Procrastinators Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from chronic procrastination.

Which of these categories best describes you? (See comment for details.)

No procrastination problems, No addiction problems
0% (0 votes)
Moderate procrastination problems, No addiction problems.
10% (36 votes)
Serious procrastination problems, No addiction problems.
30% (111 votes)
No procrastination problems, Moderate addiction problems.
1% (2 votes)
Moderate procrastination problems, Moderate addiction problems.
12% (45 votes)
Serious procrastination problems, Moderate addiction problems.
36% (135 votes)
No procrastination problems, Serious addiction problems.
0% (0 votes)
Moderate procrastination problems, Serious addiction problems.
1% (2 votes)
Serious procrastination problems, Serious addiction problems.
12% (45 votes)
Total votes: 376

Comments

Poll answer

My "addiction" is web surfing (if we're not counting procrastination as an addiction here). Way too much of it. It takes away from sleep, and from projects I need to do.

"It is never too late to be who you might have been" - George Eliot

"Fall seven times. Stand up eight." - Japanese proverb

Daily pot smoking is a

Daily pot smoking is a problem???

Okay, well, maybe then but a bigger concern is my compulsive buying. I buy things I don't need to live (clothes, model horses) and let my mortgage and utility bills slide. I once had a man come to my house and say he needed $600 or he was going to shut my electric off. I said, "okay, turn it off". I then took the $600 cash I had in my purse and went to the post office and bought a $600 money order and mailed it to pay for my newest plastic horse!! :jawdrop: I named the horse Bittersweet. :wink:

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe - Albert Einstein

are you serious?

I'm not sure how to react to your post.

Daily pot smoking is a big problem, and it has to be your #1 focus. Until you solve that, you won't be able to solve anything else. I'm speaking from experience. I stopped the daily pot smoking with the help of AA. Even if alcohol isn't your drug of choice (it wasn't mine), it can help. AA has meeting lists online for all over the country and the world. You also can usually find "Alcoholics Anonymous" in the telephone directory. It's answered by people who are in AA and understand.

Marijuana rots your brain, and there is some evidence that it doesn't completely reverse when you stop.

Hey Yoda, I've got quite a

Hey Yoda, I've got quite a few friends who have been clearly negatively affected in motivation by smoking pot. Especially a LOT of pot.

Although, er, my own example is a bit odd. Guess it just shows that people, and reactions to chemicals can be really weird.

See, I'd never really done much pot, or regularly, as I'd always figured I was flaky enough that I REALLY didn't need to get any worse. *Really* didn't.
Then, I was a point at which I didn't have much in my life I could screw up any more than I was, and we had a heavy pot smoker stay on our couch for 3 months, so I started hanging out with them & other friends.
During the 3-6 months *after* I started smoking very very small amounts of pot about 3 times a week, I:
Ended the 4 year dysfunctional relationship I'd been in, got my room tidy (seriously, major accomplishment), took over as head flatmate for a 6 person flat (shared house? Flatmate = roommate I think?), got the *flat* vaguely presentable, got one full-time job (unemployed for 2 & 1/2 years), got ANOTHER job in the evenings (yeah, working two jobs), and then got a really good job.

At that point, I sat down and wondered if I should stop smoking pot because I didn't want to flake out on the new job, and realised the correlation was not what I'd always thought it would be.

Ironically, I don't smoke now.
I don't really have addiction problems (except for internet), I seem to find it very easy to *not* do things, and I only ever associated pot with social situations.

I'm wondering if the key to my situation, might have been along the lines of:
"Cannabis: Potent Anti-depressant In Low Doses, Worsens Depression At High Doses" http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071023183937.htm
It seems to have different effects at very, very low doses.

Yoda, take that as a further incentive to at least cut way back on your consumption! Low doses might be good, but that is *not* daily.
I was so sensitive to it, that I'd have maybe, two inhalations? Again, only 3-4 times a week, in the evenings after my jobs. And I seemed to be getting a positive effect from it that I *didn't* notice in my friends who were heavy users. :P

Oh, and the bittersweet thing? Wow. That sounds like it sucks.
Ummm, maybe practice imagining what it'd be like if you lost everything in a fire. Yeah, crazy, but imagine you still had health, friends, could get a different roof over your head. Would you be worried that you'd lose all your memories without your 'stuff' to remind you? Are you really remembering the really 'important' things by having stuff, or are the important things being overwhelmed by the stuff with lower emotional content? How much stuff makes you feel really HAPPY or even sad, rather than just vaguely 'good' or 'bad'. 'Good' isn't good enough. Treasure the really really cool things. Or not. If you lost it all, would you feel relieved in any way? Freed maybe?
I keep collecting stuff too, but I keep it under control by mostly getting free stuff etc... Ummm. That's not as packratty as it sounds. But I like to imagine that at some point, I'll just give it all away and it can make someone else happy, and I'll go travelling. I'll get what I need.

Bleh. I'm stuck on the pot thing.
Unfortunately, I'm sucking so very bad at the moment I'm wondering if I should start smoking again. :(
I think it stopped me distracting myself at a million miles a minute. But, I don't like the idea of being dependent on pot any more than the idea of being on stimulants. Ok, slightly less, but I hate both. I want to 'fix' myself so I don't need any of those things.

Don`t waste your time

Don`t waste your time telling people to quit smoking. This is now out of control and the only people to realize are the smokers who need to go to a Drug Rehab Clinic to get clean again. This is the only way.

But really...

Sorry, just trying to be witty. ;)

In reality though, yes, I was concerned that was a problem relating to my procrastination. So I quit for >6 months. But my house is still a cluttered wreck. Which got me to wondering about the long term effects...

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe - Albert Einstein

Yoda - it's necessary, but not sufficient

Quitting the marijuana is necessary to solve other problems, but won't in itself solve them. I hope you stop again. Based on what you've posted here, I agree with your therapist that you have an addictive personality. That's not a criticism - I've got one, too. But I got to 12-step meetings to keep my balance so I don't act out. I can't recommend strongly enough that you stop all self-prescribed mood- and mind-altering drugs (including alcohol) and start going to A.A. meetings. If you have D.A. in your area, I'd recommend that, too. They can help you get your finances back on track. 12-step fellowships are free. You can give a dollar or two as a voluntary contribution, but if you don't have it you don't have to.

The "cluttered wreck" thing is a hard problem to fix, but it CAN be fixed, and you can find help here. First, stop the pot. Then work with us here and you'll pull out of the hole. FlyLady's site is also especially good for "house is a wreck" problems.

Monica's picture

Say What?

Did you just recommend... FLY LADY?!?!?!?! :O

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If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.

sure, why not?

I never said FlyLady was bad. I just didn't like being on her list myself. But I know it helps some people - otherwise her list wouldn't have grown like it did.

Interesting poll

I'd say that procrastination is at the root of the majority of my most significant struggles in life. As to addictions, I have a tendency to eat compulsively (which fortunately has never resulted in massive weight gain but has generally kept me 5-15 pounds about my ideal weight and more than that currently) and to be codependent. I'm trying to deal with the eating issues by participating in a "normal eating" program (www.normaleating.com) and have been regularly attending Codependents Anonymous meetings for 3+ months. I'm finding both of these to be very helpful.
Mollie

poll question details...

Answer in terms of "in your lifetime" versus right now - both for procrastination and addiction.

The serious of your procrastination problems is a function of how much you feel your procrastination interferes with your life and happiness - not at all, moderately, seriously.

A "serious addiction problem" doesn't necessarily mean you were a skid row bum or a heroin junkie (thought that would certainly qualify). Many other more socially acceptable behaviors are seriously addictive: compulsive eating, sex addiction, romantic obsession, binge or "problem" drinking, work-a-holism, daily pot-smoking, snorting your house up your nose (buying coke versus paying the mortgage), and compulsive gambling are all examples of serious addictive behavior.