Structured Procrastination - hahaha

[mouser]

ok, i know a lot of us hardcore procrastinators have already thought of this, but this is the best i've ever seen it described.

...
I have been intending to write this essay for months. Why am I finally doing it? Because I finally found some uncommitted time? Wrong. I have papers to grade, textbook orders to fill out, an NSF proposal to referee, dissertation drafts to read. I am working on this essay as a way of not doing all of those things. This is the essence of what I call structured procrastination, an amazing strategy I have discovered that converts procrastinators into effective human beings, respected and admired for all that they can accomplish and the good use they make of time.
...

http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/

from digg.com

[JavaJones]

lol! Pure genius. Loved the concluding bit:

The observant reader may feel at this point that structured procrastination requires a certain amount of self-deception, since one is in effect constantly perpetrating a pyramid scheme on oneself. Exactly. One needs to be able to recognize and commit oneself to tasks with inflated importance and unreal deadlines, while making oneself feel that they are important and urgent. This is not a problem, because virtually all procrastinators have excellent self-deceptive skills also. And what could be more noble than using one character flaw to offset the bad effects of another?

That last line is priceless.

- Oshyan

[app103]

Site designed by the author's granddaughter, who did the work while avoiding the far more weighty assignment of her literature test

I see it runs in the family 

It all comes down to things you have to do vs things you want to do. Even if the things you have to do are things you want to do, if they are work you are not going to want to do them. You will put them off till the last minute.

The best procrastinators can do in 6 hours what it would take a normal person 6 months to do. And it will look as if they took 12 months to do it rather than 6 hours. And they know this. And they work better under pressure...so they put it off and do other things in order to create that pressure on themselves that brings out the best in them.

But there is a need for a firm deadline for this to work. If something is due "sometime" it will never get done. If it's due tomorrow, it will get done tonight.

The greatest procrastinators are efficiency experts. They know just how & where to cut corners without compromising quality..and often times they increase quality with their corner cutting.

And my comment about it running in the family...it's true. Effective procrastination is a learned behavior, passed down from generation to generation...or it could be a genetic trait...I am not sure...but I do know it runs in families. I come from a long line of them myself....and my daughter is even better at it than I am. 

[nudone]

nice find.

[JavaJones]

Great comments app, very insightful! Deadlines are indeed key. I'm struggling with that right now. If you can believe it, one of my bosses is *too* lenient.

- Oshyan

[jgpaiva]

The best procrastinators can do in 6 hours what it would take a normal person 6 months to do. And it will look as if they took 12 months to do it rather than 6 hours. And they know this. And they work better under pressure...so they put it off and do other things in order to create that pressure on themselves that brings out the best in them.

You just supported even more my reasons not to study! 

[app103]

You just supported even more my reasons not to study! 

I wasn't referring to studying...I was referring to projects.

The best studying is daily.

If on day 1 you read over what was covered on day 1, and on day 2 read over what was covered on day 1 and day 2, and so on...by the time you take that test you know it by heart. And if not you can close your eyes and practically read it from the images burned into your memory, knowing where the info you need is, what 'page', and even down to the color of the text. (good note takers use multiple colors).

Cramming for a test at last minute is an ineffective way to study. Procrastination works against you in this case.

[f0dder]

Cramming for a test at last minute is an ineffective way to study. Procrastination works against you in this case.

It got me some insanely good grades, though

[Eóin]

If on day 1 you read over what was covered on day 1, and on day 2 read over what was covered on day 1 and day 2, and so on...by the time you take that test you know it by heart. And if not you can close your eyes and practically read it from the images burned into your memory, knowing where the info you need is, what 'page', and even down to the color of the text. (good note takers use multiple colors).

I think this applies to exams where there is a load of information which you need to regurgitate. Exams testing understanding such a math can be crammed for, very effectivly too

[Edvard]

Aargh!! You have discovered the secret to my power and now hold the key to unravel my plans to take over the world (sometime after lunch next Tuesday...)!! Curses!!

Seriously, I read so much about Me in that article I must now forward it to my boss because I could never explain my Modus Operandi so elegantly. Thank you. I can now sharpen pencils in peace and confidence of my ability to crack that looming deadline over there...

[urlwolf]

Super-cool article by Paul Graham on the topic:
http://paulgraham.com/procrastination.html

Note: posting to donation coder counts as BAD procrastination

[app103]

Note: posting to donation coder counts as BAD procrastination

But it's healthy to have a social life...and for some of us, our online activities are about as close as we get to having a copy of life.exe. So post away...it's good for you....and me. 

And for some of us, that idea for the next big project might come from something someone posted here.

btw...great article...I'll feel less guilty for not doing housework now. 

[urlwolf]

btw...great article...I'll feel less guilty for not doing housework now. 

I think that was the whole point of the article

[Darwin]

Brilliant  . I'm sorry I missed it 16 months ago 

[Armando]

There are other pretty funny essays over there. Like A Plea for the Horizontally Organized .

I do use filing cabinets. They are for a) storing finished things that one plans never to look at again and b) putting things that one would feel bad about throwing away but has no intention of reading. Say an old colleague sends you a long boring paper that she has just finished. It would be unfeeling and mean to throw it away; one would no doubt have to lie the next time one saw the person. But if one puts the essay in a filing cabinet one can say, "Yes, it's in my file of things to read this summer". All this implies is that one has a file labeled "Thing to read this summer" and that one put the paper in it, so one is not really telling a lie, even if the chances of reading the paper this summer (or any summer, fall, winter or spring) are nil.

Or this one : Laptops and Lab Manuals

My wife decided the issue. She saw the beautiful but admittedly large black vinyl case setting next to the rest of my luggage. She picked it up. "Isn't that your computer?" she asked. "Yes it is," I replied. "You're not taking that heavy thing on the plane with you are you?" she asked. "Well why do you think I got the thing in the first place," I replied, a tad defensively. "I don't want to waste the four hours on the plane. I can get a lot of work done on my computer this way," I added. "Well, you know best," she replied in a way that meant roughly, "Well, you don't know what you are doing."

Of course, she was exactly right. I couldn't really get the thing fully open in my economy seat. When the passenger in front lowered their seat back I almost lost both of my hands. During the brief periods of time when I could type on my computer, I mainly thought wistfully of the mystery novel I would have been forced to waste my time on, if only I had left my computer at home.

They're all very good.

[Darwin]

The laptop story strikes a nerve - I *always* used to think that I'd be productive on a 9 hour flight to Europe, but no longer even bother taking the notebook out of its carrying bag. I far prefer to waste my time with a mystery novel (last flight it was the last Harry Potter book!). The only way I'd even consider trying to use my laptop on a flight now is if I were able to snag a bulkhead seat (or business class. Could happen. Eventually.).

[tomos]

I do use filing cabinets. They are for a) storing finished things that one plans never to look at again and b) putting things that one would feel bad about throwing away...

I can relate to that.
I've started using lever-arch folders & in-out trays for things I really use