Boys. Not ONLY boys, but... Boys.

[Experience he/him]

I just had a question, and I guess this is as good a place as any to put it. 

So, I'm kinda a really, really, really bad procrastinator, and I was wondering if anyone had anything that either helps them to keep on track, or maybe just ideas? 

Hopefully that makes sense?

[Scout_Fox he/him]

*looks at own rank title and signature*

Edited September 3, 2020 by Scout_Fox

[Mist she/her]

 

1 hour ago, Experience said:

I just had a question, and I guess this is as good a place as any to put it. 

So, I'm kinda a really, really, really bad procrastinator, and I was wondering if anyone had anything that either helps them to keep on track, or maybe just ideas? 

Hopefully that makes sense?

Be accountable to someone else.

[theTruthshaper]

6 minutes ago, Mist said:

 

Be accountable to someone else.

(☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞

[Mist she/her]

Just now, The_Truthwatcher said:

(☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞

Hmmmm. Perhaps I've used that idea. :chinscratch:

[Scout_Fox he/him]

2 hours ago, Experience said:

I just had a question, and I guess this is as good a place as any to put it. 

So, I'm kinda a really, really, really bad procrastinator, and I was wondering if anyone had anything that either helps them to keep on track, or maybe just ideas? 

Hopefully that makes sense?

Ok despite appearances I actually have decent ideas on this (not that I always follow them... but still ).

The first thing you really need to do is identify why YOU are procrastinating. Because in the end, no matter how many people check in and monitor you now, they won't always be there. SO, the only real way to prevent procrastination is for YOU to develop the skills on your own to avoid it. In the end YOU are the one in charge of your life and your choices.

So, how do I identify why I procrastinate? Well... you really want to look at how you feel when you are starting to procrastinate. What is your motivation? One of the advisors I used to have said (who knows how truthfully) that most procrastination comes from a fear of not being good enough. You don't know what to do/don't think you will be able to do it well enough so you avoid it. Another possibility could be simply because it doesn't interest you. You don't want to do it.

Whatever the reason, once you have the source of your procrastination you can begin to address it. If you procrastinate from a fear of not being able to do something well enough change your mindset on it. Instead of thinking "Oh I have to start that tonight (with the implicit oh my gosh it has to be perfect or I'll fail running through your brain)" think "I am going to make the absolute worst thing I can and then I'll improve it." Just by removing the need to be perfect or even good when you start, you make yourself feel more open to actually engaging in the activity.

Now, if you procrastinate because you just truly don't want to do it, think of the broader scope of things. Find the thing that gives you purpose and meaning. When you are too old to go on anymore what is the one thing that is going to make you go "Wow, that was an amazing life." Is it one change you want to bring about in the world? Is it an activity or field you want to improve? Is it meaningful connections with people you enjoy helping? What is going to make YOU feel successful?

Once you have this, picture it in your head. What are the steps you need to take to get there? And once you have those, start to work backward. When you're deciding between a 5 page essay on why a certain rock is named Gerald and not Gerold and 2 hours spent on YouTube (or whatever!!!) think about which one is going to get you to your goal. Instead of just thinking of what you want to do in the current moment think about what is going to help you for the future. Because while things may seem fine right now, if situations change and you find yourself in different circumstances later in life, the time you spent setting yourself up for success will never be more crucial.

Procrastinating all throughout the start of your life, enjoying things to the max and never doing anything you don't want to may sound like fun. But your life is longer than just the first chapter. Trading current fun for a lifetime of difficulty is not worth it.

One of the last things you have to think about is that your life has to be a balance. Choosing to just work because you HAVE TO GET THIS DONE every second of every day can lead to you feeling tense and stressed. Procrastinating and doing things you want to do may be more fun, but in the end the accumulation of unfinished tasks also leads to stress. What you have to have is balance.

And one the most important things about taking it in a balance is remembering that a day has more than one section. If you accomplish a lot in the morning give yourself time to feel accomplished and rewarded. Do something fun not as a way of avoiding future work but as a congrats to yourself for the earlier work you did accomplish. Then, recognize that that section of your day is now complete, move on to completing the next section.

You must balance what you have to do in a day with what you want to do in a day, with the preference on what you have to do. Once that work is fully, fully completed, THAT is the major reward. The time after everything is finished and you have nothing to stress about. THAT is when you tip the balance back to the fun side, getting back to things you want to do until it's time to repeat. Enjoying the fun of each day while setting yourself up for the fun of future days, feeling successful in striving towards your goal.

Welp... I hope that makes some sense. The last super secret ninja ingredient is just to make sure to gets lots of sleep, when you are tired you have less energy to do things which leads to a greater impetus to procrastinate. Figure out what is going to make YOU be the best YOU and go do it. You got it! Now excuse me while I go finish this activity I've been putting off.... 

 

[Bearer of all agonies he/him]

Boy, that was long. 

[Experience he/him]

Spoiler

5 hours ago, Scout_Fox said:

Ok despite appearances I actually have decent ideas on this (not that I always follow them... but still ).

The first thing you really need to do is identify why YOU are procrastinating. Because in the end, no matter how many people check in and monitor you now, they won't always be there. SO, the only real way to prevent procrastination is for YOU to develop the skills on your own to avoid it. In the end YOU are the one in charge of your life and your choices.

So, how do I identify why I procrastinate? Well... you really want to look at how you feel when you are starting to procrastinate. What is your motivation? One of the advisors I used to have said (who knows how truthfully) that most procrastination comes from a fear of not being good enough. You don't know what to do/don't think you will be able to do it well enough so you avoid it. Another possibility could be simply because it doesn't interest you. You don't want to do it.

Whatever the reason, once you have the source of your procrastination you can begin to address it. If you procrastinate from a fear of not being able to do something well enough change your mindset on it. Instead of thinking "Oh I have to start that tonight (with the implicit oh my gosh it has to be perfect or I'll fail running through your brain)" think "I am going to make the absolute worst thing I can and then I'll improve it." Just by removing the need to be perfect or even good when you start, you make yourself feel more open to actually engaging in the activity.

Now, if you procrastinate because you just truly don't want to do it, think of the broader scope of things. Find the thing that gives you purpose and meaning. When you are too old to go on anymore what is the one thing that is going to make you go "Wow, that was an amazing life." Is it one change you want to bring about in the world? Is it an activity or field you want to improve? Is it meaningful connections with people you enjoy helping? What is going to make YOU feel successful?

Once you have this, picture it in your head. What are the steps you need to take to get there? And once you have those, start to work backward. When you're deciding between a 5 page essay on why a certain rock is named Gerald and not Gerold and 2 hours spent on YouTube (or whatever!!!) think about which one is going to get you to your goal. Instead of just thinking of what you want to do in the current moment think about what is going to help you for the future. Because while things may seem fine right now, if situations change and you find yourself in different circumstances later in life, the time you spent setting yourself up for success will never be more crucial.

Procrastinating all throughout the start of your life, enjoying things to the max and never doing anything you don't want to may sound like fun. But your life is longer than just the first chapter. Trading current fun for a lifetime of difficulty is not worth it.

One of the last things you have to think about is that your life has to be a balance. Choosing to just work because you HAVE TO GET THIS DONE every second of every day can lead to you feeling tense and stressed. Procrastinating and doing things you want to do may be more fun, but in the end the accumulation of unfinished tasks also leads to stress. What you have to have is balance.

And one the most important things about taking it in a balance is remembering that a day has more than one section. If you accomplish a lot in the morning give yourself time to feel accomplished and rewarded. Do something fun not as a way of avoiding future work but as a congrats to yourself for the earlier work you did accomplish. Then, recognize that that section of your day is now complete, move on to completing the next section.

You must balance what you have to do in a day with what you want to do in a day, with the preference on what you have to do. Once that work is fully, fully completed, THAT is the major reward. The time after everything is finished and you have nothing to stress about. THAT is when you tip the balance back to the fun side, getting back to things you want to do until it's time to repeat. Enjoying the fun of each day while setting yourself up for the fun of future days, feeling successful in striving towards your goal.

Welp... I hope that makes some sense. The last super secret ninja ingredient is just to make sure to gets lots of sleep, when you are tired you have less energy to do things which leads to a greater impetus to procrastinate. Figure out what is going to make YOU be the best YOU and go do it. You got it! Now excuse me while I go finish this activity I've been putting off.... 

 

 

Well. Thank you for the Ted Talk.  Thank you for all those great ideas!

[Bearer of all agonies he/him]

That was good. Thank you.
As the Saint always said, ‘Hard work pays off later in life. Laziness pays off now.’

Edited September 3, 2020 by Bearer of all agonies

[bruh she/her]

Y'all, I have something to add if it's just a specific task you're procrastinating. For me, if I can can listen to music while doing a task I've been procrastinating, (like doing the dishes,) it can be really helpful. because if I go get music to listen to I'll just start doing the dishes and stop worrying about it. 

 

Oh, also if there's something big you're procrastinating doing, like a project, (or studying) beak it into manageable chunks (in the case of studying, a reasonable amount of time to study)(and listen to music or something if it helps you and you can) , and schedule breaks for yourself between chunks so you don't get burnt out.

[Scout_Fox he/him]

6 hours ago, Experience said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Well. Thank you for the Ted Talk.  Thank you for all those great ideas!

Absolutely lol! You first have to first become a master procrastinator to learn how to NOT be a master procrastinator. Hope it helped even if just in the smallest fashion!

5 hours ago, Bearer of all agonies said:

That was good. Thank you.
As the Saint always said, ‘Hard work pays off later in life. Laziness pays off now.’

Hey that's perfect! I should have put that as the TLDR 

 

Oh and @bruh those are good too! Especially the music for like boring stuff makes it way better

Edited September 3, 2020 by Scout_Fox

[Condensation she/her]

I agree, I always like to listen to music while doing something I don't like to do.

[Bearer of all agonies he/him]

Yes, music helps with everything. It is so fun to listen too while doing anything else. I recently started using earbuds, and now I can listen to music without getting yelled at. 

[revelryintheart she/her]

On 9/6/2020 at 7:59 AM, Bearer of all agonies said:

Yes, music helps with everything. It is so fun to listen too while doing anything else. I recently started using earbuds, and now I can listen to music without getting yelled at. 

My mom won't let me use earbuds except when I'm at school or mowing the lawn.

[Emi she/her]

38 minutes ago, revelryintheart said:

My mom won't let me use earbuds except when I'm at school or mowing the lawn.

why? 

[revelryintheart she/her]

1 hour ago, Emi said:

why? 

IDK I guess she wants to know what sort of music I'm listening to.... but it's pretty much the exact same stuff she listens to.

[Condensation she/her]

But what if you change the music you listen to? She wants to know.

[bruh she/her]

Well I mean, if she really wanted to know you could just share your playlist with her and then she could know what you're listening to

[Bearer of all agonies he/him]

Wait. . . What are we supposed to talk about here?

[Mat he/him]

Just now, Bearer of all agonies said:

Wait. . . What are we supposed to talk about here?

Boys. Not ONLY boys, but... Boys.

(I have no idea)

 

[Condensation she/her]

Boys are so weird.

[Bearer of all agonies he/him]

Quote                            Yes they are. If you are only noticing that now, then you haven’t been paying much attention to us.

 

[Condensation she/her]

Oh, believe me, I've been paying plenty of attention. It was just a spur-of-the-moment observation.

[Bearer of all agonies he/him]

So you have been paying attention to us boys. . . Maybe too much. . . Hmm. . .

[Condensation she/her]

Okay, can I get a little help here? I'm pretty sure this guy is flirting with me, but I thought I'd get another opinion.

Oh no wait, 3 guys.