How to measure procrastination?

Thanks for the plug for Beeminder and TagTime! They are indeed by exactly the same people, me and Bethany Soule.

In case anyone missed our big pre-launch thing here on LessWrong: http://lesswrong.com/lw/7z1/antiakrasia_tool_like_stickkcom_for_data_nerds/

And, yes, TagTime+Beeminder is an amazing combination, IMHO. We'd love to get a friendlier version of TagTime out the door. There is an Android app that Bethany wrote that's friendlier than the desktop version, but I think there's a lot less value for it on a phone than on your main work computer.

Interestingly I wrote something very similar to tagtime a number of years ago, and am still using it. I don't do random sampling (didn't think of it at the time), but at 15 minute intervals. I've got short cuts and defaults to remember the last thing I was working on, automatic (and manual) time division when I've worked on multiple projects in the interval. Over the last year, I've gotten it the point where it automatically fills in timesheets for me. Mine too is Perl.

Of course, this sort of thing only works as long as you're honest about what you're working on. Sometimes I'm very good about being honest when I've gone off-task, sometimes less so. But it's easy to go back through my logs and find out how much time I've wasted when I intended to be working.

I take a screenshot every 3 minutes, so when I come to do my timesheets I have a pretty accurate idea of what I was doing.

If anyone would like a way to do that on OS X, get in touch.

Although the way I do it relies on Emacs, a suitable Emacs is included in all recent versions of OS X, and I can provide instructions that require no knowledge of Emacs.

However, you will need to run a command from the "command line" (from Terminal.app that is) every time you restart your Mac since I have not mastered the part of OS X (namely, "launchd") that would allow me to instruct you on how to have Emacs and my code start automatically on restart and I have not mastered the parts of OS X that would allow me to create a proper app (as opposed to a "command line").

Still, if you do not mind mucking with Terminal.app, my solution is fairly robust. For example, you do not have to use Terminal.app every time your computer wakes from sleep because my code survives the Mac's sleeping and waking. (For the Mac to sleep when you are away from it is helpful because then you do not have to review a monotonous series screen shots of when you were away from the Mac.)

Is there any software you would recommend for this?

My own research points to AutoScreenShot.

Thank you for your thoughts.

Not seeing any suggestions from you - did you spend 5 minutes thinking about it before asking here?

Yes, I've spent some time thinking and researching this question, including looking at this research paper and this survey.

Because I didn't want ideas similar to my own, I didn't initially list my own ideas for fear of priming the responses.

I recognise with hindsight that my post gives the impression that I was unwilling to help myself - I could have been clearer.

Finally, given all the discussion on anti-akrasia and procrastination, I thought that others may have actual experience to share.

Recently I have come to the same conclusion.

When I think about what should I not do, I only focus my mind on it. But if I need to get rid of something, the goal is to stop doing it and stop thinking about it. The best solution would be to forget it competely -- I often don't know how to get there, but "remind myself periodically that I should not do this" seems wrong. Also I am creative in my procrastination. Should I do less X? Sure, but I will find some new Y to do instead.

By measuring what needs to be done, my attention is drawn to things that need to be done. The reminding is probably more useful than measuring. I am not sure about it, but it seems to me that it could be useful to just make a diary for each project, where every day you have to write what have you done about the project. (No excuses allowed. If you didn't do anything, just write "Nothing", but you are not allowed to explain why.) This could be useful at least for projects that are difficult to quantify. Put the diaries on your table, so they are the first thing you see when you wake up, and when do come home from work; and don't put them away until you have wrote today's line. Also if you self-report useful work done, you cannot cheat by "forgetting".

And when all the useful work is done, and there is some time left, you deserve to spend it in the most pleasant way.

I think there are huge placebo effects at work here. For example, I often feel a bit of a [short-lived] burst of energy after reading one of the self-help books

Even placebo can be measured. And if the placebo works even when you know it is a placebo... then why not use it?

Suggested experiment: Does reading the same self-help book again increase your productivity again? How much? Are the results different if you read it gain after one week, after one month, after one year?

If the book effect is repeatable, then just buy a sequence of books and make a habit to read them one hour each week, or whatever the experiment shows is the amount that brings the best "productivity increase : time spent reading" ratio. Problem basically solved; now you only improve details like which books work best, what is the best time of day for reading them, comparing reading a paper book with listening to audio version, etc.

Yes, I have had the same experience, although it always seems short-lived.

Perhaps it says more about the technique of consuming motivational self-help books, more than the techniques described inside.

Your time will gradually increase over time due to muscles strengthening, but perhaps you could adjust for that.

I'd expect that after the first dozen times you do that, any further improvements will be due to muscles strengthening to a far greater extent than to more willpower.