Research

Procrastination

Procrastination is due to internal= conflicts which need problem solving.

Elliot Temple

10 Mar 2023 =E2=80=A2 10 min read

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If part of you doesn=E2=80=99t want to do something, then that= =E2=80=99s a conflict that should be rationally resolved. Trying to just do= it is suppressing part of yourself and is a win/lose attitude not a win/wi= n solution.

If you find you procrastinate on something, or partly fee= l like procrastinating on it, then part of you doesn=E2=80=99t want to = do it. That is a conflict. If you were unconflicted, you wouldn=E2=80= =99t even be tempted to procrastinate.

If you have trouble with g= etting started, but you like something once you start, then you ha= ve a conflict =E2=80=93 part of you dislikes it. There=E2=80=99s a pro= blem to solve there. The problem is not with becoming more motivated or lea= rning =E2=80=9Clife hacks=E2=80=9D to avoid procrastination. The solution s= houldn=E2=80=99t be to find more ways to get started (you can do that, or n= ot, but it won=E2=80=99t address the primary issue). The problem is there i= s an objection =E2=80=93 a criticism =E2=80=93 inside you which you have no= t refuted and should not assume is wrong.

People often fail to recogn= ize these things as inner conflict, or fail to view them as disagreemen= ts between pieces of knowledge, or don=E2=80=99t even try to do proble= m solving about the ideas themselves. They do meta problem solving= based on assuming a conclusion. Like they blame poor motivation and try to= find ways to be more motivated and get themselves to do the activity. They= don=E2=80=99t respect the other side as having a substantive disagreem= ent and possibly being right. Maybe you shouldn=E2=80=99t do the activ= ity or should make changes to the activity before doing it.

They thin= k it=E2=80=99s a conflict between e.g. =E2=80=9Cthis is a great activity th= at will benefit me a lot=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Clazy=E2=80=9D. It isn=E2=80= =99t. Part of you doubts it=E2=80=99s great or beneficial, or perhaps part = of you thinks the activity is so horrible that it isn=E2=80=99t worth the b= enefits that come later. You need to recognize that if you=E2=80=99re avoid= ing doing something, part of you thinks it should not be done (as-= is with no modifications).

Sometimes there is a quick fix. Say you ha= ve to write an essay for class but you=E2=80=99re avoiding it. Conceivably,= your typical study room has too much CO2 and you have negative intuitions = about spending much time in that room, but you wouldn=E2=80=99t mind writin= g the essay in a different place. The intuition was about the room not the = essay. That doesn=E2=80=99t sound very likely but it=E2=80=99s possible and= would enable a quick fix of studying outside (or maybe using a different r= oom or opening some windows would work).

Sometimes, there isn=E2=80= =99t a quick fix. Part of you doubts that graduating and getting your degre= e is worth it. Part of you doubts you=E2=80=99re learning much from doing t= he tasks your teachers order you to. Part of you doubts the degree will lea= d to a good job that you actually like. And also, part of you finds essay w= riting unpleasant, because you don=E2=80=99t really understand how to write= and are just muddling through. And it=E2=80=99s unpleasant because you are= n=E2=80=99t interested in the assigned topic (maybe the topic is bad or may= be you just don=E2=80=99t understand it and see the value, or maybe it=E2= =80=99s a good topic for other people but doesn=E2=80=99t fit you). Maybe y= ou shouldn=E2=80=99t be writing this type of essay on topics where you have= nothing to say, and instead should be writing exploratory learning-oriente= d things focused on figuring the topic out, not focused on stating and argu= ing for a conclusion about the topic.

People have chronic problems be= cause e.g. they are conflicted about college but they enroll anyway, leavin= g that conflicted unaddressed. Then when they=E2=80=99re conflicted about a= n essay, there is also an underlying conflict about being in school at all = (or the conflict could be about being at that specific school, or being in = that particular major, or being in school right now instead of taking a gap= year to travel first, etc.).

When you don=E2=80=99t resolve conflict= s and layer on more conflicts, it gets hard to untangle. A conflict about a= n essay layered on a conflict about school is harder to deal with than just= one or the other. And there can be many more layers.

The solution is= n=E2=80=99t to start your life over or get a clean slate or make revolution= ary changes. Don=E2=80=99t just try to declutter every big choice in your l= ife such as going to university. You usually are better off with a slow tra= nsition and you can be happy with a plan to change gradually. The part of y= ou that doesn=E2=80=99t like school can understand, appreciate and agree wi= th a slow transition plan as long as its real and honest. If the plan to ch= ange is fake =E2=80=93 something you=E2=80=99re never really going to do = =E2=80=93 then you probably won=E2=80=99t really fool yourself and will rem= ain conflicted. Even if you trick part of yourself, that will only work tem= porarily and later on you will realize you aren=E2=80=99t actually transiti= oning.

Quick, large changes usually don=E2=80=99t work well because p= art of you wants to do what you=E2=80=99re doing. E.g. part of you thinks u= niversity is good. Just quitting immediately would ignore part of you just = like attending is ignoring part of you =E2=80=93 and it=E2=80=99d be more d= isruptive to your life. A quick, large change sometimes does work well if i= t=E2=80=99s due to actual problem solving =E2=80=93 if you actually success= fully resolve a conflict quickly, then you can act based on what all parts = of you now favor (but even then, it often takes time to plan and put though= t into the new situation, so rushing can be bad).

If you rush into bi= g changes, you can screw them up and end up conflicted again in a different= way. And often you were actually conflicted about doing them at all. The p= art of you that is in favor of what you=E2=80=99re currently doing generall= y isn=E2=80=99t going to want to make drastic, quick changes. If you suppre= ss the pro-university part of you in favor of the anti-university part, and= drop out, you=E2=80=99re just swinging the pendulum to the other side, not= problem solving. You need a plan that is reasonable from the perspective o= f all sides of you.

A good plan would figure out your concerns about = school, e.g.:

some desired benefits will fail to materialize
parts of it are a waste of time
it=E2=80=99s too expensive
it=E2=80=99s filling up your life so you don=E2=80=99t get a chance to= do some other things that are very important

So then you=E2=80= =99d make a plan to get the important benefits of school while avoiding tho= se downsides. That might involve e.g. going to school in a cheaper and more= time-efficient way, or leaving school to pursue a different route to a goo= d career.

You could investigate the parts you think are a waste of ti= me to try to see the point of them. Some have a point. Some could be done i= n a way with a point. Some could be done faster. Some could be avoided. Som= e are negatives but aren=E2=80=99t that big a deal. If you did an alternati= ve life path, you also wouldn=E2=80=99t use your time perfectly efficiently= . You should seek an approach that=E2=80=99s good enough that you don=E2=80= =99t know of any clearly better way to approach your life. You should be sa= tisfied with that (for now, pending new thinking and better solutions). You= shouldn=E2=80=99t seek perfection.

You could figure out some financi= al plan that=E2=80=99ll get you a life you=E2=80=99re happy with. That=E2= =80=99s possible despite paying school tuition.

You could prioritize = a few really important things in some free time, e.g. on weekends or holida= y breaks. If those things are genuinely so important to you, you can priori= tize them. If you find yourself going to parties or socializing with buddie= s instead, and that is why you aren=E2=80=99t doing stuff you =E2= =80=9Cwant=E2=80=9D to, then stop blaming school. It isn=E2=80=99t your cla= sses that are taking up all your time and not letting you do this other stu= ff. You need to consider what you like about parties and socializing, and w= here it should fit in your priorities, and analyze the various parts of you= that are conflicted and disagree about it.

You could also consider q= uitting school. Maybe you could learn the skills faster and cheaper without= school, and then get a job despite lacking a degree, and that would be bet= ter overall. But is that really going to happen? Maybe you=E2=80=99ll quit = school then keep procrastinating on the same topics. Maybe you went to scho= ol in the first place because you weren=E2=80=99t enough of a self-starter = to learn everything online at home, and you still aren=E2=80=99t, and maybe= you can gradually transition to be more of an independent learner who does= n=E2=80=99t need a teacher, but dropping out of school now won=E2=80=99t wo= rk well for you.

Generally you=E2=80=99re where you are in life for r= easons. It makes a lot of sense to a big part of you. It=E2=80=99s not an a= ccident. Big changes will have often unforeseen, negative consequences. You= =E2=80=99ll end up confused, in a foreign situation you don=E2=80=99t know = how to handle, where your intuitions don=E2=80=99t work well. If you really= think you can be a great self-learner, do it for at least a few months whi= le also attending school. If you just make excuses about how school keeps y= ou too busy for it, it=E2=80=99s doubtful you=E2=80=99d do it after quittin= g school. If you can make it work in your current life, even though it=E2= =80=99s hard, then maybe you could then transition to it as your main appro= ach. Having a lot of success with it on the side might convince the pro-sch= ool part of you that it will work and resolve the conflict. Or it might not= resolve the conflict =E2=80=93 you might still have a lot of intuitions or= explicit ideas favoring school =E2=80=93 in which case you should analyze = what=E2=80=99s going on there more, try more non-disruptive problem solving= , etc. Keep up the problem solving until you=E2=80=99re no longer conflicte= d.

It=E2=80=99s the same with changing careers. Usually you should st= udy your new career and start getting involved without quitting yo= ur job. Sure it=E2=80=99s hard in some ways. But if you can=E2=80=99t deal = with some challenge, then maybe changing careers isn=E2=80=99t for you (cha= nging careers is widely and accurately considered challenging). And it=E2= =80=99s much safer not to just quit first then try a new field second. Mayb= e you won=E2=80=99t like the new field. Maybe you=E2=80=99ll need to try a = bunch of things before you find the right one. Your current job has positiv= es. You wouldn=E2=80=99t have it otherwise. If you quit before having a gre= at alternative prepared, you=E2=80=99re just suppressing a different part o= f yourself that wanted the job. Don=E2=80=99t quit over vague plans or drea= ms or hopes. If you really want something else, start fitting it into your = current life. If you won=E2=80=99t do that, maybe you don=E2=80=99t want it= or are conflicted about it and need to resolve that conflict without assum= ing in advance what the conclusion will be.

It=E2=80=99s the same wit= h learning CF. If you can=E2=80=99t fit it into your current life some, may= be you don=E2=80=99t care that much. Quitting your job or school with a pla= n to suddenly start taking CF seriously and learning it a ton probably won= =E2=80=99t work out well. If you were actually going to do that, why don=E2= =80=99t you do more of it now before quitting?

Similarly, planning to= do CF later after you reach a career milestone is unrealistic. If you can= =E2=80=99t/won=E2=80=99t/don=E2=80=99t fit it into your life now, why would= you later? If you=E2=80=99re just waiting a month, maybe it=E2=80=99s fine= and really is a short term issue (though you should be suspicious), but pl= anning to do it later in a few years is probably just lying to yourself so = you can view yourself as super rational and smart without having to actuall= y learn a bunch of smart, rational stuff.

It=E2=80=99s different if y= ou=E2=80=99re working 80+ hour work weeks or you=E2=80=99re a slave or inde= ntured servant. It=E2=80=99s hard to fit extra stuff into that life. If you= =E2=80=99re working 3 jobs, it=E2=80=99s hard to fit in more stuff. But if = you have a 40 hour work week at one job in the U.S. today, that is not taki= ng up your whole life anymore than college is. College plus a full= time job is really hard, or college plus a part time job and a kid to take= care of. If you have multiple big things =E2=80=93 parenting, job= s, college, etc. =E2=80=93 at the same time, it gets a lot harder to fit in= other stuff. People in those situations usually aren=E2=80=99t really in a= position to just quit and change directions in life. They are working mult= iple jobs because they really need the money in the short term. They can=E2= =80=99t quit being a parent. Some people have more privilege than others an= d nothing I said about introducing new things into your current life withou= t quitting a big thing to free up time was intended to say that the people = in really hard situations could realistically do that. Maybe by a heroic ef= fort they could. But there are also a lot of other people in easier situati= ons who absolutely could do philosophy on the side without that much troubl= e if they wanted to, and I was speaking more to them.

Conflict Resolution

In each case of being conflicted, y= ou should investigate what you like and dislike about the activity or idea = that the conflict is about. Why you want to do or think that? What=E2=80=99= s the good here? What=E2=80=99s the bad?

Is there a single thing you = consider both good and bad? Or are the good and bad parts separate? Maybe y= ou could separate and do only the good parts without the bad parts?

P= rocrastination is based on internal conflicts between different parts of yo= urself (different ideas or pieces of knowledge within you). It=E2=80=99s an= indicator that problem solving is needed to resolve your conflicts.

= Resolving your conflicts follows the same general methods as rational criti= cal discussion or rational debate. Rational thinking and problem solving is= just one method whether you do it alone or with other people. Doing it alo= ne tends to involve more introspection and more gathering data points about = your intuitions, but isn=E2=80=99t fundamentally different.

To re= solve a conflict between ideas means finding a win/win solution =E2=80=93 a= resolution that all sides in the conflict are satisfied with and have no s= trong objection to. There are a some standard techniques you can use (in no= particular order).

First is finding and pointing out an errors (crit= icism). An error lets a side can see how/why they were wrong and change the= ir mind. If you understand why you were wrong about something, it=E2=80=99l= l change what you want.

There are two main responses to criticism: ei= ther changing your mind or giving a counter-argument. You can either agree = or disagree with the criticism. The counter-argument can point out that the= criticism has an error or that it=E2=80=99s incomplete in some wa= y (so it=E2=80=99s correct as far as it goes but it=E2=80=99s insufficient = for changing your mind). After a counter-argument, further criticisms and l= ayers of counter-arguments may be made.

Second, you can look at thing= s with a different perspective. Sometimes instead of trying to point out wh= y some reasoning is wrong, it=E2=80=99s more effective to view the situatio= n in a different way. Sometimes the reasoning was better viewed as incomple= te rather than wrong.

Third, you can learn new things. Any new, relev= ant knowledge may be helpful.

Fourth, you can consider why each side = wants what it wants. What are some higher level values or goals they have? = In this way, you can find common ground, e.g. both sides want you to be hap= py. In that case, where there is a shared value, you can figure out a plan = to get it which will satisfy both sides. The sides may disagree about some = specifics, but at least one side is mistaken and truth-seeking could resolv= e the conflict. (This also works with more than two sides but then it=E2=80= =99s harder and more complicated. In that case, it can help to temporarily = set some ideas aside and try to resolve a conflict between only two sides a= t a time.)

Fifth, you can break the problem into smaller parts and tr= y to resolve them one at a time.

Discussion

=20

August 2024

Elliot

Another way to view this is if you sometimes open and sometimes close, y= ou have to be available to work in a big time range, like 4am to 9pm or whe= never closing finishes. Plus there=E2=80=99s commute before or after and ge= tting ready for work or bed before or after.

So if you both open and close, that might give you 10pm to 3am as safe h= ours when you can always sleep. That=E2=80=99s only 5 hours. That=E2=80=99s= not enough to have a consistent 8 hours of sleep at the same time every da= y.

It=E2=80=99s better if you can have a consistent 8 hours reserved for sl= eeping, like 10pm to 6am, which means with some time to get ready and trave= l you=E2=80=99d only be available to work between maybe 7am and 9pm, which = is a 14 hours range. I think being available during a 14 hour time window i= s being flexible. A lot of people are only available from 9am to 5= am, which is an 8 hour range, and they don=E2=80=99t work at other times. F= or a job that wants you to work different shifts on different days, maybe a= 12 hour time range that they always fall within (like 9am to 9pm) would be= reasonably fair? I don=E2=80=99t really know; I=E2=80=99m just armchair sp= eculating. Having them shifts fall between 4am and 9pm would be a 17 hours = range which is really harsh.

My basic point is I think you should set reasonable boundaries here and= then stand up for them without being defensive about it (you should feel j= ustified and reasonable) and without being willing to take a pay cut.

I think the store should have different morning and night people in a wa= y where everyone has some time of day where they can actually consistently = get 8 hours of sleep. Asking people to shift their sleep schedules by multi= ple hours is a big ask that=E2=80=99s really disruptive to good sl= eep.

I don=E2=80=99t really know what=E2=80=99s normal at these specific type= of jobs but moving people=E2=80=99s shifts around as convenient for the st= ore, in a 17 hour time range, is a huge thing to ask that a lot of= jobs do not ask for. If that=E2=80=99s actually normal or reasonable, and = something many of your coworkers actually put up with, that is a reason to = seek a better job. I=E2=80=99m not sure if your coworkers actually put up w= ith that or if some kind of unfair comparison is being made, like some of t= hem don=E2=80=99t close but still think you should do morning shifts and do= n=E2=80=99t see the connection between the two.

I know sometimes at these jobs managers figure out who is a good or resp= onsible worker and then exploit them and take advantage of them and ask too= much of them, so you should watch out for that happening to you where you = may get treated worse than lazier and more irresponsible coworkers. A commo= n way that=E2=80=99s done is there are some people who miss lots of shifts = and the manager gets the good worker to cover for them, but then when the g= ood worker wants a day off, even if he asks months in advance, the manager = isn=E2=80=99t helpful and says =E2=80=9Cfind someone to cover for you or yo= u can=E2=80=99t have time off=E2=80=9D and then the good worker tries to ca= ll the bad workers (which should be the manager=E2=80=99s job) and then the= y refuse to cover=E2=80=A6 There are multiple stories along these lines, as= a chronic thing that went on for months or years, on r/antiwork.

Asking you to open one day and close a few days later and keep going bac= k and forth is in many ways worse than working a graveyard shift (= where you work at night and have to sleep during the day =E2=80=93 which ma= ny people won=E2=80=99t do) because a graveyard shift at least lets you sle= ep the same 8 hours every day.

Procrastination

Elliot Temple

Conflict Resolution

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