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View Full Version : Procrastination...that damned thing



infestor
January 8th, 2011, 05:38 PM
as a procrastinating MSc student, i wonder what methods you guys have to overcome procrastination?

madjr
January 8th, 2011, 06:34 PM
i love this video about procrastination:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P785j15Tzk


yeah... thats my life most of the time... :(

is really , really hard, but you need to know what makes you procrastinate.

this world has become a world of consumerism and that is almost equal to procrastination.

unless you get some clear goals to lessen your consumerism and exchange that to become a productive person, you'll never break the bad habit. You need to write down a plan to accomplish your goals.

my best advice is what ever you want to do, start today (Now if possible!), don't leave it for tomorrow...

WRDN
January 8th, 2011, 07:16 PM
To attempt to get around it, I try to write myself a list of jobs to do, and the time that that job should be completed. It's certainly not fool proof, but it does give you short term goals which can help greatly.

For example:

- Job #1 , 30 minutes
- Job #2, 1 hour
- etc.

Irihapeti
January 8th, 2011, 07:49 PM
Here is what I've found helpful for dealing with procrastination.

Start doing something, however small, on your project. If you see your project as a single entity, something that has to be done all at once, it can seem overwhelming and that causes you to put it off.

E.g. if you have a load of papers to file, don't saying "I must do the filing." Instead, undertake to put away three items. You'll feel better for having started, and chances are that you'll end up doing more, anyway.

If you have to write something, just start writing a few lines or paragraphs - even just the heading. It doesn't have to be perfect - you can come back and edit it, anyway. Nothing is more intimidating than a blank page or "untitled" screen. Once that barrier is broken, you might be surprised at how much else gets written...

(Now I'd better go and deal with that filing. :))

Nytram
January 8th, 2011, 08:29 PM
I'll give you my advice later...

ki4jgt
January 8th, 2011, 08:34 PM
I'll give you my advice later...

It's only procrastination if it's undefined :-) IE Later

keithpeter
January 8th, 2011, 09:24 PM
Start doing something, however small, on your project. If you see your project as a single entity, something that has to be done all at once, it can seem overwhelming and that causes you to put it off

I agree with this, but would also suggest a free writing or mind mapping activity, basically just write down what you know and keep going for, say, 30 minutes non-stop.

pyroom could be handy.

undecim
January 8th, 2011, 10:03 PM
Look up "The pomodoro technique"

It's pretty great

Zero2Nine
January 8th, 2011, 10:03 PM
I suffer from this so hard... even this forum post is a form of procrastination of my thesis work. Hate it! what seems to help a bit though is moving all the work related stuff into one workspace and the browser and music player etc in another space. Then you don't see distracting stuff in the taskbar. It's a way of fooling yourself but if it even works a little bit... More radical solution would be to simply unplug the network cable :P

Irihapeti
January 9th, 2011, 12:57 AM
I agree with this, but would also suggest a free writing or mind mapping activity, basically just write down what you know and keep going for, say, 30 minutes non-stop.

pyroom could be handy.

I agree that these are good ideas, and I tend to find that they don't do so well for me. I prefer a more linear approach, just jotting things down.

If I'm needing to write something, I use the voice recorder on my cellphone. I can dictate notes to myself and transcribe them later.

Each to their own. The most valuable thing I learned in recent years is that people handle information in different ways. They aren't just trying to annoy me. :)

MisterGaribaldi
January 9th, 2011, 01:03 AM
as a procrastinating MSc student, i wonder what methods you guys have to overcome procrastination?

Can I get back to you on that?

madjr
January 9th, 2011, 01:21 AM
do what the ubuntu guys do: create DEADlines.

xx must get done by alpha1 release date.
xy by alpha2
xyz by beta1
etc. ;)

they are pretty good at following release schedules, as well as most FOSS projects (gnome, kde, kernel, X...).

Sure, things wont be perfect and some bugs always pop up, but you can never accuse them of missing a date! :)

without these tight deadlines / pressure, foss developers would just procrastinate, spend countless hours re-discussing stuff they already discussed and not get much done... like most of us. So this is one of the things i like around here.

Irihapeti
January 9th, 2011, 01:26 AM
@majdr
Good point. A lot of procrastination is the result of perfectionism.

It doesn't have to be perfect - only good enough to do the job well.

madjr
January 9th, 2011, 01:58 AM
Look up "The pomodoro technique"

It's pretty great

thx. this seems like a good , simple technique.

apart from the deadlines, this will help on day to day basis.

this video explains it well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH-z5kmVhzU

Ichtyandr
January 9th, 2011, 02:23 AM
Look up "The pomodoro technique"

It's pretty great

Neat, do you know any ubuntu timer app that can be used for this?

infestor
January 9th, 2011, 01:21 PM
Neat, do you know any ubuntu timer app that can be used for this?

i will write one...if i can overcome procrastination :)

also thanks for the pomodoro method guys

madjr
January 9th, 2011, 02:59 PM
Neat, do you know any ubuntu timer app that can be used for this?

alarm clock or workrave, should work for this :)

there is also the typing break option in keyboard preferences.

Ichtyandr
January 9th, 2011, 04:12 PM
alarm clock or workrave, should work for this :)

there is also the typing break option in keyboard preferences.

thanks, will try them out