Motivation vs Procrastination

As fellow teacher Stephanie Nash is fond of saying, “A good meditation is one you did—the only bad meditation is one you didn’t do.” Take her wise advice to heart.

The Ju/’hoansi, for example, were often content to spontaneously take a day off from foraging simply because they didn’t feel like it. Even if they were hungry, they knew that putting off the food quest for a day would not have any serious ramifications. For farmers, by contrast, taking a day off just because they need a rest is rarely an option.

Try writing about why the work is important, or spend some time reflecting on times in the past where you’ve felt most connected to it.

Manchmal frage ich mich, ob ich ohne diese Prokrastinationsspiralen produktiver wäre. Erfolgreicher. Ausgeglichener. Oder ob gerade dieses Hadern, dieses ewige Ringen mit mir selbst, nicht auch eine Form von Qualitätskontrolle ist. Ob nicht gerade die Deadline – dieser Sonnenuntergang der Arbeitswelt – eine Art kreatives Momentum erzeugt, das

Instead of allowing myself a slow morning after a restless night, I go for a run.

Instead of relaxing on the couch, I'm teaching myself how to code.

Instead of avoiding a difficult conversation, I embrace it.

These things share one important truth: I know that I will feel better once they've happened. These actions are scalable because they optimize

Der Psychologe und Forscher Timothy Pychyl, inzwischen im Ruhestand, beschreibt Prokrastination als "emotion-focused coping": Indem wir Aufgaben aufschieben, vermeiden wir das unangenehme Gefühl, mit einer potenziell schwierigen Herausforderung konfrontiert zu sein – und unter Umständen zu scheitern.

Procrastinators often follow exactly the wrong tack. They try to minimize their commitments, assuming that if they have only a few things to do, they will quit procrastinating and get them done. But this goes contrary to the basic nature of the procrastinator and destroys his most important source of motivation. The few tasks on his list will be by