Re:Procrastination is driven by our desire to avoid difficul...
by heavyset_go on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @03:08PM
(#23542855)
> the root was avoidance of feelings.
To put this in perspective, one of the hallmarks of addiction is avoidance of feelings. It's a deeply psychological coping mechanism, and obviously a symptom of a larger problem.
Re:Procrastination is driven by our desire to avoid difficul...
by wpietri on Wednesday June 17, 2020 @12:53AM
(#23547946)
Yes, exactly. One way I think about procrastination is addiction to the pain relief that comes from distraction.
Re:Procrastination is driven by our desire to avoid difficul...
by sockdrawer on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @10:59PM
(#23547240)
> There's just today, and whether you're going to
> make things better by one day's worth.
So true. The guest post on Ferriss's blog on this is quite good -- https://tim.blog/2009/07/28/the-big-question-are-you-better-...
Re:Procrastination is driven by our desire to avoid difficul...
by giovannibonetti on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @07:24PM
(#23545579)
> E.g., a regular sleep schedule is really helpful, and that required an automated lighting system that helps me keep in sync with the sun.
Wouldn't letting the curtains open achieve the same thing?
Re:Procrastination is driven by our desire to avoid difficul...
by weightless on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @08:33PM
(#23546208)
Depending on your location (urban or rural) having your curtains open could expose other light sources (street or car lights) and make it harder to get to sleep.
Re:Procrastination is driven by our desire to avoid difficul...
by wpietri on Wednesday June 17, 2020 @12:54AM
(#23547951)
At least where I live, that's not enough light for me, especially in the winter. But if I turn on regular lights when it's too dark, I may leave them on and then blow my sleep schedule.
Re:Procrastination is driven by our desire to avoid difficul...
by indiv0 on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @10:00PM
(#23546881)
Would you mind expanding on what this automated lighting system is?
Re:Procrastination is driven by our desire to avoid difficul...
by violetqed on Tuesday June 16, 2020 @11:47PM
(#23547537)
You can buy a wake up lamp and aim it at your face while you sleep. They automatically turn on at a time you set, and the light intensifies slowly, like the sun. Itβs a lot comfier than waking up to a loud noise.
Re:Procrastination is driven by our desire to avoid difficul...
by wpietri on Wednesday June 17, 2020 @12:56AM
(#23547962)
I bought a Philips light-based alarm clock, which I liked, but it wasn't enough. So I built a whole-house system out of Hue bulbs and custom software:
https://github.com/wpietri/sunrise
To my surprise, the most valuable part for me was not sunrise but sunset. If the lights auto-dim in the evening, I go to bed on time, which means I wake up on time.
I don't really struggle with procrastination much any more, but it took all sorts of work that would have seemed apparently unrelated to me. E.g., a regular sleep schedule is really helpful, and that required an automated lighting system that helps me keep in sync with the sun. Regular cardio helps keep my baseline anxiety level much lower. Meditation, therapy, medication, food choices, and an awful lot of introspection and self-experimentation were necessary. And time, just a lot of time to unwind the bad habits and bad associations.
I get that it feels hopeless sometimes, but I hope you'll continue. Note that you can't catch up if your baseline is some arbitrary standard. But the right way to measure it is improvement from where you are now. Then there's no "catching up". There's just today, and whether you're going to make things better by one day's worth.