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.
What? Introduce myself. When? NOW! but... but...
This is to say Hi to all my newly discovered lifelong fellow travellers :)
Before posting I thought I'd take a look at how others have 'taken the plunge'. The first 'intro' I spotted was scarlett's - what's this she mentions about about GTD???
After a quick double-take I looked at my book-shelf and sure enough the book I bought a few weeks ago in my latest battle against procrastination was 'Getting Things Done'.
I came accross GTD recently on the internet and thought I'd try it to see if it would help me keep on top of things better, I wasn't really thinking about procrastination as such when I bought it, but that's why I needed it. I guess we tread the same path.
Me? Well I'm a dyed-in-the-wool procrastinator. I found your site today because today I finally started to seriously get down to a job that I should have started weeks ago. I'm now up against the deadline and the result will be OK, but had I started when I could have done it might have been a darn sight better. This made me start thinking about why for the umpteenth time I'd done this and I thought 'I wonder if there's a Procrastinators Anonymous, like alco anonymous' - hey presto.
So often there are tasks that I put aside that I'm perfectly capable of doing, and often doing well, and often I know in advance that I am capable of doing a really good job and very often enjoy it once I get started. But because a keep putting it off I land up pressed for time and churn out something mediocre under stress.
I know when I'm procrastinating, I know it's stupid, counter-productive and totally illogical :? but I keep doing it. It's a bit like smoking I guess - and yes I'm a troll }:) - accepting the logic is one thing, but kicking the habit for good is another.
In the distant past I though maybe I was "lazy" (whatever that means). Then I came to realize that there was something deeper. It was only a few years ago that I actually learnt the proper meaning of the word 'procrastinate'.
I get the feeling that I procrastinate to avoid stress. Maybe it's lack of self-confidence or nervousness about whether I can do the job right, but whatever it is I wish it wasn't so.
I'm really happy to have found you all, hope to learn a lot and try to give something back as well. I've got a feeling I'll be around for a long while!
TF
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Folks - a big thanks for the welcome!
I've got a lot to learn form this site and it will be a while before I've absorbed a lot of the material here. I'm still a novice in the theory of procrastination - even if I'm an expert at the practice.
I don't know yet exactly how Bookending works yet, but I've taken a quick look and I'll give it a shot when I understand the mechanics. I've read a couple of the articles and even went off to Wiki to find out more about ADD.
pro: So much of what you say rings true of me it's spooky!
I agree with comments on GTD, It's not cure-all but it's the best I've come accross.
For now though just thinking about PA is helping to keep me conscious of the big 'P'.
I got down to doing some paperwork to prepare for my quarterly tax return tonight, ready to file by tomorrow's deadline. When I finished I realised that the filing's due in October not September - doh!! Now, if I could just get a few things finished a month early on purpose ...
TF
Normy: Yes "Tempus (space) Fugit" was me - in my haste to join my fingers got tangled and I entered an incorrect email address. If you're a site admin feel free to scrub it.
bogus account scrubbed
I deleted it for you.
Site Admin
Not me, I'm just a punter - pro's the Site Everything around here. I thought 'tempus' was 'time' and 'tempus fugit' was time flies? (having said that, my knowledge of Latin ~is~ limited to anatomical terms, LOL!).
impressive!
I'm impressed with both of you! I know no Latin at all - oh, maybe a few flower names.
Bookending
Just slap something up. The idea is to put your plans or "want to's" out there so others can cheer you on or tease you a little as appropriate ;)
hi TF! Here's what has worked for me...
Welcome. You are among fellow procrastinators here, and we all know exactly what you're talking about. Been there, done that!!
I've found this forum to be the most helpful (actually, the only helpful) tool for "anticrastination" (opposite of procrastination) I've ever tried. I hope you try bookending. You will be amazed at how well it works. It's not a magic bullet - I still have good days and bad days. But I have a lot more good days now than bad days, and I'm starting to get some insight into my procrastination.
I've learned that there are many reasons why I procrastinate because I use it as a general means of avoiding unpleasant feelings. Sometimes a task evokes unpleasant feelings because it's odious. Sometimes I'm just scared I can't do a good job or won't be able to handle the feedback. Sometimes I'm angry about having to do it at all, and am procrastinating as a form of passive aggression.
It's helped me to recognize that there are, actually, always feelings fueling the procrastination - it's not just total insanity, as it sometimes feels. When I'm procrastinating on a particular task, I know now to ask myself what it is about it that I don't like. Sometimes there's something I can do about the odious part, and sometimes what I'm concerned about is valid, and I actually am justified in not doing this thing.
Actually, writing this I realize that maybe I should add an article to the site about this. :) Have you seen the list of articles on the site? Just click the Articles button. If you click the Forums button, you'll see a bunch of boards and a whole lot of posts.
Again, welcome!
Welcome!
You're understood here :)
Welcome TF!
Everyone who's stuck around here has seen/is seeing changes for the better. You've made a good start by identifying some of the issues that relate to you (~and~ you know when you're procrastinating! I don't always even know I'm doing it until after the fact, LOL!).
Hope to see you around a lot more! (P.S. are you also Tempus Fugit, or is it someone else with a similar name?).
GTD and procrastination
GTD eventually led me to focus on my procrastination -- I ended up with nice neat lists of things that weren't getting done. :)
I've become fond of saying that GTD is not a motivational system. GTD did a great job of helping me keep track of everything, but doing it all was still my responsibility. So I went online to find discussion groups about procrastination to help me, just as online discussions about GTD have helped me. And here I am.
I agree that procrastination is often about anxiety, and those anxieties have lots of possible causes. Figuring out what we have to work on is a case-by-case sort of thing, but you've made a good first step by coming here.
Welcome aboard, TF!
--
flexiblefine
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheNowHabit/
GTD and motivation
'I've become fond of saying that GTD is not a motivational system.
It motivates ~me~! :D
GTD really helped me get going on all the things that used to overwhelm me - I thought my list was infinite, but it isn't! Phew! (Some things still overwhelm me, but for different reasons).
Neat list, not done.
"GTD eventually led me to focus on my procrastination -- I ended up with nice neat lists of things that weren't getting done"
That's exactly how I ended up here.
and...
Welcome TempusFugit.
Like I tell everyone here, It sounds like you belong with us!
Hi!
Isn't this place great? It's already made a huge difference in my life.
I read GTD and have made some of the suggested changes; I want to reread it and take a few more steps. I hope you find it helpful.