So I have a big project due tomorrow, it’s 11:34pm, but I haven’t even looked at it.
Instead, I’m cleaning, which is weird, because my place is usually a bit untidy, but boy oh boy, do I seem to “love” cleaning when I’ve got work to do.
I’m just wondering what the psychological process is that’s going on here?
It “feels” as though the reason I clean when I have projects to do is because I want to be able to focus on the project without having anything else on my mind.
But have I tricked myself? Am I just trying to get out of having to do the project but wanting to feel as guilt free about it as I can?
Well, in my case that means the ADD meds are wearing off.
But anyway, yeah, you’re fooling yourself. The big task seems too daunting, so your mind is seeking out other distractions to spare you from having to focus on it. Ask yourself this, if your place was clean, do you think you would have started in right away? Of course not, you would have just conveniently remembered the bills that need to be paid, or how you still haven’t gotten around to writing to dear Aunt Gertrude to thank her for the Christmas sweater . . .
A few suggestions:
Try making a list of everything you have to do on the project. Splitting it into small pieces can make it more manageable. Then say, “Well, before I clean the house or anything else, I’m going to at least do the first thing on the list.” Once you’ve accomplished that and built some momentum, maybe you can talk yourself into doing the second thing on the list.
Also, set schedules. Say, well, I’m going to work for 30 minutes, and then I can take a 10 minute break to clean the house. But only 10 minutes, and then it’s another 30 minutes of work. (Or whatever ratio you find works for you.)
Break the procrastination into pieces too, and only plan to do one thing in each break from work. Don’t say “I’m going to clean the house” (which is open-ended), say “I’m going to wipe off the kitchen counters.” And as soon as you’re done with that, get back to work. In the next break, it can be “I’m going to vacuum the living room carpet”, or whatever.
Above all else, avoid the Internet. It’s procrastinators’ hell. That goes double for message boards. No joke, I’m supposed to be working on the revisions to my Ph.D. thesis right now, and instead I’m talking to you . . . .
Here is an interesting and relevant essay by John Perry called Structured Procrastination. He talks about using procrastination as a means to getting things done. In his newer essay Procrastination and Perfectionism, he links procrastination to perfectionism. Both are great reads which I highly recommend to any fellow procrastinators.
I am the world’s greatest procrastinator (I won’t even mention all the things I could be doing right now), and a lot of it has to do with immediate gratification . . . almost to the point of being infantile. The reason why you’re cleaning (and on the SDMB) is that you get to see immediate results, and get a sense that you’re actually accomplishing something . . . as opposed to the project you should be working on, which you associate with immediate work but no immediate benefits. Of course you’re fooling yourself, since once you complete the project it will provide you with more positive results . . . both immediate and long-term . . . than cleaning. But there are some things you can do, to help with this:
As **tim314 **said, break the project down into manageable units, and let yourself feel a sense of accomplishment after completing each unit.
Keep your mind focused on both the immediate and long-term benefits of completing the project.
I always get a lot of other great stuff done when I’ve got a big project in the hopper. It’s so much easier to say “but I’m getting great stuff done” than “I’m just sitting around instead of working.”
If I don’t have a big project due, I’ll surf the Web and chat with you all. Or just play Spider Solitaire.
I’ve found the only way to combat procrastination is to seriously overload myself with things to do. When everything is important, I get things done. It’s really somewhat counter-intuitive. I can take twelve hours of classes and get a few B’s or 21 hours and get all A’s.
It is my personal observation, without any formal support, that procrastination reflects an atavistic response to an overwhelming event, and that it’s buried deep in our genetic makeup.
I draw this conclusion from watching the behaviour of some animals when their doom is upon them–particularly prey animals. In many instances (and sometimes after a period of terror is over and the conclusion is inescapable) a prey animal about to die becomes placid and almost distracted. It might, for instance, make motions as if it were going to begin grazing again.
I don’t know if any animal behaviourists out there have described this, but I’ve noticed it, and it seems to me that the urge to procrastinate, particularly when a deadline is hanging over one’s head and one turns to reading the SDMB instead (for instance) has a parallel with this behaviour. Could it be, for instance, a brain response to endorphins? I don’t know. A couple years ago when I was about to jump the Verzasca bungee, I suddenly found myself tap dancing. Same kind of odd distracted behaviour instead of focusing on the task at hand.
I’ve thought about this often and the best I can come up with in my case anyway is that I have a rather large masochistic streak running through me. I think deep down I really do like making life more difficult for myself. I’ve thought of likely or even possible events in my childhood which could have made me like this but I come up with nothing.
Sorry, wish I could be more help.
I find my worst procrastination comes when task being avoided is one with a bunch of uncertainty. Either I don’t know how to do it, or I do know how to do some/all of it, but can’t decide where to begin or … Te actual objective unpleasantness of the task (e.g. clean toilets vs make soup) doesn’t seem to have much to do with it.
In all these cases of major uncertainty I’ll find something, anything, that needs doing, even of vastly lower priority (like cleaning vs cooking). At work I have the discipline to not start Doping or Solitairing, but there are an infinity of low priority round-tuit tasks I can find to mess with. I also find that I get a lot more psychological bonus points when whatever I pick can actually be finished, rather than just pushed a little farther down track.
So my utterly amateur psychodynamic analysis of all this is …
The primary task appears like it will have lots of negative reinforcement early, and the positive will be muuuch later, if at all. That is unpleasant, so I seek something which gives near immediate positive reinforcement. IOW, mental chocolate is quicker & tastier than mental liver; just not as healthy for you.
I’ve been meaning to get to this one but…you know…
My WAG is that psychologically, your brain doesn’t consider the task in question as high of a priority as it actually is. It could be unpleasent or undersirable or uninteresting and maybe your brain automatically focuses on things that are more stimulating or pressing.
As a world class procrastinator myself, I’ve done a lot of research on the problem and what I have found is this: when you (and I) procrastinate it’s because somewhere in our minds we associate the activity we are avoiding with some sort of negative response - usually fear of some kind. For me, it’s a fear of being judged (either by others or by myself.)
If I don’t do pull together my resume, outline the novel I want to write, or improve my social skills, then I never have to run the risk of someone telling me (no matter how politely), “You’re not good enough.”
All great responses, but especially this. Nothing focuses my attention better than a deadline, even though completing a project down to the wire is the most unpleasant way to do things. Even if I break the project up into parts and complete a small part of it when I have a lot of time left, I will use that small bit of work to justify (to myself) putting off the rest of the project.
I also feel that my low attention span has something to do with it. I generally listen to music when I’m working, even though music takes up part of my concentration and I end up stopping work for air drum breaks, because it helps keep my mind from wandering and becoming bored.
