My Algorithm for Beating Procrastination

Good stuff! My algorithm is essentially identical. I also made a poster that summarizes the key advice/methods for defeating procrastination. It's my version of Step 2, 3 and 4, but visually displayed. I put it up on my wall so I don't have to rely on my memory of the equation or the various anti-procrastination methods. I circle or note the things that tend to work well and focus on using those. When I notice I'm procrastinating, the solution is usually staring me right in the face.

In case anyone else finds it useful, here is the graphic I made from the advice in Steel's The Procrastination Equation and Luke's How to Beat Procrastination. Any suggestions of things to add/modify/remove are welcome. Update: the graphic (plus a pdf version) is explained in more detail here.

None of this kind of shit ever works for me, because it seems to assume I'm a bright-eyed go-getter at heart, blundering about and playing video games when I know I should be writing my dissertation, and oh, if only there were an equation made of words that would show me the problem with my motivation pathways. (And if only the post title would change three times so it shows up thrice in my RSS feeds!)

Instead, it's more of an all-pervasive apathy that seems to go all the way to my terminal goals. I think "what do I really want to be doing right now? where do I want to be at the end of the day, or the end of the year?" and there's just nothing there.

HEY, I HAVE AN IDEA! LET'S SEE HOW MANY STAMPS WE CAN LICK IN AN HOUR, AND THEN TRY AND BEAT THAT RECORD!!1

This is just wrong: the remedy doesn't follow from the formula. A deficit in any of the four variables can be corrected, per the formula, by an increment in any of the four variables. It doesn't have to be the one that's unusually low (or high, in the denominator) and seen as "causing the trouble." Therefore, you may address any procrastination problem, regardless of how this typology classifies it, by any of the methods, regardless of the variable it addresses.

The information the self-helper needs regards which variable he is most able to raise (or lower, if the variable is in the denominator), not which one is particularly low. Is there a correlation? I don't know, but I'd guess it's negative. If a variable is low, that's probably because you have little control over it. If a project sucks, you can't do much about its value unless you're willing to lie to yourself, but you might modify the delay.

Lukeprog obviously wasn't a problem procrastinator before he started using his "algorithm," and his uptick in productivity is probably better explained as the natural result of getting a challenging job and, let's not omit, a placebo effect due to lukeprog's believing in his "algorithm."

I decided to take this opportunity to apply your advice to my putting off registering and making my first post on this site.

Step 1 - Notice procrastination. I have noticed myself procrastinating when reading past articles that really intrigued me and to which I wanted to contribute. Tonight, after reading this article, I bookmarked it, told myself that I would need to read the linked material further, and reply later to either this article or perhaps a future one.

Step 2 - Evaluate procrastination. Evaluating what has caused me to procrastinate in the past and want to put off replying again tonight:

Value: Moderate to High. I do believe that taking part in the discussion and becoming a more active part of this community would be enjoyable for me. I would say this is of a moderately high value for me.

Expectancy: Low. My primary worry is posting a reply that is not worthy of the intelligent discussion being had by others on this site. I would often think that I didn't know enough about Bayes or logic yet to bring value to this thread. What if my post is either downvoted or ignored? Then the value to me would seem diminished.

Impulsiveness: Moderate. I typically have multiple tabs open in my browser at any one time and am tempted even now to check another website.

Delay: Low. I know I get the satisfaction of seeing my post fairly quickly after I finish typing and perhaps receiving feedback.

Summary: My desire to procrastinate appears to be driven by low expectancy and moderate impulsiveness.

1. Addressing procrastination.

Low expectancy:

• Began typing. Once I begin something, even if it is not with 100% motivation right away, it gets me going in the right direction and realizing that the task may not be as difficult as I may have imagined. Perhaps this is part of the success spirals, with each paragraph that looks OK to me being a spiral until I finished the entire reply.
• Lowered the demand for perfect expectancy that I put on myself. I have to realize that this isn't going to be the best post on lesswrong or on this thread. I will settle for calling it successful or at least not disastrous if it is not repeatedly downvoted.

Impulsiveness:

• Closed all other tabs in my browser expect for this one.
• Vowed to finish this post before going to any other websites.

And now I have registered and finished my first post. For me, I can say that most of the things I put off is due to low expectancy, mainly fueled by low confidence doing anything I haven't done or haven't done successfully in the past. This applies more to major life goals and less to doing the dishes or laundry. I am tempted now to ramble on further, which will just make me doubt about the usefulness of this post and consider killing it altogether, so I will go ahead and end it here and post.

Low expectancy can be a sign that you're doing things you might be better off not doing. The impulse to procrastinate can be a sign that you're absorbed in lost purposes or inefficient low-utility activities that come from cached habits. If that's true, you may be better off not doing them at all.

In my experience, delay is best reduced by other people. Committing to hard deadlines, working in an environment where people see when you're not doing anything. Sounds low status, but is actually effective.

I'm highly suspicious of approaches that only aim at changing your psychology or perception, without changing the practical context. You can't reduce impulsivity by choosing to be less impulsive, you can't reduce delay by internally committing to a deadline if no one else checks it, there's no realistic chance of increasing value of many productive activities to the point where they would naturally compete with the best leisure activities, etc. Be careful not to waste time and wellbeing by telling yourself stories that don't actually solve the problem.

I do accept that the equation is a pretty accurate description of akrasia and has been proven empirically, but personally I've found that the type of strategy OP proposes is not effective for me.

First, the crucial steps of the algorithm require the exact same mental resources that are missing when I have the worst bouts of procrastination. When it's clear that I'm procrastinating because I haven't divided the task into smaller subtasks, the idea of doing this division is as difficult as it is to try to start the task itself.

Second, the attacking part of the algorithm seems to provoke far/abstract thinking mode, which makes me more prone to procrastination. Any algorithm or strategy that does not contain ridiculously concrete steps has failed me, sooner or later. Anything that lures me to thinking of, say, long term achievements of using the strategy has made it much more likely to just not use the strategy.

In general, I think it's useful to establish some baseline measurement for one's productivity. At the time of worst procrastination, it seems obvious that a successful strategy will cure whatever it is one is suffering from at the moment. But if you adopt a long-term strategy, the effect is probably going to be much smaller than you initially thought and is going to be difficult to distinguish.

I personally measure the time I've spent in workspaces I've nominated to different types of tasks ("zoning out" (random web-surfing), meta-work (email, instant messaging with colleagues etc), real work). I had to use the system for quite a while to begin experimenting with different strategies. Now I can see if a strategy makes a difference and whether I can maintain it for long term.

My algorithm for beating procrastination is:

1: procrastinate
2: goto 1

It doesn't work well at all.

Shame spirals, the opposite of success spirals. Beat yourself up about putting off studying and you're more likely to put it off even more.

This is not related to the main topic of the post, but here is a nitpick:

As Michael Vassar says, "Evidence that people are crazy is evidence that things are easier than you think."

Evidence that people are crazy is also evidence that you are crazy. So for this to work, we need to have ways of avoiding craziness that others lack. (Without such confidence, I fear the persuasiveness of this thought can be chalked up to the tendency to think that others are more affected by biases and such than oneself.)

This post makes me feel like an idiot for not trying harder after your first post on procrastination. Of course each of your recommendations are actual skills that take actual practice before getting returns. Thank you so much for posting a follow up. I will now proceed to try harder.

"Is it you, Delay? Huh, motherfucker? Is it you? I've shot you before; don't think I won't do it again!"

I had to work to contain myself so that my laughter didn't disturb my office mates....

it might be true, but a more useful theory would include details and mechanism.

Actually, I was saying that a reasonably-accurate mechanic's handbook is more often useful for fixing your car than the most perfect theory of internal combustion engines. Occasionally, you might need to know the theory if you pass beyond what the manual can show you, but the manual alone will get you far further than a theory and no manual.

I have a problem with step 1. It's rare that I sit there reading something boring just to put off getting to work (or if I do it's another problem); I genuinely do enjoy slacking off more than working. Procrastination is tempting me with things I want. So even when I've noticed it, I'm not really motivated to beat it.

Interesting article, and your formula definitely caught my problem, unfortunately, there isn't a lot I can do about it. My "expectancy" is as close to zero as it can be. I am seriously Aspergian, and know from long experience that I am not going to be able to put much of what I do to use. So I actually only do three categories of actions: 1) things I need to do now, 2) things other people are paying me to do, that I know will be rewarded, and 3) things that satisfy my personal curiosity. Interestingly, in any of these three situations I can work hard and persistently, so much so that I have sometimes been accused of "showing off" for actions I just considered normal. But I simply cannot maintain any activity that doesn't satisfy one of these conditions. I think that is likely to be pretty normal for Aspergians, it would definitely explain their executive functioning issues.

ADDED: Note that with this interpretation, executive functioning problems are not independent issues but dependent on social problems that undercut motivation to do them.

I circumvent this algorithim with Ritalin. Takes care of all the steps simoultaneously.

So, for boot-strapping purposes (i.e. learning as you go), perhaps the algorithm would look like this?

Diagnosis

• A1. Read about the four "factors" of procrastination (expectancy, value, impulsiveness and delay)
• A2. Notice that you're procrastinating
• A3. Consider which factor is most relevant
• A4. Are you confident you have identified the most relevant factor?
• If YES, go to A5
• If NO, go to A1
• A5. Considering your recorded results so far (if any), have you learned a subskill which can address the relevant factor?
• If NO, goto B1
• If YES, goto C1

Learning Subskills

• B1. Read about the subskills relevant to the problem factor
• B2. Choose the subskill that appears easiest for you to learn
• B3. Make a plan to learn, implement and practice that subskill
• Goto C1

Implementing Subskills

• C1. Implement the relevant subskill
• C2. Record the results of implementing the subskill
• Goto A2 when relevant

What do you think?

The really interesting thing here is that for once your head is doing something rational - deciding not to do a task that is not worthwhile to do (factoring into account the decreasing-over-time ability to predict future rewards) - using a fairly good equation as far as you can see - and you're trying to fight that.

We really are weird creatures.

(Not that procrastination is always rational. Often it is not. But in those cases I find it very easy not to procrastinate)

Each of these skills must be learned and practiced first before you can use them.

This is so important! Those who are serious about decreasing their procrastination - and who have enough motivation to bootstrap the process - should only work on a few skills at a time. As Luke mentions, mental contrasting was quick and easy, but goal setting is still a challenge. Trying to do everything at once will likely fail.

Personally, I've been focusing on clear goal-setting, making those goals visible, and cutting out distractions while working. Now, the moment I notice my procrastination, I can do these automatically. Next is probably recognizing my own successes and doing some mental contrasting.

I think any article proposing a solution to procrastion would do well to relate to pjeby's Improving The Akrasia Hypothesis. I'm not saying that the hypothesis there is necessarily the right one, but what seems to be lacking in these types of systems is exactly what pjeby's article is describing. Namely, how the system is going to help to resolve particular conflicts. I don't think this algorithm proposes any novel approaches to conflict resolutions. (Note that I'm not saying that the article itself isn't useful.)

Of course, you could claim that the hypothesis is not useful. But if so, it might be worth mentioning explicitly.

I noticed that if I'm apathetic about doing a task, then I also tend to be apathetic about thinking about doing the task, whereas tasks that I get done I tend to be so enthusiastic about that I have planned them and done them in my head long before I do them in physicality. My conclusion: apathy starts in the mind and the cure for it starts in the mind too.

You mention trying techniques for getting more energy. Can you elaborate?

Any practical advice for how to get into flow? My work does not lend itself well to gamification, and I find rewarding myself pretty stupid.

My algorithm for beating procrastination:

echo 0.0.0.0 lesswrong.com >> /etc/hosts

[repeat for other forums you frequent]

Note: it is meant as a joke.

Thank you for sharing. This seems so obvious, and yet, it has helped me and works wonderfully. I've been able to get started and quite far along the way already (in just a day or so) writing reports that were due months ago and I couldn't have brought myself to work on them even though I find the topic interesting.

My Algorithm:

• Step 1: Notice I'm procrastinating.
• Step 2: Say "I'm procrastinating" out loud (to myself).

On the one hand, it is easier to remember and takes less mental resources to execute. On the other hand, my track record of "getting stuff done" isn't nearly as impressive as Luke's, which is evidence that my algorithm is less effective.

Hey Luke, what is your opinion on symbols/rituals? If we pick a simple example, the gym, what if you put a Under Armour compression shirt...Would that put you in the 'athletic' mindset? In the compression shirt scenario, you either 1) really unhappy how you look (immediate contrasting with your ideal state + competing with yourself/fit guy advertising compression shirt) 2) just ok, but you probably want to look better, hence the desire to go the gym (same as one) 3) looking great -> success spiral -> continue.

Millions of projects fail not because they "can't be done" but because the first 5 people who tried them failed due to boring, pedestrian reasons like procrastination or the planning fallacy.

Hmm. AFAIUI, the planning fallacy is mainly a form of self-promotion. You probably don't want to get rid of the planning fallacy - or people are less likely to want to employ you.

It's funny that you advocate something you haven't yet managed to practice (becoming less impulsive by making and sticking to goals/plans). In light of your super-normal overall progress, this almost discourages me from even trying to work directly along that tack.

How to beat procastination, by Luke, on the CFAR blog. http://rationality.org/2013/05/30/how-to-beat-procrastination/

Am I nervous about the task, or afraid of what might happen if I undertake it?

I think this facet is closest to why it's taken me a year to read this post. If I successfully learn to stop procrastinating, then I will be compelled to complete all those tasks I've been putting off. Since I don't want to do all those horrible tasks, I didn't want to learn to stop procrastinating.

The way I ended up reading (most) of the post was through game-making: I was trying to close as many tabs in my web browser as possible without bookmarking them (i.e. reading webpages or discarding them) and getting a fuzzy feeling of success as the number of tabs dropped. And now I have better tools than that. Thanks.

I try to avoid pure cheerleading comments, but this post was extremely helpful. Thank you!

Can you believe that I've been procrastinating reading this article for the past two weeks? It's been open as a tab ever since, but I can't muster the courage to learn what I could do that would actually stop me from procrastinating. I haven't even read it yet past the 2. header!

In terms of precomittment and sub-goals, this is something you can use all sorts of hacks to try to bind yourself: but often people don't use the easier route of using other people. Possibly I'm just slow on the uptake, but I've been working in the same environment for about 2 and a half years, and it's only in the last six months or so that I've started dealing with procrastinatey tasks simply by committing to do them to others (particularly managers, but peers as well). Suddenly, the whole 'I suppose I could do this at another point' diversion gets overwhelmed because while the intrinsic value of various may be around equal and hard to juggle, the 'not failing to do that thing I said I'd do', 'being an effective person' benefit outweighs it.

And, of course, if something genuinely urgent comes up, it's revisable, but the new thing has to be sufficiently more important that I can actively justify the reprioritisation and thus delay to someone else, rather than passively justifying it to myself

Use reward and punishment.

Is it effective to try and increase the value of a task by setting unrelated, external goals? For example, if I acheive a goal of doing a certain number of hours of work in the week, I'll buy myself a pint after college or I'll put aside money for an album or book?

My worry is that this perhaps doesn't do much to increase the value of the task itself: I want to work because I know I enjoy the satisfaction of completing work, but gamifying it by associating it with unrelated goals doesn't increase that. In thinking about implementing a reward system, I anticipated some ways that I'll attempt to game the system, and tried to account for those.

Based on past experiences, my main problem with overcoming procrastination is lack of self-discipline; high impulsiveness and a tendeny to not stick to plans I've set down. Recently, stricter scheduling and, in the case of one particular task, logging exactly the time I spend at it (if I sit down to work at 18.03 I'll record 18.03, not 18.00).

How do you know motivation is multiplicative?

Its odd that so many approve of productivity advice from someone who seems not particularly productive.

Look at Luke's examples of defeating akrasia:

1. He managed to put together an Ikea bookshelf.

2. He is able to perform the basic functions of his job.

3. He gave up on going to grad school.

4. He has so far given up on writing a book and instead stuck some essays on the internet.

None of these things are actually impressive and the last 2 show a lower ability to get shit done than many people possess. I think the average person I know gets more done without needing an explicit system for fighting akrasia. I have tons of akrasia (I'm writing a comment on lesswrong.com rather than doing work for instance) and yet I think I get a lot more done than Luke does. Is there value in an explicit system that does worse than no system?

Well done, you've rephrased S.M.A.R.T.E.R goal setting into you're own language... and that's cool, cause that's a part of learning.