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.
Self Trickery
Other than book-endings and some other methods to aid against procrastination, have you guys ever tried to trick yourselves into changing a particular deadline date of a specific task (making it sooner than the real deadline date) just to get it started sooner?
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doesn't work with me
When I was writing for a magazine, my editor would try to trick me by telling me the deadline was earlier than it really was. But I had the editorial calendar so I knew when she really needed it.
I read somewhere that artificial deadlines don't usually work to get people moving - they don't for me. Only genuine panic works to motivate me as far as deadlines go. }:)
Did you see the list of tools I posted recently? These are all things that have demonstrably worked well for people who struggle with chronic procrastination.
Be Very Careful What You Train Yourself to Do
I'm new to the site, but I've struggled with procrastination for a long time. I've tried the deadline tricks, as well as the setting-your-clocks-fast-so-you-get-to-meetings-on-time tricks.
Not only did they not work, but using them resulted in training myself to think of deadlines in general as artificial constructs. I learned just how much I could push the REAL deadlines at work so that my boss was annoyed, but not willing to punish me. I learned JUST how much lateness I could cover with excuses and apologies for my classmates and professors at school.
So if you choose to make artificial deadlines, do so with care - you may end up destroying whatever power real deadlines had over your procrastination.
self trickery
Ooh, I don't like to be tricked either, and when someone does that to them, I usuall have to desire to "get them" later (I'll make them wait!). When I try it on myself I feel the same way, plus really silly to boot. I guess it's kind of a control issue alot, too, like I'll tell a customer the project will be done in a week. Then I'll tell myself that I'll show him and do it in four days. About the third day I start to get resentful toward him, that he doesn't deserve it so early, and there are more important things to do. It usually ends up thrown together and late. Then everyone's disappointed.