We don’t need to re-invent the wheels of research on procrastination by practicing one-sample phenomenology. Much is known about procrastination via peer-reviewed scientific research, and those interested in beating procrastination might want to employ the rationality virtue of scholarship and begin there.
A recent overview of the relevant research papers begins here.
That said, Eliezer may be on to something that should be researched by professional psychologists.
Thank you for the reference, looks like a good book. I thought this part regarding motives for procrastination was interesting:
More recently, Sapadin and Maguire (1997) have also classified procrastinators into types: the “perfectionist” who dreads doing anything that is less than perfect, the “dreamer” who has great ideas but hates doing the details, the “worrier” who doesn’t think things are right but fears that changes will make them worse, the “defier” who resists doing anything suggested or expected by someone else, the “crisis-maker” who manages to find or make a big problem in any project (often by starting too late), and the “over-doer” who takes on
way too many tasks.
Also there’s this bit on how to address the problem using college students’ studying as an example (p. 83):
Most people have to overcome procrastination gradually. Studying, like drinking, is usually in binges. Almost no one has trouble studying (a little) the night before a big exam. But without the pressure of an exam, many students find it easy to forget studying. I’d suggest breaking big jobs down into manageable tasks and working on “getting started,” perhaps by tricking yourself by saying “I’ll just do five minutes” and then finding out you don’t mind working longer than five minutes. This is called the “five minute plan.” The key is to learn the habit of getting started on a task early, i.e. the procrastinator needs to learn to initiate well in advance studying and preparing for papers and exams. Practice starting studying several times every day. As with exercising, getting in control of starting and making it a routine are
the secrets.
More recently, Sapadin and Maguire (1997) have also classified procrastinators into types
It would be more accurate to say that these are classifications of types of procrastination patterns; I have personally done every single one of the behaviors described in the quote!
It would be more accurate to say that these are classifications of types of procrastination patterns;
Yes. I was going to point out that the concept that there is some fundamental behavior type that can be attributed to people seems, well, in error.
More likely to be patterns, as you said, and I would guess there are some underlying systems that have these these common patterns as effective solutions for procrastination—but how would you even measure “effective procrastination”? How completely you avoid something?
The key is to learn the habit of getting started on a task early, i.e. the procrastinator needs to learn to initiate well in advance studying and preparing for papers and exams. Practice starting studying several times every day. As with exercising, getting in control of starting and making it a routine are the secrets.
I note that making things like studying and exercising habits is not necessary to get them done regularly. It is possible to get these done by setting reminders for yourself, instead of making them habits. Making them habits may, of course, be a good idea.
We don’t need to re-invent the wheels of research on procrastination by practicing one-sample phenomenology. Much is known about procrastination via peer-reviewed scientific research, and those interested in beating procrastination might want to employ the rationality virtue of scholarship and begin there.
A recent overview of the relevant research papers begins here.
That said, Eliezer may be on to something that should be researched by professional psychologists.
Thank you for the reference, looks like a good book. I thought this part regarding motives for procrastination was interesting:
Also there’s this bit on how to address the problem using college students’ studying as an example (p. 83):
It would be more accurate to say that these are classifications of types of procrastination patterns; I have personally done every single one of the behaviors described in the quote!
Yes. I was going to point out that the concept that there is some fundamental behavior type that can be attributed to people seems, well, in error.
More likely to be patterns, as you said, and I would guess there are some underlying systems that have these these common patterns as effective solutions for procrastination—but how would you even measure “effective procrastination”? How completely you avoid something?
I note that making things like studying and exercising habits is not necessary to get them done regularly. It is possible to get these done by setting reminders for yourself, instead of making them habits. Making them habits may, of course, be a good idea.