Procrastination

[ddilulo_06]

Why do people procrastinate when procrastination is often the worst part?

[三江源]

I'll tell you later.

[Unconditioned]

I'll tell you later.

 

Funny!

 

I was a HUGE offender of procrastination. Why? Hmm. I'd have to say out of habit. The thought of having to do some task that I don't want to leads me to push it off and do something I find more enjoyable. So then I end up with twice as much 'not so fun' stuff to get done. Then that is even more daunting than before, so there's even less motivation to want to do that compared to something I enjoy.

 

This is a vicious cycle... until all of it catches up with you.

 

One day it caught up with me big time and it has taken years to recover (financial issues). The ironic thing about procrastination is that it only comes back to haunt you.

 

As we say in business - pay now or pay later!

[zanshin]

Because I secretly get off on the adrenaline rush of doing it at the last minute, it's a way to make a tedious task exciting.

[thedole]

I take procrastination to a whole new level, I procrastinate even things I enjoy doing. Initiating ANY action is something that doesn't come easy at all.. But why?.. I don't know, feels like fear really. I think it is a learned response that is there to avoid failure, not doing anything avoids failure in one way but creates new ways of failing...

[.broken.]

Why do people procrastinate when procrastination is often the worst part?

 

Perhaps because deep down they know that they create their own suffering.

 

You see, to acknowledge that would mean that they would have to acknowledge their own responsibility.

 

Procrastination is a form of rejecting responsibility in favour of following one's desires, or running away from one's fears. Being pushed and pulled by fears and desires implies that one is not truly aware, and as such, development of awareness could perhaps lead to an end of procrastination.

 

I shall leave you with a favourite teaching of my grandfather, "Procrastination is the thief of time." It's just as bad as wishing one's life away.

 

Yours, in nostaligia,

James

 

[edited for grammar]

Edited October 18, 2008 by .broken.

[ddilulo_06]

So it just comes down to self-discipline and focus. I like this quote:

 

"Procrastination is the thief of time"

 

That puts a whole new perspective on things!

 

You guys know what the irony is? While I was making this thread, I was procrastinating on my homework.

 

I'm going to use this:

 

http://dontbreakthechain.com/

 

Requirements for a red box for me:

 

-woke up @ 7:09 or on another thought out schedule

-celibacy

-keeping up with my kunlun practice - not being lazy

- wise use of time

 

So far, my record is 8 boxes. Hmmm... is this just more procrastinating?

Edited October 19, 2008 by ddilulo_06

[Wayfarer64]

It is difficult to wait and see what is best to do - sometimes doing nothing but awaiting the correct time to take action is all that we need/can do to further our goals and reasons to be...

 

learning not to take action until it is time to take action is not " normal" in the general society, we are so goal oriented and result seeking that to just open ourselves up tto the possibility that nothing needs to be done just yet is pretty tuff to get our heads around -

 

remain calm and don't try

 

it may be all that is needed!?

Edited October 21, 2008 by Wayfarer64

[wuliheron]

Why do people procrastinate when procrastination is often the worst part?

 

Procrastination is just one kind of internal struggle out of countless types.

 

I'm reminded of an ancient african way of catching monkeys. While a monkey is watching you take a stick and drill a hole in a termite mound. Then you place something inside the hole and go hide. The monkey's curiosity gets the better of him and he reaches inside the hole to grab whatever it is you put in there. Unfortunately for the monkey the hole is not big enough for him to pull out both his fist and the object. Instead of letting go of the object and running away, he allows himself to be captured.

 

A common Asian metaphor for the human psyche is that of a cyclone. Around the calm center fly our beliefs colliding with each other in utter chaos and endless circles. Like the monkey all we need do is let go, but we have more often than not convinced ourselves that it is either impossible or somehow worse to let go.

Edited October 29, 2008 by wuliheron

[Sloppy Zhang]

I used to say that I was a huge procrastinator...

 

But I realized I'm not "just" a procrastinator... I'm an... over achieving procrastinator...

 

Like I'll put off something, like, say, studying for a math exam, because I'm reading a book on history and I'm too sucked into it

 

Or philosophy.

 

Or literature.

 

Or something religious related.

 

Whatever it is though, the subjects I study on my own are far more interesting than anything I have to do for whatever class I have next or something so I'll put the less interesting off for later.... yeah I'm kind of weird.