my procrastination problem

dkinderis

dkinderis

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First of all let me just make it clear that if this was posted before, I'm sorry and if you're still hating, fuck you! i had to make a new thread so that i could write a little bit about my life.

So as you could tell my the title i procrastinate way too much, sometimes i'll just sit there and look at the same page for hours or watch random youtube videos. I'm sure a lot of people can relate to this.
I am studying at college at the moment and i get sh*t loads of work that has to be done and me being me, i like to leave everything untill the last minute. This has lead me here having to write around 20 pages for friday and it looks like i'm going to have to stay up all night today and tomorrow.:sigh1:

It just seems like it is impossible to force myself to start doing work and because i am one of the younger BHW members, i would like to ask you guys for any advice of how i could force myself to start doing work as i'm sure plenty of you guys have been in my situation once.

My opinion is that because i am young and still go to college and was able to earn a bit of cash online for the work that i put in, im thinking that there is no point of me to be putting in all this effort in to do college work with no outcome or some sort a reward that would benefit me in the short term. I'd rather put in all the hard work and sleepless hours into new money making methods as my current and the only method has gone pretty much dry now.

_____________________

I'm actually procrastinating now whilst writing this thread as i should be doing my work :help:
 
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You're right, you're procrastinating just by making this thread but so am I by responding.

If you're in college right now I'm not sure what to say. When I was in college I was in school / work full time I had no real time to work on a business. I thought about it a lot. Got lucky with a few things like selling poppy pods right before ebay banned them (that was a gold rush) Then I also sold Pheraplex & Masterdrol the day they were legislated to be banned and discontinued. The thing is people thought banned = illegal which it didn't. So I stocked up, doubled the price and started selling till months later ebay began pulling listings. Those were the only 2 successful things I did to make money in college (independently).

After college, it took about 6 years just to find IM forums and start but I quit my job and started selling websites. I managed to quadruple my income in 4 weeks with a method that still works this day if you're not phone shy.

Anyway let me make a point. You sound 1) like you got a lot on your plate and 2) like you're not hungry cause college is putting a lot on your plate.

People will say that's no excuse to not make it (if your Bill Gates) but for normal people everything / anything is an excuse.

If I were you I'd just focus on working shitty dead end jobs and finishing college. Then in your spare time stay on top of what's trending in the IMsphere. When you graduate you'll feel a HUGE weight off your shoulders. Then you either manup and play the game. Or continue to work dead end jobs like I did for 6 years till your head explodes, you snap and dive head first into making money while simultaneously realizing how easy it really is when YOU NEED IT.

Also, there's a legendary book out there on the net. It's called "Getting Things Done - David Allen". It should be mandatory reading... literally the 1st thing you read before start doing anything.

That book will save you a ton of time / bullshit / information overload / shiny object syndrome ... it'll get your mind focused, centered and ready to launch like a laser guided nuclear warhead into this game called capitalism. And when you think of IM or being an entrepreneur... don't. Think of it as capitalism. There's a guy I know who collects garbage for a living, pays immigrants to work in his garage repairing all sorts of shit.... has garage sales in his driveway everyday this man owns a beautiful home and family that's all he does for a living. He didn't go online. Didn't do any fancy shit. He learned basic engineering skills. Then implanted his brain into a couple immigrants to turn garbage into gold. It's stuff like that that's at the heart of capitalism. Trends are always good to know & be on top of. But a real capitalist sees money & opportunity EVERYWHERE because that's exactly where it is. One day hopefully you'll see that not in your head but in the bank.

-BB
 
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I used to procrastinate watching videos, using Facebook and 9gag... Now I hate everything but work is work. If I work hard and can do things I like, like working without worrying about money...
 
Shorten your work load to 15-30 minute segment to optimize effort and reward
You're already in college i don't know how far in you are but might as well finish
Motivate yourself and stop making excuses
don't think, just do

@breaknbrix: thanks for that book suggestion
 
BreaknBrix said:
You're right, you're procrastinating just by making this thread but so am I by responding.

If you're in college right now I'm not sure what to say. When I was in college I was in school / work full time I had no real time to work on a business. I thought about it a lot. Got lucky with a few things like selling poppy pods right before ebay banned them (that was a gold rush) Then I also sold Pheraplex & Masterdrol the day they were legislated to be banned and discontinued. The thing is people thought banned = illegal which it didn't. So I stocked up, doubled the price and started selling till months later ebay began pulling listings. Those were the only 2 successful things I did to make money in college (independently).

After college, it took about 6 years just to find IM forums and start but I quit my job and started selling websites. I managed to quadruple my income in 4 weeks with a method that still works this day if you're not phone shy.

Anyway let me make a point. You sound 1) like you got a lot on your plate and 2) like you're not hungry cause college is putting a lot on your plate.

People will say that's no excuse to not make it (if your Bill Gates) but for normal people everything / anything is an excuse.

If I were you I'd just focus on working shitty dead end jobs and finishing college. Then in your spare time stay on top of what's trending in the IMsphere. When you graduate you'll feel a HUGE weight off your shoulders. Then you either manup and play the game. Or continue to work dead end jobs like I did for 6 years till your head explodes, you snap and dive head first into making money while simultaneously realizing how easy it really is when YOU NEED IT.

Also, there's a legendary book out there on the net. It's called "Getting Things Done - David Allen". It should be mandatory reading... literally the 1st thing you read before start doing anything.

That book will save you a ton of time / bullshit / information overload / shiny object syndrome ... it'll get your mind focused, centered and ready to launch like a laser guided nuclear warhead into this game called capitalism. And when you think of IM or being an entrepreneur... don't. Think of it as capitalism. There's a guy I know who collects garbage for a living, pays immigrants to work in his garage repairing all sorts of shit.... has garage sales in his driveway everyday this man owns a beautiful home and family that's all he does for a living. He didn't go online. Didn't do any fancy shit. He learned basic engineering skills. Then implanted his brain into a couple immigrants to turn garbage into gold. It's stuff like that that's at the heart of capitalism. Trends are always good to know & be on top of. But a real capitalist sees money & opportunity EVERYWHERE because that's exactly where it is. One day hopefully you'll see that not in your head but in the bank.

-BB
Click to expand...

Love reading your long posts as always and yes that book is what I will be giving a read soon.
 
Your mind tricks you into thinking that you are doing work while actually all you are doing is watching cat videos and random shit.

Take a look at this: http://platowebdesign.com/timer/

When I want to get something done, I start the timer and keep doing my work until its full 20 minutes. Then, I take a break and start doing it again. This way, you will know how much work you can get done with full focus.
 
Thanks guys for all the suggestions!

i will try using the timer tonight and will have a read of the book if i can force myself into actually reading :)
 
Also look into the Pomodoro Technique. Others have mentioned timers also, and these are derivative of the Pomodoro Technique. There's lots of software out there that will help with this.

The stayfocusd chrome extension has been a life saver for me. You limit yourself to x number of minutes for a bunch of websites per day. If browsing junk websites is a problem that extension helps a ton.
 
You sound just like me, I made money then got lazy.

Worked again and made even more money, then got lazy.

Now here I'm still doing this shit when I could have 500k+ in my bank account.

Honestly its nothing you can do, the only thing holding you back is yourself.

Whenever YOU decide to get over it and work YOU will do it.
 
Once you get to a point where you'll be homeless if you don't hustle, you'll stop procrastinating.
 
Uncertified efficiency expert here.

Make a to-do list for every day. Break your day up into 15-minute increments and figure out what you are going to do and then DO IT.

Get an accountability partner. Find someone else having the same issue and be accountable for one another.

Get enough sleep during the night so you're not a useless waste of space throughout the day. Else, drink copious caffeine.

Use software such as Evernote, Trello, Google Drive, etc to organize the shit out of your life.

Utilize the Pomodoro technique when possible. 25 minutes of work, 5 minutes of break, repeat. Customize the time to fit your needs.

Do a life audit. Make a list of all the shit you have to do, and scrap what you don't NEED to do.

https://www.reddit.com/r/EngineeringStudents/comments/33aw6r/my_450_hr_study_grind_playlist_for_those_who_like/.

http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/blackhat-lounge/820134-sherbert-hoovers-ultimate-efficiency-guide-working-100-productivity-making.html. NSFW images. Especially on page two.

And PM me if you need additional help.
 
Make a to-do lists.

Make 2 lists ALWAYS day before.
1 list should be something like "things to be done before 3pm" and second "things to be done after 3pm".
Write even small things in this - make breakfast, go to the gym, go to the shop, check bookmarked article etc.
Mark them done as you go through the day.
You will see how many things you are doing and this will motivate you. Just remember to to not use big tasks like "finish writing 3 thousand words paper" but made something like "do a research and write first 500 words for the paper".
Give yourself prizes IF and ONLY IF you achieve all the points from one of the lists. Like dessert or beer.
ALWAYS divide the list to two lists to not feel overwhelmed by its size.
Make the lists always day before - this way you wont be cutting corners with "oh, today I dont feel like making anything". Since you prepare list day before - you will not plan a "lazy day" since you will be motivated to push yourself.

If you still fail then you have a bigger problem than procrastination...
 
dkinderis said:
I am studying at college at the moment and i get sh*t loads of work that has to be done and me being me, i like to leave everything untill the last minute.
Click to expand...

1) You are exactly like I was back in college. Believe it or not, I had a CGPA of 3.7 at the end of 4 years with GPA of majors (CS & Math) over 3.85. You might wonder how I was achieving so many high grades while doing everything at the last minute. Well, for me, deadlines are VERY POWERFUL & MOTIVATIONAL. They are this psychological trigger that makes me get shit done. I cannot help it leaving everything at the last minute (even today), but once I get to it, I can get shit done so fast and so accurately. So, my point is work on deadlines. Pomodoro technique and timers is the same thing. Install a software or use a web-based system, it doesn't matter that much.

2) Just like in programming, use "divide & conquer" approach, which basically means you divide each big problem/task in several smaller tasks and then assign a deadline to each one. Once you do this, you will realize you will have a shit ton of "easy" tasks which don't take a lot of time to do, but added together they will make your 6-8-hour work day. Before you know it, you will spend 6-8 hours per day doing productive work.

3) The brain works on a reward system, which means that in order to commit yourself, you need back a reward. Find out what your rewards are. Money isn't quite a reward for most people, it's only a means to an end. If you read the Wikipedia link, it says that the basic rewards embedded in all of us are food & sex, which are necessary for our survival. Sex isn't a problem, but food is because if you don't have money, you can't have food (unless you steal).

So, take a few hundred dollars from your parents (I assume they are paying for your college and expenses) and start living on your own. Once you realize the expenses are now on your shoulders and the money is running out fast, you will do whatever it takes to survive. It's an instinct that all humans have.
 
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Years before, i was a procrastinator too.
Well, i solved it, but i guess there is still a part of procrastination inside me :
i followed some advice in many websites (like www.anti-procrastination.com), I read some books, but the better is to use a timer with you.
Each task is 20 min, you launch the timer, and you don't make anything else this task for 20min.

Good luck !
with training, procrastination can be solved in weeks
 
I used to procrastinate a lot in my past but after some time, I learned how bad it results. So, the first thing that I did was to ask questions by writing on a paper about the condition of my life. Something like - "do you want to live like this?" And then I pasted copies of that all over my walls. It motivated me to start working as I, again and again, got the feeling to work hard and change my miserable life. Then I started using todoist which is really a darling. It rewards you every time you do a job, and you can add in anything that you like.


So apply the getting things done method, which is simply putting everything in one place and doing them one by one, using todoist and you will surely succeed. You can further enhance the workflow by adding in the Pomodoro technique. It's quite simple where you do a task with complete focus for 25 minutes and then it gives you a break of 5 minutes.

Best of luck!
 
I'll echo previous sentiments regarding online videos, simply because they're so hardwired to take advantage of everyone's admittedly scattered attention spans. Evil.

"Procrastination" as a concept has really become something of a boogeyman in the productivity market, hasn't it? Perhaps all the ballyhooing has given it more power than it should, because it's still surmountable as evidenced by all the testimonies in this thread.

For my money, I did two things that helped me in the long run: compartmentalize big tasks into small, actionable goals, and practiced mindfulness exercises to keep me in the present and attenuate my impulses, which were the BIGGEST slippery slope x-factor in getting things done.

At the risk of being REALLY self-helpy, to quote Mark Twain, "Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed down-stairs one step at a time."
 
umerjutt00 said:
Your mind tricks you into thinking that you are doing work while actually all you are doing is watching cat videos and random shit.

Take a look at this: http://platowebdesign.com/timer/

When I want to get something done, I start the timer and keep doing my work until its full 20 minutes. Then, I take a break and start doing it again. This way, you will know how much work you can get done with full focus.
Click to expand...

had a look at this timer today and surprisingly i liked it, got an alright amount of work done in each session of 20 minutes and it is way more productive than just sitting down and doing work for hours as i just get tired and end up doing fuck all.

gonna wake up tomorrow morning, put all the work that i've done today into my ebook and i wont get kicked out of the course at college :)

the deadlines were on my ass so that was the only factor that forced me to do work but the timer helped me to distribute 6-8 hours worth of work into small but productive sessions

I love you guys!!!!! thanks soooo much!!!!:peace:

after i hand in my work tomorrow morning i will feel so releaved!!!:beach2:
 
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