# How do you deal with procrastination? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 25, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844 "2012-10-25T18:04:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/21 "2012-10-26T00:01:38Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > As far as dishes go, there’s an easy solution: have less dishes. . . And if you hit a patch where you have to spend more time on something else, cleaning or otherwise, get packs of paper plates and plactic spoons/forks/knives. I’d feel guilty doing it all the time, but for a few days here and there, or for weeks during an emergency or big clean, no guilt at all. ETA - you can get disposable cups and glasses, too. Write your name on them and they can be swished out and reused. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/22 "2012-10-26T00:05:18Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I procrastinate, but I’ve learned not to care. It’ll get done. ((Sorry if what I said is considered thread shitting!:D)) ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/23 "2012-10-26T00:12:17Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Stop this thinking “I gotta clean up after work”. That is overwhelming and intimidating. Instead, set aside 15-20 minutes every day. Set a timer if you have to. “I will clean for 20 minutes.” And every day, clean for 20 minutes. Then STOP. > > If you skip a day don’t beat yourself up over it. Just resume the next day like it’s no big deal. Never make yourself feel bad over it. Dude, this is some really good advice. Once my place is tidy, it usually stays that way for a while, because I’ll be damned before I lose my progress, but all it takes is a few days of being an asshole before it slips back into madness. Once there, it stays that way for a while. I think, “Yeah, someone should really fix this place up,” but get lazy or am too intimidated by the task. When I finally get off my lazy ass, I make myself clean until it’s done. Fortunately, I usually get my shit together well before the point where it’ll take more than an hour to make the place presentable, but still. If I can break it up into daily 20 minute increments, it’ll make things easy, make regular tidying a habit, and will make sure my place stays in visitor-ready condition. I think I’m going to implement this plan. Tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Grapefruit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@Grapefruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grapefruit)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/24 "2012-10-26T02:08:12Z")
Well! I’m happy to report that after I got home, I spent 20 minutes cleaning up my shoes and my purses and my entryway no longer a fire hazard of shoes and purses on the floor. And what do you know… it actually feels good to just know that tomorrow morning, I won’t be digging around trying to find the pair of shoes I had in mind for the day’s outfit. > [@Yllaria](#): > > And if you hit a patch where you have to spend more time on something else, cleaning or otherwise, get packs of paper plates and plactic spoons/forks/knives. I’d feel guilty doing it all the time, but for a few days here and there, or for weeks during an emergency or big clean, no guilt at all. > > ETA - you can get disposable cups and glasses, too. Write your name on them and they can be swished out and reused. Good in theory, but this might exacerbate my problem. I mean, just the other night, I was thinking about what to make for dinner, and realized that the pot was dirty, so if I couldn’t microwave it and eat it from the container, I wasn’t going to eat. I’m afraid that disposable plates and cutlery will just enable me further. > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Once my place is tidy, it usually stays that way for a while, because I’ll be damned before I lose my progress, but all it takes is a few days of being an asshole before it slips back into madness. Once there, it stays that way for a while. I think, “Yeah, someone should really fix this place up,” but get lazy or am too intimidated by the task. When I finally get off my lazy ass, I make myself clean until it’s done. Fortunately, I usually get my shit together well before the point where it’ll take more than an hour to make the place presentable, but still. If I can break it up into daily 20 minute increments, it’ll make things easy, make regular tidying a habit, and will make sure my place stays in visitor-ready condition. The last time my place was clean, as in swiffered and vaccuumed with nary a cat hair in sight, was about six months ago when I was leaving for vacation. My sister was going to come over to feed the cat and my motivation was preventing her from saying “Tsk tsk, I see you haven’t changed your habits one bit.” It stayed that way for about a week after I came back. It started off with leaving the suitcase unpacked. And then after the suitcase sat there for a few days. Then I needed some clothes from it, and starting thinking “Meh, I’ll just unpack the things as I need to use them.” So, the suitcase stayed there for two weeks until everything was emptied and I shoved it back in the closet. But by then, all that did was create an empty hole where more crap can be deposited. It’s sort of like the broken windows theory… leave _one_ thing out of its place and everything else crumbles around it. Cleaning is one thing, but not making a mess in the first place is another area I need to sort out. ---
**Author:** ![Grapefruit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@Grapefruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grapefruit)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/25 "2012-10-26T02:16:20Z")
> [@wheresmymind](#): > > I’m a huge procrastinator. I also find that more often than not, the state of my life mirrors the state of my bedroom in a general way; chances are if my life is in a shambles for one reason or another, my room is a disaster, whereas when my room is neat and tidy I tend to have my shit together in most other areas of my life as well. I’m sure this is correlation rather than causation, i.e. when I’m overwhelmed with other stuff I don’t have time to keep my room clean, but when I’ve got my life in order I have extra time and energy to devote towards it. You’ve touched on something here. For the last few months, things haven’t been so great, stress-wise. I know the theory that behaviours are easier to change than thoughts and feelings, but it still takes more energy than doing nothing. I think before today, I cleaned to deal with the problem of not living in a messy home, but now I want to clean as a habit. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/26 "2012-10-26T02:29:39Z")
The technique of using a timer has been formalized. Using [Pomodoro Technique](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique), you break your work into 25-minute segments, using a kitchen timer (preferably a Pomodoro style timer, of course), with a 5-minute break after each. After every four such segments, take a longer break. Keep some kind of log and mark down each completed segment. This is supposed to help you get back into the habit of focusing yourself. Myself, I’m too far gone to recover. My apartment is just going to get more cluttered and more cluttered until it is entirely full from wall to wall and corner to corner and floor to ceiling. Then, I’ll just seal up the doors and windows and find a new empty apartment to start on. ETA: Google pomodoro technique to find lots more cites about this. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/27 "2012-10-26T16:16:31Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > The technique of using a timer has been formalized. > > Using [Pomodoro Technique](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique), you break your work into 25-minute segments, using a kitchen timer (preferably a Pomodoro style timer, of course), with a 5-minute break after each. After every four such segments, take a longer break. Keep some kind of log and mark down each completed segment. This is supposed to help you get back into the habit of focusing yourself. > ETA: Google pomodoro technique to find lots more cites about this. Missed it by _that_ much. I came in to talk about this. It may seem silly, overly simple, whatever, but it has worked for me. I use it every day at work, particularly with tasks I keep avoiding. I’m using it right now, actually (this is my five minute break.) When I work from home it is basically the only way I get anything done. The other trick to cleaning is to always put things away right after you’re done using them. It’s tricky at first, but once you get used to it your house will always be clean and it will seem like you never have to expend much effort to keep it that way (excluding weekly chores like laundry, cleaning the bathroom, etc.) If you have a huge mess to clean up, I’ll tell you what worked for me to get things reasonable in one week. Every time I left a room, I put five things away. Easy. By the end of the week my house was clean. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/28 "2012-10-26T18:59:25Z")
A clean house really does mean a clean mind. Again, I am not talking about spotless, but with things generally tidied up and put away. Feng shui is probably crap, but our surroundings do make a difference. I’m glad to hear you made your start, Grapefruit! This is always really reassuring to me - just to think “I hate cleaning” and then I think “Well I only have to do it for 20 minutes” and just like that, it’s over! MOL, feel free to take my advice. My dad used to spend hours cleaning his house, and I know mine is never up to his level, and never will be. I just don’t care. It’s clean enough, and I live in it, and there are other things more important. As long as it’s tidy and there’s no food anywhere, I am fine. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/29 "2012-10-26T19:33:35Z")
Procrastination comes from dealing with discomfort by quitting. You realize you have a project due. You hate the thought of doing this project. You become stressed out. Your brain immediately begins to search for ways to get rid of the stress. If you’re a procrastinator, the solution your brain comes up with is to quit. Doesn’t matter how, just stop thinking about doing the project! We need the stress to stop! Now! You put off the project. Stress goes away. If you’re not a procrastinator, your brain will come up with a different solution. You have a project due? Quickly finish it. Stress goes away. It’s all about how you decide to deal with stress. Procrastinators put things off to avoid stress. Non-procrastinators avoid stress by finishing things as fast as possible. Next time you’re stressed out about finishing something, remind yourself that the stress will go away once you finish it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/30 "2012-10-26T19:59:37Z")
Have you ever missed a deadline? Paid a penalty for paying a bill late? If not you might not be a procrastinator, but someone whose real priorities are not what you think they should be. I’m not very good at cleaning up my office at home. But I hate dishes in the sink, and I never delay cleaning them up. many things I delay are things I really don’t want to do. What are you doing instead of cleaning up? Unwinding because you are exhausted? That is okay. Doing something useful? My desk at work is kind of a mess, but my company gets more out of me working on something than it gets from me cleaning up. I clean up when it affects my efficiency, but not before then. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/31 "2012-10-26T20:23:01Z")
It’s a shame you are on the West Coast. I love going to people’s places and setting them up to be organized. The 20 minute thing is great but working with a buddy is even better. I would probably choose my mom because she can clean anything (getting out stains is her superpower) and she has me help her at her house not infrequently (not with dirt but with clutter) so turnabout is fair play. Ask someone who cares about you to help you get out of your mess. Spend a few hours with them sorting through and cleaning up stuff in the room that bothers you the most. Having help will make it more fun or make it survivable depending how bad it is. I know when I tackle an area of our house that has gotten out of hand (usually the storage closet) getting my husband or my best friend to help me makes all the difference in the world to me not getting overwhelmed. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/32 "2012-10-26T20:39:07Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I procrastinate, but I’ve learned not to care. It’ll get done. 2 cling-free sheets in the dryer, and you’ll be procrastination free! …or not. ---
**Author:** ![Grapefruit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@Grapefruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grapefruit)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/33 "2012-10-26T21:39:18Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Feng shui is probably crap, but our surroundings do make a difference. I feel it, too! I mean, usually when I turn on my “tranquility fountain”, I just have to pee… but clearing out the entryway yesterday was probably _the_ best place to start. It’s the last thing I see before I leave and the first thing I’ll see when I get home. > [@](#): > > I’m glad to hear you made your start, Grapefruit! This is always really reassuring to me - just to think “I hate cleaning” and then I think “Well I only have to do it for 20 minutes” and just like that, it’s over! All thanks to your advice! (All of you, actually). I do wonder what the reasoning behind the 20 minutes and then STOP is. After I cleaned yesterday, I actually wanted to do more, but I took the advice here and stopped. > [@Voyager](#): > > Have you ever missed a deadline? Paid a penalty for paying a bill late? Deadlines… at work, no. Well, I think I touched on it in my OP that my work habits are very different than my personal life. Work is easy for me. I get paid to do it, so I better do a good job and not get my ass fired. Actually, on reflection, the reason my work desk is often clean and organized is because I am efficient at what I do and when there is a lull I would rather organize my file folders than surf on the internet, especially if management types are hovering around. It just seems more ethical to organize than to waste time. Deadlines for papers when I was in university, though… oh boy. I’d come up with a great thesis topic, then do a bit of online research for the articles I would reference and cite. Then procrastinate until a week before the paper is due (“I’ve done the leg work! Just have to read it!”), scramble through the reading, and then hammer out the paper with an all-nighter the night before the paper was due. I’d often go in to the lecture, drop off the paper, and the find a quiet place in the library for a nap. Still never had to ask the professors for any extensions, though! > [@](#): > > What are you doing instead of cleaning up? Unwinding because you are exhausted? That is okay. Doing something useful? To be honest, my days usually aren’t exhausting. At the very least, not physically exhausting. None of my procrastination activities are very useful… mostly watching TV or seeing who’s online to chat. Then I… chat and fiddle around on the internet until I get hungry, so then it’s “dinner time”, and it’s silly to wash the dishes before dinner and then have to wash the dishes again AFTER dinner. So I make dinner and the dishes don’t get washed. Dishes are the bane of my existence. > [@perfectparanoia](#): > > Ask someone who cares about you to help you get out of your mess. Spend a few hours with them sorting through and cleaning up stuff in the room that bothers you the most. Having help will make it more fun or make it survivable depending how bad it is. The only person I would even let see the mess I live in is probably my sister, because while she’d nag, she wouldn’t pass judgment (not seriously, anyway). But I really don’t want to suck her into my mess again… I know she’d help in a heartbeat but I really want to do it myself and develop the habits for myself. Interestingly, last time I had a dinner party, a friend offered to come help me clean up and I declined because it’d be hard work (and gross) and she told me “Nah, I saw your place last time, shouldn’t be hard to clean that up.” Last time? It was the cleanest I could make it in a day. But she comes from a family where a jacket on the back of a chair is a mess, and I come from the type of family where the hall closet is for boxes of shoes, not guests’ jackets. Not that I want to be anal about jackets on chairs, but I need to start moving myself away from the attitude I grew up with. I asked my sister how she does/did it and she just shrugged and told me that it’s not that hard to stay clean. So in essence, she just wasn’t poisoned against chores like I was. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/34 "2012-10-26T21:59:10Z")
Something that worked for me is that I hired a housekeeper to come in and just tidy up once a week. The price is so low that I feel I have to have it pretty cleaned up before she gets here so the day before I race to clean up. If I clean up at least once a week it never gets too far behind. If a housekeeper is not an option there is some good advice in the posts above. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844/35 "2012-10-26T23:53:12Z")
> [@Grapefruit](#): > > . . . Good in theory, but this might exacerbate my problem. I mean, just the other night, I was thinking about what to make for dinner, and realized that the pot was dirty, so if I couldn’t microwave it and eat it from the container, I wasn’t going to eat. I’m afraid that disposable plates and cutlery will just enable me further. . . . Oh, then you don’t even want to think about stocking up on frozen microwavable dinners. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-deal-with-procrastination/638844.md?page=1)