen]

Procrastination = perfect timing.

I actually work best under pressure. I take on some superhuman abilities to get things done when I know I have to have things done and the deadline is not relative. If I have no deadline then I tend to wait until I feel like doing something. I am not usually apathetic or anything because when I appear to be procrastinating on doing one thing I am actually doing something else I would rather be doing. I try not to let it bother me since I know I am able to do things last minute and it will often turn out better than if I pushed myself to do it when I didn't want to. Under pressure I become a perfectionist even if I appear to be stressed out. The stress actually pushes me forward.

[LauriesCrusador]

IMO there's nothing wrong with procrastination. It is perfectly normal not to be effective, organized, motivated by command all the time. We all put things off, more or less distinctive.

But if you actually want to tackle procrastination you may have to figure out why you do it. There're certainly many reasons why we/you procrastinate but basically the main reason is because you've made the task that needs to be done undesirable in your own mind by thinking too much about how you don't wanna do it or by telling yourself that you don't like the outcome anyway or don't know where to begin with or that this task is just too hard/difficult/complex for you and something which only makes the task much worse in your mind than it actually is and as a result limits/paralyzes you. If you put something off because you think it's not important or valuable to you it doesn't need to be done anyway. So forget about it.

However, changing the way you look at a task can help to get started. It's all a matter of perspective. It's how you choose to look at it. Next time when you feel the urge to put something off that needs to be done you can ask yourself what made you want to do it in the first place or why this needs to be done and if it will benefit you, for instance. Perhaps then the task at hand is not so unpleasant or really work anymore. It might also help to recall a previous task which you accomplished successfully in order to get yourself in a positive mindset... and if it's something you haven't done before you can tell yourself that you might learn something new and then see it as an advantage. But sometimes it's just good not to think and just DO IT... or at least get up and just start somewhere.

Besides, nobody can and will do everything perfect. No need to put pressure/stress on yourself by telling "I should do/must do or have got to finish yada-yada-yada". Not everything needs to be completed the day you started it... or at all. No need to make big plans, set impossible goals or put way too many tasks on your to-do-list/daily schedule in the first place if you'll never carry them out anyway. No need even trying to create perfect plans for a task/project either since there are just waaaaaay too many unpredictabilites/things that are out of your control anyway. Those stuff will only make you avoid the task alltogether and you suffer from a latent bad conscience because you don't bring yourself to do what you decided to do which in turn will eat away at your self-esteem.

Anyway, it's helpful to keep the gap between decision and execution extremely low because the longer you wait the more likely you won't do it at all. And the sooner you have an unpleasant task off your mind, the sooner you can enjoy whatever and have fun again especially since you will have to do it anyway at some time. So why let little inconvenient stuff turn into a giant fucking awful mountain? (unless the latter gives you the kick you need).

Breaking up tasks into subtasks can help to get started (and to focus) and works well with complex tasks.

However, if you still can't get your ass into gear, instead of sticking to doing creative measures like clicking through Facebook vids/pics, skimming forums or just "looking" busy in order to avoid having to do the most urgent and important but perhaps also most unpleasant or even scary task, simply do other things that are still worthwhile and important which you perhaps put off before. Now you can be hard on yourself and say you still procrastinate because you work around the most tedious/worst task or you simply call it prioritizing your activities. Whatever you wanna call it, you'll feel better about it because you still do other important things and you get a lot done. Otherwise you'll end up spending more energy on looking for crazy random stuff to do than on the initial task... and get nothing done. LOL

Btw, putting things off is a good thing because you can figure out what is really important to you. Putting off a difficult/complex task is also really good because it gives you time to think about it, gather more information if needed or perhaps just find a better way of doing it.

Bottom line, procrastination is nothing to get rid of. It only becomes a problem if it rules your life and consequently your job and something is in danger.

As for having problems to focus on a task at hand and your thoughts wander... well, I think that the way you look at a task can affect your ability to focus on it. ...and of course do just one thing at a time.

Yep, I could've typed it all in a couple of days ago or so but.... you know it, I didn't feel like it (aka too lazy).

[FDG]

For me procrastination is a matter of getting my whole body in gear. When I see that I have a problem with procrastination, I try to take a run, quick walk, go to the gym etc. and it´ll just "start my engine". I do not know if this method can be applied to everyone equally, though - it only works with "simple" tasks.

[krieger]

changing your environment, location and company tends to work wonders in my experience.