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.

Sleep procrastination?

I would like to know if anyone procrastinates on sleep? See I know I have a lot of stuff to do, but just knowing that I have that stuff to do makes me procrastinate even more.  And by "more" I mean I even avoid sleep sometimes.  Not anything crazy like staying up til 3 or 4 in the morning when I've got to get up at 8, but just enough to get me like 6 hours or more.  I know I should go to bed otherwise I'll feel like hell in the morning, but I still do it anyways..like now haha

Any thoughts as to why I do this? Or what I could do?  Or perhaps maybe someone else experiences this as well?

Thanks for reading

 

Chemguy

Yes, Yes! (2:50 am)

DEFINITELY. I have this problem too.

I DO think it has a lot to do with the "if i don't go to sleep, tomorrow won't come" theory.

Tonight, it has to do with feeling abandoned, unappreciated, and disposable. More on that in tomorrow's post, I think.

For now, I need to do what's best for ME, and get to bed.

Sleep procrastination

This has got to be one of the worst things in the world. A couple of years ago I went to bed well after midnight every day - 1 am would be early, mustly it would be 3-4, sometimes even later, and I had to be up by 7 and you know, somehow I managed. Of course I would then come home from school and waste the day sleeping, sometimes I would be unable to concentrate at school -still I seemed to cope with it fairly well. Then I went a year Ghana and the complete change in daily routine meant that suddenly early nights became a habit - I've never felt so rested as I was while there, I could feel my body had been aching for this.

Since I came back my sleeping pattern has become extremely erratic- I still have a tendency to stay up until the middle of the night doing absolutely nothing - even if I'm tired beyond words only I can't give myself a proper reason why not to stay up, but unlike earlier I now cannot get up if I haven't slept properly. It's as if my body has learned I'm treating it badly and is taking it's revenge.  However in periods I have also managed to keep good sleeping hours and it's just the same, no matter how early I go to bed I can never get up in the morning. And I have recently come to think that my going to bed early is just another form of procrastination - I'll say I should postpone some task for the morning because sleep is good for me and it's better to do things when I'm rested, but I know full well that no matter how many alarms I set I'll just turn them off and will not get off until there's no choice but to do so.

 

Though this be madness, yet there is method in't ~ Polonius (Hamlet)

Sleep procrastination is kicking my butt

I've been getting worse and worse with this lately.  I'd like to go to sleep, but find every reason not to.  Ususally it involves the computer (which actually led me here :D) or the tv.  I work 3rd shift and have class from 8-noon afterwards..of which I've been tending to skip lately.  I tell myself I need to be to bed around 3pm.  So there I am, it's 7-8PM, and I'm still up and I have accomplished nothing.  If I actually get into bed I'll sleep, alot.  As I type I've been up for 24 hours....since noon yesterday...and that isn't all that uncommon.  I'm not sure why I do this to myself.  The "I don't want tomorrow to come" kind of makes sense.  I've got tons of responsibility that overwhelms me...to the point where I recently made an extremely difficult decision to break up with my gf of 1 1/2 years.  The worst part is I don't do anything while I'm awake anyways. Any tips on how to make myself get sleep.  I use to LOVE sleep.  I still do, but I can't bring myself to do it anymore.....

loving sleep or stressful retire

i used to love sleep, too, all my life into my 20s. Then i started to feel at the end each day that i had not gotten enuf done. this was chronic, and i hit the pillow every night with disappointment, discouragement, guilt, and stress. After this went on for several years, i started to notice that i used to love to go to sleep, and by then i hated it. That was sad, grieving for what i'd lost.

I am delighted to report, however, that i now love to go to sleep again. This is a very positive result of the recovery work i have done here, and i just feel so blessed and grateful to have such a gift given to me, to hit the pillow each night with rest and comfort. What a difference!

The change for me came from giving the results of my work to god. I still struggle (in fact today was a particularly bad day), but i consider my part of the equation the struggling, the during-the-day work, working as hard as i can, which some days means nothing more than keeping on making an attempt to work (like today =( unfortunatley). Then, i leave all the results up to god. The effects of my efforts i dont own. I own only the effort--and even that i need His help for. I have fully accepted Steps 1..3 of the 12 steps.
P.A. Meeting Materials < http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/386 > and it has proved a huge weight off my shoulders.

and...i'm more productive. i would think that would seem to most people counterintuitive at first, disowning responsibility leads to *more* productivity, but for me it removes so much stress and guilt that just get in the way of productivity, that it helped me.

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the touch of the master's hand: http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1898#comment-27748

"fall down seven times, get up eight" - japanese proverb

putting off going to bed...

I LOVE to sleep - I can sleep anywhere anytime!  But, a few years ago when I was in a horrible slump, I would procratinate going to sleep.  Watched TV mostly.  Watched crap shows instead of going to bed. Flipped channel to channel to channel trying to find something half decent and that wasn't a commercial.  And go around and around and around the channels. 

Looking back, I see that I was trying to stop the next day from coming.  Because I was up so late, I would sleep the next day away, and then start the cycle again.  If I had to get up at a certain time I would set my alarm to the horrible beeping on the loudest I could get away with (in an apt bldg). And I would press snooze  -  if I heard it at all...because I could sleep through it if I wanted.

I figured that since I seemed to be a night owl, I would get a night job, so that's what I did.    That doesn't work...I get home 730, get up for one, or 2, watch tv and eat, go to bed latest 7 and be up as late as I possibly could to get to work for 11.  I was always late. 5, 10 15 minutes, always.

The only thing that changed this pattern for me was the having babies in the house.  All of a sudden it became absolutely necessary to have sleep to cope with a small squirmy demanding baby.  That worked for a couple of years.

Then, greadually, I would start staying up later and later, and start sleeping in more and more -  with toddlers in the house.  There is nothing like waking up to creams and toothpaste and toiletpaper and q-tips and toys and clothes smeared over every surface in the bathroom...and hallway...and one if not two bedrooms.  And the kitchen could have things pulled out of cupboards with lids off and contents spilled everywhere. With liquids from the fridge making powders colourful and goopy.

It took more than a couple of these wake up calls before I realized that I needed to be up earlier than them. 

I managed to get a job that met my needs....I am now up at quarter past 5 to deliver papers.  It gives me time to wake up, time on my own with the quiet of the car and radio, and a bit of exercise to boot.  And of course I get paid for my efforts.

Assess your needs.  What gets you moving without thinking about moving?  Can that be incorporated somehow into your schedule?

Wishing you luck!

 

Nothing is worth more than this day  - Goethe

isabo's babies

Oh, Isabo!   I can just imagine that scene! 

"There is nothing like waking up to creams and toothpaste and toiletpaper and q-tips and toys and clothes smeared over every surface in the bathroom...and hallway...and one if not two bedrooms.  And the kitchen could have things pulled out of cupboards with lids off and contents spilled everywhere. With liquids from the fridge making powders colourful and goopy. "

Jo

For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want - Romans 7:19

This is just what I've

This is just what I've started doing a few months ago! I always went to bed at a very decent time, but as i am having an emotionally/psychologically challenging time these months (finally trying to get my MA-degree) I've started procrastinating going to bed to keep the next day from coming! And I still can't believe that for 3,4,5 consecutive days I go to bed between 1am and 3 am! Plus I've got a toddler, too, who gets up at 7am and needs to be in daycare by 9am, and i need to be at my desk fresh and ready for the day's challenges - and guess if I can focus well ... nada ..

Thank you isabo for bringing up this topic, another eye-opener for me!

 

"If you fail to plan you plan to fail" - harsh motto but keeps me going these days ...

sleep p'cras

that's a huge issue for me. and welcome back.

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the touch of the master's hand: http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1898#comment-27748

"fall down seven times, get up eight" - japanese proverb

sleep procrastination

oh absolutely, I like to get up at 4:30 (I know that's early!  but it is so I can get to the gym) so I need to go to bed at 9:30.   The thing is, evening is MY time and I want to stay up late playing video games or reading or watching tv..   I'm having fun so I don't want to stop, but it's more than that . . . it's like giving up on the day.   I put off going to bed until the last possible moment! 

Jo 

Show up.  Do your work.  Go home. 

Update

That's great you get up that early to get to the gym.  I Wish I had your tenacity.  I'm replying to you because I just caught myself procrastinating going to sleep.  I have a midterm at 11:30am (it's now 1:38am) tomorrow with an assignment due at the same time in that class and I haven't finished the assignment fully, nor have I fully studied.  I decided I would finish these things off as much as possible in the morning because I'm pretty tired right now and should go to bed.  I usually work better in the morning.  Anyway, when I decided to close all the things I was working on/reading, I just instantly thought "stay up, one more half hour's not that bad".. and instantly went and procrastinated for about a half hour before realizing what I had done.  Should I count this as a success against sleep procrastination?

re Chemguy's update

Yes!   One thing we procrastinators forget to do is celebrate our successes.   Congratulate yourself for every step along the way!

Jo

 

For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want - Romans 7:19