Procastination

[Eremita]

I'm new here, and this is my first thread.
I don't know if someone already asked that, but, do you have problems with procastination?
You know, when you have to do something, but you start to do other stuff instead.
For me, it has become a real problem in my life.

 

[King_Oni]

My way of making sure I don't procrastinate is by not having tasks/plans in the first place

But to a more serious extent to this issue... I tend to not have too much to do around. If I have stuff to take care off, most likely I'm on top of it right away and dealing with it right away so I have a free agenda again.

I personally have a hard time "waiting" to get something done, so I rather get it over with as soon as possible, however the big problem might be if there's times where you're depending on doing X on certain times, like for instance doing groceries. With that I also have a rather short attention span for a lot of stuff. That's a big way how one can go into procrastination mode.

If you're looking for advice... all I can say is... prioritize, get right on top of it, and most of all, try to not have too much stuff around because more tasks, obviously mean more chances to procrastinate. And you might consider how important those tasks are. Chances are that some things I need to take care of, I have to do right away otherwise it means I wont have anything to eat around for the next few days for example. So importance of the tasks is a thing to consider, as well as limiting obligations if possible.

 

[Arashi222]

I had to think about this because I have a set schedule for things. But If its something I am dreading then yes I procrastinate big time. For example I keep making plans in order to avoid calling to redo my student loan. I Just don't want to have to talk to them but then again I couldn't figure out the simple instuctions in the online version so I have to but...you see my point. I only procrastinate if its something I really really just am unable to see enjoying in anyway. But if its something I want or need that I enjoy or will enjoy then no problem.

 

[Geordie]

To be honest, I procrastinate so much, I'm the master of it.

However, it would really help not only we list down the things we do and how urgent they need to be done, it would also help if we know our limits, recognise our current energy levels, and do only what we can do.

Always question why we want to do other things first?

If we feel so tired but it is necessary, try to do them first, it's so necessary it has to be done.
If we feel that they are just 'added fluff', then don't bother doing them.

 

[earthsteward70]

Sometimes it is good to do nothing. A zen master once said, .."if it can be put off until tomorrow, was it really important enough to do today?" Sometimes I have been busy with life, some things I did nothing about, and eventually they got done by someone, or faded into obsolescence because they were unimportant. Sometimes it's good to give things a healthy 'wait and see' sometimes a better solution comes along.

That being said, there are certain things that I never procrastinate on. If I have spent any money I never go to bed before writing it down in my bank register. It is crucial in my life that every dollar gets accounted for. I never procrastinate at paying bills. After going without water, and electricity because of forgetting to pay, it becomes too unsavory a thought to forget again.

I do however purposefully procrastinate at doing homework it seems that I do better in crunch time with that. I can't explain how this method of madness works, but it's kept me on the honors list. :shrug:

Like King Oni said, prioritize. There's some things with consequences that shouldn't be put off, and some things that can be. My brother is a big procrastinator who actually says "Don't do today what you can put off til tomorrow." but his life goes on quite smoothly.

 

[buckyboy14]

I used to have a big procrastination problem, but I've gotten a lot better at not putting things off. After all, if I'm going to have to do something eventually, what's the use of having it hang over my head all the time?

 

[King_Oni]

Thinking about it... one way to make sure you don't procrastinate much, at least it works for me to some extent, make sure you're having no ways of being "disturbed" in whatever you do your doing. Any distraction will, at least with me, put me off and I have to get back into whatever I'm doing again, and as such I'm likely to procrastinate before I'm back on track again.

Another way to minimize procrastination is to create an environment that makes procrastination near impossible. A few years back had my computer set up with 2 seperate installations of Windows, one for normal use, one for when I'm doing music. No IM, no internet even, just the bare minimum to run the programs I needed. That actually worked pretty well.

 

[Ovrthkr817]

I too am a master of procrastination, but I'm also easily distracted. I can even get distracted from my distraction with another distraction. By constantly getting distracted I tend to put a lot of things off. The only way I can surely make sure I get what I need to get done accomplished, is by waking up earlier and getting more hours in my day. But if there is no deadline, it's not getting done anytime soon in the near future.

 

[King_Oni]

A few excerpts from wikipedia to define "procratination"

Procrastination is the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, and thus putting off impending tasks to a later time.

Schraw, Wadkins, and Olafson have proposed three criteria for a behavior to be classified as procrastination: it must be counterproductive, needless, and delaying.Similarly, Steel (2007) reviews all previous attempts to define procrastination, indicating it is "to voluntarily delay an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off for the delay.

This got me thinking;

In order to label yourself as a (chronic) procrastinator I guess you should have to be fully aware that the things you do are counterproductive. And when is something counterproductive? And when is it needless? People might argue that watching television is a way of procrastinating, but it might be in fact contributing to your mental wellbeing. So it's not needless at all. Also; as long as I'm not expecting to be worse off, it's not procrastinating at all? Maybe I should lower my expectations. And what if I live in a world of severe denial? And what if I'm living on my own and no one will tell me I'm in denial? It's other people that will claim you're not doing the right thing... for yourself. It's probably the same people that will tell you, you're slow on a certain task and "delaying".

I've heard people state that priorities are a big part of procrastination. But for someone to call you a procrastinator said people should be aware that everyone understands the concept of priorities and sees them as such to not voluntarily put them off. Maybe I need to do groceries and wont go because I don't feel like it. I'll end up playing a game instead, something that's being perceived as procrastination by a lot of people. But who says I need to go to the store now? At this minute? And what if I don't? And don't care to have no dinner today? It's becoming a matter of perspective of what others think you should do. Isn't procrastination a result of people minding your business rather than their own?

Apparently there's a list of types of "excuses" for procrastinating (again according to wiki)

Avoidance: Where we avoid the locale or situation where the task takes place (e.g., a graduate student avoiding going to University).
Distraction: Where we engage or immerse ourselves in other behaviors or actions to prevent awareness of the task (e.g., intensive videogame playing or Internet surfing, reading this article)
Trivialization: We reframe the intended but procrastinated task as being not that important (e.g., "I'm putting off going to the dentist, but you know what? Teeth aren't that important.").
Downward counterfactuals: We compare our situation with those even worse (e.g., "Yes, I procrastinated and got a B- in the course, but I didn't fail like one other student did."). Upward counterfactual is considering what would have happened if we didn't procrastinate.
Humour: Making a joke of one's procrastination, that the slapstick or slipshod quality of one's aspirational goal striving is funny.
External attributions: That the cause of procrastination is due to external forces beyond our control (e.g., "I'm procrastinating because the assignment isn't fair").
Reframing: Pretending that getting an early start on a project is harmful to one's performance and leaving the work to the last moment will produce better results (e.g., "I'm most creative at 4:00 AM in the morning without sleep.").
Denial: Pretending that procrastinatory behaviour is not actually procrastinating, but a task which is more important than the avoided one.
Laziness: Procrastinating simply because one is too lazy to do their desired task.
Valorisation: Pointing out in satisfaction what we achieved in the meantime while we should have been doing something else.

Some actually make my aspie-sense tingle.

Avoidance, Distraction, External Attributions, Reframing and Denial

- Avoidance can be due to sensory issues as could distraction (not to mention if it gets you worked up to a meltdown).
- External attributions can very well be a factor. While I wouldn't want to blame someone else for all my wrongdoings, I guess there's a thing to be said about needing to depend on external factors. And with the amount of aspies that have support in some way it sounds fair. Procrastinating because of "mood issues" seems like an open door for anyone to accuse you. Having regular therapist visits over a long period might help, but they're still "over a long period" and not an insta-fix.
- Reframing might be attributed to mood as well. I just know I'm not a morning person.
- Denial; maybe not neccesarily aspie exclusive, but this "denial" does go hand in hand with recognizing the implications of priorities. If obsessions attribute to my mental wellbeing for now, I think the notion of being in denial is a tough one. I don't buy into it that people can or will do tasks without motivation (even if it's; "to get it over with"). And thus setting yourself to a mood to actually take care of business is a thing, and perhaps if you factor in obsessive behaviour to some extent it sets up this mood. That's when doing something else first becomes "productive" and a priority to fight procrastination. And that would be just as much as an extra task as driving your car to do groceries; setting up conditions to fullfill said task.

 

[aspieworldcitizen]

I tend to procrastinate either when I dread the task, or when I get overwhelmed by the complexity of it. For example, I can't think of a single paper I wrote in high school or college that I did not put off until the last minute, whereas more discrete/concrete things like math homework I would procrastinate less on. My husband has since suggested that I break complex tasks down into more manageable pieces (duh!). To think of all the stress that would've saved me! The other thing I have often found helpful is making a list of tasks with priorities, but I haven't been disciplined enough yet to keep that up. One of the many things I need to work on.

 

[myk384]

I have no problems with procrastination, some of my classmates are For me, whenever the task is given I do it immediately at home even if its too late (my last class ends at 9pm and arrive home at 10pm. I do some parts and continue the following day.

Time management is the key, since I will be working by next year if I don't get failing grades and graduate on time

 

[Judge]

I've always had an acute sense of time. In the corporate world I was eventually asked to teach time management to other employees who couldn't seem to master it. The Aspie part of me was always most uncomfortable with the idea of teaching anyone much of anything. Even on a one-to-one basis. But I did it so well I seem to overcome it to a degree.

Never really thought about that until this moment. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

[emmvee]

I have a MAJOR issue with procrastination, and it is affecting my life quite badly. Infact, I'm even procrastinating now. Playing on this forum instead of doing some very important budgeting that may save my house!
My problem stems from the fact that I simply have too much going on, all the time, and even though I THRIVE on routine and good management, I became overwhelmed a few years ago, and it has just gotten worse and worse and worse. Obligation on top of obligation, bills, repair work, the list goes on. I find myself on a day like today where I don't have anything specifically planned, and I walk around all day thinking about which job I should start on.
I know the answer is to sit down and plan it out.... but I procrastinate doing that as well.
Aspies- head my advice- stay on top of things, cause once it's out of control, it's near impossible. Now I spend my days fumbling through disorganization, which drives me mad and makes me quite unpleasant for NTs around me. I'm someone who needs routine but is unable to develop one.

 

[MoCoffee]

Hi Eremita! Boy can I relate to this post. My Mother used to say I "pidddled around" when I was supposed to do something and that hasn't changed at all. If I don't have a firm deadline and no way to get out of doing whatever I'm supposed to do, things just don't get done. This doesn't mean I'm lazy. I do tons of stuff.....just not what I should be doing. You know how it is. I was supposed to be doing my taxes, but I got distracted when I checked my email first. Since I was already online, I checked out TedTalks to see what's new. Then I had to do research into whatever topic caught my attention, and on it goes. I guess I'll do my taxes tomorrow.

 

[aspieworldcitizen]

Eremita, my therapist told me that the only things I HAVE to do each day are eat, shower, and sleep. So get those out of the way first. After that, pick the #1 priority and focus only on that. Don't worry about anything else. Then figure out what is the next priority, and so on. Don't think about all the other stuff you need to do - just worry about one thing at a time, one day at a time. I know, easier said than done, and I'm not exactly following my own advice at this point.