Now that I have no more pressing matters to attend to (specifically, I had to do my taxes) and nobody else is using the computer, I can write a reply.
Mostly, this post reminded me of how I feel about doing homework. Once I almost had a panic attack from looking at a certain textbook. I think I don’t have to worry about this particular “ugh field” too much, though, because all I have to do to not have any more homework is to stay out of graduate school.
I probably have some other ones related to thinking about the future in general (I have a tendency to imagine that I’m headed for some horrible fate) and introspection in general (which tends to lead to feelings of worthlessness and wallowing in self-pity). I could try to go into more details, but, well, you know, Ugh Field! ;)
This seems to be a serious problem. What do you do when you have enough vague procrastinatory ugh-fields that just reading good advice about procrastination makes you deeply afraid that you’re going to have to think about one of them, so you wind up afraid to read/process it?
The most reliable basic strategy for flattening out “ugh-fields” I know of is to decide on a single thing I want to un-ughify, and set up a schedule of reinforcement for myself for that thing.
If I wanted to un-ughify myself around reading advice articles about procrastination, for example, I would treat myself every time I read such an article for a while, then switch to an intermittent reinforcement schedule (e.g., treat myself for every third article), or still better a differential reinforcement schedule (e.g., treat myself for the 30% best articles I read each week).
That said, it’s unlikely that reading advice articles about procrastination is a particularly high-value activity in the first place. Indeed, many people procrastinate that way.
Reading this post triggered one. I’m going to stop thinking about it now.
Don’t—the only way to disarm the electric fence is to get to the other side of it first.
Now that I have no more pressing matters to attend to (specifically, I had to do my taxes) and nobody else is using the computer, I can write a reply.
Mostly, this post reminded me of how I feel about doing homework. Once I almost had a panic attack from looking at a certain textbook. I think I don’t have to worry about this particular “ugh field” too much, though, because all I have to do to not have any more homework is to stay out of graduate school.
I probably have some other ones related to thinking about the future in general (I have a tendency to imagine that I’m headed for some horrible fate) and introspection in general (which tends to lead to feelings of worthlessness and wallowing in self-pity). I could try to go into more details, but, well, you know, Ugh Field! ;)
This seems to be a serious problem. What do you do when you have enough vague procrastinatory ugh-fields that just reading good advice about procrastination makes you deeply afraid that you’re going to have to think about one of them, so you wind up afraid to read/process it?
The most reliable basic strategy for flattening out “ugh-fields” I know of is to decide on a single thing I want to un-ughify, and set up a schedule of reinforcement for myself for that thing.
If I wanted to un-ughify myself around reading advice articles about procrastination, for example, I would treat myself every time I read such an article for a while, then switch to an intermittent reinforcement schedule (e.g., treat myself for every third article), or still better a differential reinforcement schedule (e.g., treat myself for the 30% best articles I read each week).
That said, it’s unlikely that reading advice articles about procrastination is a particularly high-value activity in the first place. Indeed, many people procrastinate that way.
:) Yes. I also stopped reading when it came to official letters and late fees… ;)