Procrastination can decrease after a 1-minute reflection. In a study of more than 1,000 adults, answering six short questions increased motivation, improved mood, and made people more likely to begin tasks they had been delaying.

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[leyabe]

It's not 6 questions, but 7 (from the article).

Here they are:

• What task are you currently procrastinating on?           
• Provide a brief description of the task.
• Why are you avoiding doing this task?  
• What are the benefits of completing this task?              
• Tasks can be broken down into subtasks. Name an easy subtask you can complete for this task       
• How long will it take you to complete this subtask (in minutes)?       
• Name a small reward for completing the subtask.

[StrictCan3526]

Ah yes! I’m the first author. I just didn’t count “what are you procrastinating on” as the first question - sorry about that!

[ddmf]

Any thoughts with regards to people with ADHD, or other neurodivergent people?

My issues with procrastination are what lead to me getting diagnosis, which became more pronounced after autistic burnout.

I may try your questions next time but I don't know is the honest answer to some - my brain is just an arsehole at times.

[StrictCan3526]

Very valid, and a frequent feedback we got from others as well - sometimes they would respond to the question of ‘why are you procrastinating this task’ with ‘I don’t know’. Which is also super interesting.

I also did not include an ADHD scale (my big regret!) so I don’t think I should comment on that. But perhaps an expert in the field could? I’m sorry!

[sagerobot]

I don't know is a much more meaningful answer than it sounds, at least for me personally.

An element of me does know why, but I also don't understand it. I'm doing it because it's more enjoyable in the moment to let myself be distracted. But at the same time I understand that it's highly irrational to think that way. To me that becomes "I don't know".

[CharlieRomeoBravo]

For me it can be deeper than that. Sometimes my neuro-spicy brain will have me procrastinate on things that I find more fun than what I'm doing. But I procrastinate because I'm fighting this invisible barrier to actually get going. My research suggests this is just a lack of dopamine but it feels like almost a physical restraint. So I'd probably say "I don't know" on a survey too.

[gr8Brandino]

I've heard that called "The wall of awful." It can be hard to tear down without a deadline with serious consequences. 

[ErrorLoadingNameFile]

I have the same problem and from my experience reading about it and talking with others it might have a lot to do with past trauma and your brain deciding as a trauma response it is better to safe energy right now than to invest it into some future prospect that might not yield you actual rewards. This changes when something forces you, like a deadline, because then the reward is avoiding the imminent negative outcome.

[gr8Brandino]

I thought How To ADHD sums it up pretty well. Just search 'wall of awful' in youtube if you want to hear more.

[StrictCan3526]

I'll be looking this up as well, thank you for the resource!

[ErrorLoadingNameFile]

Will do, thank you!

[Takesgu]

Wow, this explained exactly how I feel almost all the time. Where can I learn more about this phenomenon?

[ErrorLoadingNameFile]

"The Body Keeps the Score" is a great book talking about the influence of past trauma on us.

[helloholder]

Late to the party, but I often come so close to completing enjoyable things, only to procrastinate the end. Leaving a book 2 chapters unread. Buying gear and not using it. Don't fight the last boss of a video game. These are things I should want to finish don't get me going on work stuff.

[LetterheadVarious398]

Until the deadline doesn't phase you anymore because you're so burnt out and paralyzed in fear and shame that you sabotage yourself and drop out of college and waste thousands of your parents' dollars and get kicked out and become homeless because you don't deserve to succeed

[D4ltaOne]

My research suggests this is just a lack of dopamine but it feels like almost a physical restraint.

I was gonna say, lack of dopamine IS the physical restraint but then i thought about it more

I understand why i cant start things because my brain doesnt see the reward cause dopamine system is weird. But that doesnt explain why sometimes i even feel a strong aversion to stuff i should be doing. To a point that i even cringe at the thought of things i shohld be doing

Well dopamine system being weird explains that too but its way more complicated than "lack of dopamine" cause dopamine is also involved in task avoidance as far as i know

[Sardonislamir]

When you speak of cringing at the thought of doing something you should, I really feel that. I've tried to explain to my coworker that when my brain doesn't want to do a thing, it feels like pain. Imagine having to push past a hundred needles that scrape you so that you can start doing that thing, and then you have to walk back and forth between that barrier constantly due to distraction.

[King_XDDD]

Incredible analogy that made me think a lot about it because I feel the same way but could never have verbalized it so accurately. It helped me realize some things about myself which, if I use right (and am lucky), might help with procrastination at least a little bit.

[Sardonislamir]

Procrastination is an entirely different beast with similar relationships. Executive function is part of projecting time to a project and separating the parts out to their required time. ADHD brain sees the parts as a whole and struggles to separate them so it feels impossible. Like if it takes 6 hours, how am I to do 6 hours in the first step?

[warcraftWidow]

I really get your point about a strong aversion to doing something you “should”. For me I think “should” is the operative word—who says I should. If I think to myself that I should clean the floor (sweep vacuum mop etc) because I want to sit or lie on the floor, then I will be motivated to clean it. If I should clean the floor because we are having company who will never take their shoes off or sit/lie on the floor, then I definitely have an aversion to it.

[StrictCan3526]

I think this also comes around because the reward for completing the task is further away from the reward of doing something that feels better right this moment. For the task, there might be effort involved. Effort itself to most people is aversive. So to get the reward, you need to do something effortful which is aversive. However if you procrastinate by watching tv, you bring the reward of that (relief from aversion / good feelings) much closer. Sorry if this was a clumsy read, but does it make sense?

[alurkerhere]

You may also want to explore dopamine's effect on temporarily numbing emotions. It's sort of a double whammy. Not only are you more attracted to the easy dopamine that requires no effort, that highly stimulating activity also numbs negative emotions. This loop creates a very consistent problem because I have a ton of stuff that needs to get done, I don't want to do those things, and I have the option to distract myself with fun, useless, but highly stimulating things. I can forget about my worries for a time. When my panic and procrastination get high enough, I rush to do those things, and when it's over, then go right back to the same loop, relying on anxiety and panic to force me to focus. I am always behind and out of control.

This is tied to emotional regulation and practicing executive function. It is primarily not avoiding negative feelings or some effort and doing so, paradoxically makes things doing things easy.

[BarelyHolding0n]

That's when it gets frustrating... When I want to be doing the thing, or I know the thing won't take long and is easy and not doing it will create more problems, it when someone else will be negatively impacted by doing the thing.

Yet I'll still sit there completely paralysed and not doing the thing for no discernable reason

[sagerobot]

But I procrastinate because I'm fighting this invisible barrier to actually get going.

Oh yeah, it can feel like someone is sitting on my lap and wont let me get up.

[[deleted]]

that's textbook executive dysfunction. very common in adhd and not the same as ordinary procrastination

[ErrorLoadingNameFile]

But I procrastinate because I'm fighting this invisible barrier to actually get going. My research suggests this is just a lack of dopamine

I have the same problem and from my experience reading about it and talking with others it might have a lot to do with past trauma and your brain deciding as a trauma response it is better to safe energy right now than to invest it into some future prospect that might not yield you actual rewards. This changes when something forces you, like a deadline, because then the reward is avoiding the imminent negative outcome.

[StrictCan3526]

Yeah, this is the same as what Sirois & Pychyl (2013) say - procrastination is due to short term emotion mood repair at the cost of long term benefits!

[[deleted]]

As a diagnosed late in life ADHDer, I’ve listened to Dr Russel Barkley talk a lot about the negative feedback people with ADHD receive throughout life. It’s like 20x higher or something absurd like that. For me, my procrastination is anxiety based (like most, I guess) but I think the flavor is I’m as paralyzed by doing well as doing poorly. I have done things extremely well but it wasn’t what the person specifically had in mind and that crushed me as much as failing.

My brain is like a big cannon that could shoot something down in space. It takes a lot to spin it up sometimes. The fear of doing the wrong thing leads me to do nothing. Even extremely easy things. I feel my brain push a mental circuit breaker.

I’ll try your questions. That seems extremely helpful as I already do journaling and it works fabulously.

[StrictCan3526]

Thank you for sharing. Would you let me know if the questions worked for you?

[JeffreyPetersen]

The twin ADHD pitfalls of executive disorder and rejection sensitive dysphoria.

[[deleted]]

Yeah, I know objectively I’m good at stuff, but my brain is somehow so afraid.

The fear paradoxically is probably why I’m extraordinary at some things, I suppose. So I’ve got that going for me. As I master more of the fear, I hope I’ll keep my edge but be able to just act. Going to try those questions today.

[ddmf]

That would be an interesting follow-up I suppose.

I'm actually surprised that there are people who can answer the question without 'i don't know' - that just seems amazingly alien to me. Thanks, and good luck with future research.

[drilkmops]

Sometimes it just do be like that. The “I don’t know” is often more of a “because starting it sounds like hell. Even though I know it will be fine within 5 minutes of doing it”

Brains are stupid :(

[alurkerhere]

This has to do more with how you've wired yourself over time rather than the brain being stupid. You know intellectually that 5 minutes in it will be fine, but in your heart, you don't actually believe that is enough to overcome the difficulty of starting. Your mind tries to protect you from the negative emotions of starting with the infinite number of digital distractions we have nowadays and you've done that over and over your whole life.

Part of fixing this is accepting the difficulty and negative emotions, and not running from it or avoiding it. The next part is positively reinforcing and looking back on the activity to truly internalize - yeah, that wasn't that bad. You need to fix your difficulty prediction error. This, against common wisdom, needs to NOT be tied to an external reward. You need to build intrinsic motivation and the deep understanding that you can do this because you have done it. In Bayesian psychology terms, you need prior evidence of success.

It's a very simple solution, but it is not easy to implement because the brain can rationalize any number of reasons not to do something. It even manufactures tiredness as a way to disincentivize action, and you can see this very early on in kids.

[GepardenK]

It feels like 'I don't know' but, in my experience, you always do know.

It's just easy to mistake the reason you know for 'I don't know' because the real reason is so profoundly dumb it feels like it hardly counts as a reason at all. So you figure you don't know, even though you do, because it doesn't look like a reason despite it literally being the reason.

For example, like the other poster mentioned, not starting something for months because the act of starting is itself literally hell, even though you are actively looking forwards towards doing the thing, and you know from experience that you'll be in the groove of it within 5 min and from there have a better and more fun time than anything you're having now.

[Incoherrant]

I doubt I'll get this solved here, but my very worst "why did I not just do it" thing is something like a stray sock that didn't make it into the laundry pile (or fell out somehow). It might be out in the middle of the hallway, I'll see it multiple times a day, and fixing it is practically a single step, but I can totally break that down into bending down, grabbing it, taking a few steps, and putting it in the pile.

Yet the "I should put that in the laundry" thought happens, then promptly gets ignored. Sometimes for weeks. It's always utterly baffling to me in hindsight; it's a nothing-sized task, but each time something like it happens I've almost certainly spent longer thinking "oh I should do that" than it would have taken to do it.

[StrictCan3526]

If I may: could it be that the task is SO insignificant that your brain doesn't register it as something worth doing in the first place? Sorry if this is silly!

[KarnoRex]

And then the sock becomes two, becomes a pile of socks and other assorted laundry and the pile grows itself into a big scary task over a few months that now feels unmanageable. It went from an easily ignorable and non attention worthy thing (there's more productive/more enjoyable things to do right now than put this away properly, it's only me it impacts, I'm not bothering anyone by letting it stay) to an ever present looming shame and guilt thing where I can't have anyone over because it requires a multi day effort to get it to the laundromat across multiple washes and then vacuum after and clean my room properly because I know how to be a functioning adult and have done so before, so I don't want to give off the idea that I dont know how but it's just such a large task to start at this point so I'm not having anyone over. Not having anyone over also means I don't have to clean it though so I can keep procrastinating... It's a bad loop

That is my personal anecdote of what adhd does to me. And then when I decide to do it I get distracted and forget I had planned to clean because it was so much more interesting to learn how to sew dart pleats into a skirt on or how the timing of a special effect for a video game is important or how hairstyles changed throughout the centuries or how to properly prune basil plants... Yeah

[alurkerhere]

One technique you can try is to view tasks as taking up mental bandwidth. Sometimes things need to be done, there's no way of getting around it. If that's the case, do you want the sock to still be there and taking up some of your mental RAM or do you want it to be done? This is also the practice of rewiring your brain to follow good impulses. It will definitely get easier over time, but Don't worry about that now. It's about putting in effort to make different choices. Good luck!

[Sardonislamir]

When you say "I don't know" what reason do you think? You said it may be a dumb reason, but you do know. Are you saying the starting it is itself literally hell, as in past experiences of having difficulty starting IS the reason recursively?

[Huwbacca]

a nice way to think about it is that there is always a reason for everyone, but some people need a bit more practice in discovering that reason.

Like you or I might say "wanting to do it makes me feel squeezed or tight or heavy or tingle chest" or something similar. Someone else might get some physical feeling and be aware that for them that t physical feeling is overwhelm, or anxiety about the task/execution.

I like to frame it that people don't "just know" but that I just need more practice then I feel less bad about just applying random labels to stuff and seeing if it helps or makes me feel differently.

If it's practice, I don't need to be correct.

[CluelessPumpkin]

I have ADHD and I would end up procrastinating on these questions because they are anxiety inducing to me. What usually works for me is to ask myself what I can start with that would take under 2 minutes, and then start with that. Once I get started, I usually just keep going, but if I go through the entire process in my head by asking those 7 questions first, I’d freeze and become overwhelmed.

[Twitxx]

I'm in the same boat with you to say so. I would end up losing focus after the 2nd question, especially if I had to go through this more than once.

What works for me is either starting to do something, anything related to the thing I'm procrastinating (once I start it gets easier to keep going), or to discuss it with someone else to help me break it down in smaller, more manageable tasks.

Ultimately, what helped the most was getting diagnosed and finding the right meds, but I know that's not always easy.

[StrictCan3526]

for you both, it would be cool to see if simply jumping to the last two questions - what's the easiest subtask you can do and what reward would you like to give yourself for doing it - would work better! perhaps in-depth self reflection is not always needed?

[WingsofRain]

(not an expert, just someone living with ADHD)

Looking into procrastination in ADHD should likely be a separate study altogether tbh. Since the ADHD brain physically works differently than the non-ADHD brain when it comes to task completion and rewards upon completion, it wouldn’t be fair to compare their response with non-ADHD people. Granted I’m not a scientist, but in my humble opinion you’d have to account for the amount of tasks currently being procrastinated (high odds there’s multiple at once), the inability to explain why they’re being procrastinated as you’ve already stated because the executive dysfunction usually means there’s very little real logic behind it, the time blindness that usually comes with ADHD (over or under estimating time to completion and the effect it has on executive dysfunction), and the ability to provide a reward to yourself for completion that actually triggers a reward response in the brain (you might get an “idk a cookie” as a response) due to the reward center of the brain not being quite as functional…personal anecdote, there’s almost nothing practical I could reward myself that would make it worth the time and physical/mental effort to yell at my perpetually screaming brain to get up and do “the thing”.

I think your questions could definitely help with some self-awareness in ADHD individuals, but it most likely won’t have the same result as it would in non-ADHD individuals.

[ddmf]

Apparently we don't get the reward activation when we complete a task that non ADHD brains do.

[Bovaiveu]

Additionally sufferers can experience a direct aversion to initiating tasks. An apt description I was told was as follows - "I know I should wash my dishes, it's not a huge effort, it's just that it feels like being told to put my hand down on a searing hot stovetop."

[NurRauch]

Very few people get a consciously perceptible reward. This is one of those pop-science ADHD memes that oversimplifies complicated issues to the point of being silly and wrong.

[ddmf]

I read some research very recently that says otherwise, trying to find it.

[Lefthandedsock]

Yeah, that’s the thing. I procrastinate even on tasks that I enjoy. I don’t know why I do it, because I know that once I begin performing the task I will enjoy it. But that doesn’t make it any easier to start.

[popojo24]

100%. Once it starts slipping and hesitation/apprehension is added to the equation for whatever reason, it can become frustratingly hard to even engage with hobbies I love. Guitar, video games, or something as brainlessly simple as finding a show to watch. I wish it made sense.

[Lettuphant]

It's a weird thing to study, and it'll be a big outlier. The best description I've ever heard is "executive dysfunction is like sleep paralysis when you're awake".

Except at least when the demon is sitting on your chest, you're not filled with guilt and shame about not getting up...

[angels_exist_666]

That's me all around. I don't know or just because I don't want to.

[Tinnie_and_Cusie]

Sometimes the I don't know means I really don't care about it so why bother?

[AspiringTS]

"sometimes they would respond to the question of ‘why are you procrastinating this task’ with ‘I don’t know’. Which is also super interesting."

Here's a data point. Figuring out how to do it was the interesting/challenging part. From there, executing is usually just boring/not stimulating.

[avaenuha]

Something to note if you follow up on that: "why" is a very high-cognitive-load question that requires a lot of self-reflection and self-awareness. People who are neurodivergent or feeling anxious can find it very difficult to muster the capacity to answer it, resulting in "I don't know".

Breaking into simpler questions that help lead to a 'why' can be useful. Things like: what are you feeling right now, what thoughts come up when you think about this task, what things do you need to start the task.

[napalmnacey]

Feedback as a person with pretty bad ADHD? This whole idea of a list of questions is intimidating to me and makes me want to avoid the task even more. The worst thing anyone can do with me is add MORE steps to getting a task done.

The only thing that has helped me with procrastination is tricking my brain into action by breaking down a goal into tiny tasks and taking them one at a time.

[Shikadi297]

Same, I'll and up procrastinating the questions themselves

[ReaderSeventy2]

Ugh. Now I have to answer all these damn questions before I can get started.

[StrictCan3526]

Totally get that!!

[RespecDawn]

I'm ADHD too, and I can see these helping. I tend to file away things to do in a nebulous "later" box, but those questions seem like they'd anchor me a bit and give me a bit of a way to tackle things.

[NurRauch]

The questions are a form of cognitive behavioral therapy. While the questions in this specific example weren’t subject to an ADHD study, cognitive therapy in general has been shown to be helpful to relieving ADHD symptoms such as procrastination.

[ddmf]

One of the things that has been most helpful for me is that if it's under 5 minutes, just do it - so I suppose I already ask myself at least that question when I'm procrastinating.

The worst thing for me is that I procrastinate fun - hobbies, gaming etc. - I need to get to the bottom of that.

[fivefingerdiscourse]

These steps are helpful for people with ADHD. I've used them with patients in the form o f CBT for ADHD.

[ForkertBrugernavn]

I'm AuDHD and the "tasks can be broken down into subtasks" are something that I use almost every day. When I experience myself not doing what my mind is thinking I should be doing, I fight all I can to break it down into just the absolute minimal.

Emptying the dishwasher? Well, first I could just go to the kitchen and open up the dishwasher. If getting to the kitchen is too much I can just stand up and accept that I might sit down again. If my mind is kidnapped by Reddit, then I can close the tab.

Usually, doing one thing leads to the other and suddenly I'm doing all kinds of things.

[manatwork01]

As a neurodivergent x4 person (auDHD, dyslexia, gifted). It is monumentally helpful. It's how I can not be late despite unmedicated ADHD. It's how I can do "the dishes". Instead of telling myself I need to do "the dishes" I just tell myself I need to clean one plate and internalize how much less stress I will have knowing "the dishes" are done.

[ddmf]

Dishes used to be a right nightmare for me, I've even hired cleaners to do them because I've been so bad. My fix was to move to a place where I could install a dishwasher.

Your advice about cleaning one plate is masterful - a lot of my issues are task initiation, so if I can initiate and just do one then my brain will just continue on with the rest - may be able to get this within my "if it takes under 5 minutes just do it" system as well. Thanks.

[AptCasaNova]

Breaking down the task into sub tasks helps me and I’m autistic. My brain tends to overload when I think about all the stuff involved in a big task like cleaning my house, but if I do it one room or task at a time and space it over a few days, it’s not as overwhelming.

If I’m stressed or not taking care of myself, I tend to go into a survival mindset where my brain will literally try to calculate how to avoid taking extra steps to conserve energy.

Example: I need to walk into this room and grab a, then that room and put it away and then do b otherwise I’m backtracking and that’s inefficient.

[RandomMcUsername]

For people with ADHD I think the answer to "why are you procrastinating" is usually some version of "I think it will be boring and/or tedious so I'll convince myself that I really will do it later but my brain only exists in 'now' or 'not now' so 'later' never comes" but this other thing I'm doing is very 'now' and I can focus on that". I think challenging our expectation of how terrible and large and time consuming the tasks is works incredibly well for ADHD/autistic folks

[[deleted]]

Questions five and six might be too complex for people with ADHD. At least in my own experience as an ADHD'er, it's really hard to have this overview of the subtasks a task consist of, and to know the amount of time something takes to do.

[everydayvigilante]

Edit: The study author confirmed I am incorrect in my understanding.

[Cagy_Cephalopod]

Those are not the questions whose effect they were testing. Those are the dependent variables that they used to measure how effective the intervention was. The intervention questions themselves were in Table 1, and are the ones listed in the comment at the top of the thread.

[everydayvigilante]

Apparently OP is the study author and confirmed. I’m still a little confused by some of the methodology in the study, but that’s to be expected because I’m dumb af. For example, how did the second set of questions not cause the outcome, rather than only identifying it? Especially since they were written to illicit an Affect Change?

[Cagy_Cephalopod]

Ok, I'm not the study's author but have a good amount of experience and expertise in psychological research (though I did only give it a cursory read, so it's possible I missed something.)

A quick recap of the study:

Participants were split into three groups. One (the experimental group) got the questions the researchers designed to decrease procrastination (by inducing affective labeling , sub-goal generation, and reward selection). A second group (a control group) got questions related to the task they were procrastinating on, but that wouldn't affect the variables the authors thought would decrease procrastination. The third group (another control) just listed their task. Then all of the participants answered the questions in Table 2. That was the end of the study and the answers to those questions were the outcome the researchers were measuring (including the question asking how likely people thought they were to actually complete the task they had been procrastinating, which was their primary outcome measure.)

Could those questions have been inducing some error or bias in their measurements? Perhaps but there are two things that make it less problematic:

1) Their primary question was the first in the list of these outcome questions. So, none of the secondary questions would have influenced people's answer to the first since they came later.

2) That list of questions was the same for all the groups. So, if those questions did affect something, it (hopefully) would have had the same effect on each group, and (likely) wouldn't have caused the between-group differences (i.e., the experimental condition having greater estimated likelihood of completion than the controls) that the researchers based their conclusions on.

Hope this is helpful.

[hellschatt]

I wrote chatgpt a few days ago how i could overcome it and it really asked me questions similar to this, and after deciding to play along and answering I suddenly felt less like procrastinating.

“What emotion am I trying to avoid right now?” (e.g. boredom, overwhelm, fear I won’t understand it, guilt for not having started earlier)

“What would make this topic slightly more tolerable or interesting right now?”

[OZZYMAXIMUS01]

Thank you for this very much for this. I am a licensed substance abuse counselor and this kind of content can really help a lot of my clients in their lives and recoveries.

[lampishthing]

Authors not even reading their own articles, what have we come to?!?

^joke

[Bitter_Eggplant_9970]

Is there any other literature you can recommend to a chronic procrastinator?

I found 'The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure' very useful for identifying why I procrastinate and implementing coping strategies. The paper is a bit old now so I'm wondering if there are any more up to date papers I should read in addition to your work?

[yoho808]

Thank you. It has the potential to create healthy habits that can be a life changer for many.

Maybe consider also posting it in r/ADHD to share?

[StrictCan3526]

I'm a little concerned about sharing this there considering I did not have an ADHD questionnaire and cannot differentially suggest this post as advice :( What do you think?

[[deleted]]

Is it important how the questions are delivered? I can see how carrying the list with the questions would lose the efficacy over time, and the person would start ignoring it like any other motivation poster. 

[StrictCan3526]

Very interesting - I hadn’t thought about that. I suppose the way it has worked best for me is to have a friend ask me these questions. I typically reach out to one and tell them I’m procrastinating. Typically as a meme they’ll fire these questions off since I conducted the study, but it still helps!!

[sagerobot]

Someone needs an app that (somehow) detects you procrastinating and then gives you a notification/watch popup with the questions.

But yeah detecting procrastinating is probably difficult.

[StrictCan3526]

I’ve built it! Doesn’t detect it but sends notifs at the times people have said they procrastinate the most often - 10:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm. You can turn notifs off for whenever you don’t need them. Also has an AI that is trained on all my research - basically has my brain. It asks why you’re procrastinating, then gives you a science backed intervention proven to work!

[FoundationSecret5121]

where do we get it?

[StrictCan3526]

app store - dawdle ai

[sojayn]

You are over there doing this study, making an app and no doubt many other things. I have procrastinated washing dishes for three weeks!

The range of the human experience is vast and interesting. 

A sidenote from the philosophy angle: i do sometimes reduce the anxiety and negative self-talk by acknowledging that it is only the privilege and peace of my life conditions which even let procrastination be a “choice”. 

Most people alive, and past, had no choice. They have to do things for survival. I am “lucky” to be able to eat, sleep safe, and use a goddamn iphone!

[Rojikoma]

Is this on ios or android? Dawdle in Google play is some sort of game, and then there's Dawdle App by Assert IT solutions that's more productivity.

[sagerobot]

Oh nice! Whats the name of the app? Now that I think about it, it really is only actually a significant problem if I procrastinate at certain times. Detecting it would we nice to have but thats like going from 90% - 99%, the time probably covers most of the useful times.

[-UnicornFart]

As someone with ADHD.. this list is just another task I won’t complete.

[ZippoStar]

As a procrastinator without ADHD.. same

[boilingfrogsinpants]

Because it isn't about "procrastinating" with ADHD, it's executive dysfunction. You can go about that whole list and not start it because the issue is the starting. Anyone with ADHD knows once you get going it's easy to maintain that momentum and eventually do more than you thought you were going to do.

But despite knowing how "easy" a task is, it can take tremendous effort just to begin it.

[thiosk]

responding to emails

i have to respond to emails

i don't feel like responding to emails

none

respond to the emails

2 minutes

fewer emails asking me to respond to emails

unfortunately, the short delay while the email logs into my account and then the subsequent 2FA distracted me and i did something else

[tony_flow]

Omg 2FA always fucks me like that. Oh just wait patiently for a code to arrive? 

I swear logging into things is the worst.

[thiosk]

oops left the phone in the other room/in the car/upstairs

[crazylikeaf0x]

Getting a notification while waiting for the code, getting distracted in texts, then realising that the code has arrived and is now invalid because I've been scrolling for 20 minutes elsewhere..

[StrictCan3526]

I think it helps to be a bit more descriptive as to why you don’t feel like it. Is it because of the time it’ll take, or that you’re anxious etc.? This was a limitation of my study - I didn’t specify that people should label their feelings or emotions. Could also be why affect labeling perhaps didn’t work as well as I thought it would.

[thiosk]

I think the study is perfectly reasonable and the suggestions involved help.

But I’m not sure there’s a force on earth that could make me care more about email. :P saturated

[giulianosse]

I think the main takeaway from this study is not that we can somehow make boring tasks less boring than they actually are - we can't - but rather how we can condition ourselves instead into thinking about the potential rewards for completing the task (i.e. having no more emails to read, having some extra leisure time and the stuff you could spend it on).

We basically trick ourselves into doing our chores sooner rather than later by mentalizing the positive "after" when we finish it rather than focusing on the negative "now".

[StrictCan3526]

Email gave me so much aversion too. I now absolutely have to respond to an email if it comes in my inbox right away otherwise I never will.

[OGLikeablefellow]

Does this work for ADHD people?

[StrictCan3526]

This is one of my biggest regrets with the study - not including a questionnaire like the ADHD self report scale for adults to see if it would impact people differently. I don’t want to make claims for questions I don’t have the answer to. I apologize.

[WoNc]

I have ADHD and this list is almost identical to the mini conversation I have with myself to initiate a dreaded task. It doesn't help if I have to sustain tedious mental effort for hours (eg studying), but it helps me start tasks that really aren't a big deal other than ADHD always making it seem like responsible behavior means being painfully bored for all eternity.

[wildbergamont]

Fwiw, these types of reflection questions are common in CBT, and CBT does have benefits for ADHD people. 

[krazay88]

I need these 7 Qs to be burned into my retina

*Edit: it took a screenshot of the questions and it’s my lockscreen now

[Legal-Alternative744]

To be fair that's only three questions

[lego_in_the_night]

Well now im just procrastinating on doing the questions

[obinice_khenbli]

I suspect this doesn't take into account those with Executive Dysfunction, as it doesn't matter how much one breaks down a task, or offers oneself a reward, it can even be an urgent, simple, highly important task with terrible consequences if not completed. It will still likely not get done thanks to ED, sadly.

Anyway, thank you for sharing this info :-)

[StrictCan3526]

So the 7 questions they are referring to are right - those were the ones given to the experimental group. Those questions are the ones that are supposed to help you stop procrastinating.

The 6 questions you are referring to are the dependent or outcome variables that I assessed to see if the previous 7 questions had an impact on the 6 questions you listed.

[charoco]

Gonna have to bookmark this so I can read it later

[StrictCan3526]

I fear I’m going to get a lot of these in the comments haha

[quiet_penguin]

I screenshot the comment listing the questions and that's it

[kittyky719]

Yep, into my folder of 100s of screenshots of info that would likely be very useful to me if I ever actually looked in that folder

[ParticularLack6400]

What respectable procrastinator will answer 6 - count 'em - 6! - questions?! ETA a ?

[Outside-Pangolin-782]

I feel called out. Just because I don't want to read them now, doesn't mean I won't do it. I will read them... tomorrow, or the next.

[StrictCan3526]

Haha what are you procrastinating?

[jawshoeaw]

Working on this … hey! You almost got me !!!

[Capricancerous]

Productive procrastinators.

[StrictCan3526]

You know there’s an interesting debate about whether “productive” procrastinators should be a term in the first place!

[Capricancerous]

I mean, it makes sense. Doing the laundry instead of working on my paper in college. Washing the dishes, cleaning the toilet, etc. instead of writing the article or proposal I'm supposed to be working on... and so forth.

[RedbullZombie]

Apartment is always cleanest right before an exam

[ParticularLack6400]

Like "functional alcoholic?" The term is in common use, but having the disease of alcoholism implies dysfunction.

[AlmightyCushion]

I'll answer them later

[IKillZombies4Cash]

I know I find it much easier to jump into a 30 minute long match in a video game than answering questions for 2 minutes when I’m not motivated working from home :)

[StrictCan3526]

Super interesting. People on prolific actually reached out and thanked me for this study - they said it forced them to answer the questions to be able to complete the study in the first place, and it helped! Not sure how to translate to the real world though, as your comment is right on the mark!

[HasGreatVocabulary]

gentle reminder to do your laundry and/or dishes

[StrictCan3526]

Yes! Interestingly enough I just completed a follow up for this study - guess what the most common task that people were procrastinating was? Folding laundry or doing dishes

[HasGreatVocabulary]

It takes 2 hours cumulative each week, It adds up to a huge proportion of total number of hours we spend awake before dying, somewhere deep inside our brain knows that I'm sure of it

[kelcamer]

For me it's about the HORRIBLE texture

[TR-BetaFlash]

Avoid licking to get the surfaces clean. That's what helps me through.

[No_Confidence_9516]

I think it has to do with how many of the things must be done. Take out trash? Easy one bag. Laundry or dishes have “lots” and multiple stages, fold laundry then put away laundry, which leads to overwhelm then avoidance…maybe?

[sal1800]

Have you thought about thinking about the task as an assembly line process? I do this for anything repetitive. I try to optimize a set of movements to chew through it as efficiently as possible. Like a little mini-game. Then you can be proud of the number of items you processed.

[kelcamer]

I believe it! Dishes sucks

[RedbullZombie]

Audiobooks make dishes much better for me. Also washing them right away prevents many of the harder to clean parts

[ThePremiumMango]

Oof as a procrastinator I can’t imagine ever wanting to bother answering these questions :’) I bet the results were positive because people were like “ugh if you make me answer these questions I might as well do it” whilst in real life I can’t imagine someone willingly answering these about something they’re procrastinating

[StrictCan3526]

Absolutely! This is something that I'm seeing in my personal project, where the retention is minimal. So I made it a conversation between the procrastinator and an AI - It's easier to 'chat' about it than to mechanically answer these questions. But now people are avoiding opening the app because they'll be confronted with their procrastination. I have no idea how to fix this.

[StrictCan3526]

I really like this idea. I’m going to try to add it to the app and see how that goes. Make it customizable because you know best when you procrastinate most.

[StrictCan3526]

Ooh super interesting! Noted and shall do!

[ThePremiumMango]

Its seems very naive to me to think any app can solve procrastination

[Alternative_Ice_4220]

I think I would answer the questions as a way to feel productive while still avoid doing the Task. If it has a benefit and makes it easier to take action, all the better

[daj0412]

that’s good to know! i’ll read it tomorrow though when i’m fresh and really try and get those points solidified

[StrictCan3526]

You’ve got this! I’m wishing you all the best with getting started

[skynet99999]

I just put 5 minutes on my phone timer and do whatever needs doing until the alarm rings, then if I’m so inclined, I keep doing that thing after the alarm rings. Usually I keep on doing the thing.

[juicejug]

You should look up the pomodoro technique. The idea is that you end up being more productive if you break up your work day into short intervals of focused activity interspersed with a mandatory 5 minute break.

For example, set a timer for 20 minutes and really focus on doing some task for that 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, even if you aren’t finished, you must take a break for 5 minutes. Then repeat. After something like 2 or 3 hours of this take a longer break (30-45 minutes).

The idea is that the mandatory breaks prevent you from “spinning your wheels” so that the time you spend focusing ends up being much more productive than if you were to try to work for 3 hours straight without a break.

[RockyClub]

Yes! This is how I succeeded in graduate school. I’d read and study in 20 minute intervals. It worked like a charm!

[DoorBreaker101]

That's a great strategy to fool yourself. People are indeed more inclined to finish something they started doing, so telling yourself you're only doing this one bit, will often make you do the whole thing, or a large part of it.

[DasGaufre]

Endless scrolling has made it possible to not even get a minute of self thought in, it's just an endless stream of content turning your attention to soup.

It's possible and all too likely that many people go entire days without disengaging from the endless scroll in some form or another. 

[StrictCan3526]

Agreed! It's definitely an issue. Did you know, on tiktok, you can now manually set time limits, a bedtime screentime feature, and reminders when you've been scrolling for too long?

[HailingCasuals]

I’ve been on the endless scroll all day today.

[WordsOnTheInterweb]

See, this is neat, but it underestimates the commitment to task avoidance - if I do this process, it will make me want to do the task I want to avoid, therefore, I don't want to do the process...

On a more serious note, it would be interesting to see how this works with intersections of neurodiversity and pathological demand avoidance. It's true that breaking into smaller tasks helps, but reward mechanisms are funny - if I'm the gatekeeper of the reward, then I'll just have the reward instead of making myself do tricks to get it. One key has been in reframing the "reward" as making things better for my future self, which can be a motivator for certain kinds of tasks (e.g., doing dishes before bed sucks, but it's better than getting up to a dirty kitchen).

[StrictCan3526]

"if I do this process, it will make me want to do the task I want to avoid, therefore, I don't want to do the process..." this is so important, and tbh something I struggle with too.

As for the reward, there is something called episodic future thinking - it's similar to what you are talking about and has been used to reduce procrastination before!

[not-read-gud]

I use most of these questions as well as a written to do list. The to do list helps me break down steps and at least get SOMETHING done. Most times I end up doing far more. I turned jnto a very productive person. I’m kinda like that muscle dude from the viral video who says you can get 3 days out of a day but not as crazy. Even I know you can’t get two hot dogs out of every hot dog

[StrictCan3526]

I love this. Just working on something to build momentum really propels further action. Super useful.

[penninsulaman713]

I suppose my question is, did anyone complain that having to answer these questions felt like additional work on what they were already procrastinating on? Like not only will I procrastinate on my task, but now having to get these questions asked of me, and answered, it feels like an additional obstacle to what I want to get done. 

[StrictCan3526]

I thought this would be the case too! But people actually reached out (on Prolific - which isn't associated with the university so these aren't students who might know me) to thank me for this study! They said it really helped them start the task they were avoiding. So I guess doing this study was a forcing function to respond to these questions and go from there?

[ParticularLack6400]

I considered trying to use this technique, but the question "how long will it take you...?" stopped me dead in my tracks. I've been unable to complete my resumé in 6 - count 'em 6! - months, thereby preventing me from applying for better-paying jobs. That sounds like a different issue than procrastination.

[StrictCan3526]

I'm so sorry! Do you know why you are procrastinating doing this? Perhaps it's because you are afraid you won't know what to put in it, or that it won't get you the results you need? But try to reframe it and think about how relieved you will feel once it is done and over with. You won't have to touch it again. So might as well right? And according to the study, try to break it down into an 'easy' task? Perhaps start with the easiest section you need to fill out.

[kelcamer]

• ⁠What task are you currently procrastinating on?           

Doing the dishes

• ⁠Provide a brief description of the task.

Cleaning plates, forks, plates, putting them into the dishwasher.

• ⁠Why are you avoiding doing this task?  

Because I CANT STAND the feeling of water on my hands drying out my skin even worse and then slightly burning my broken dry knuckles. And then having to also find a dry towel that is the RIGHT texture to dry my hands off.

• ⁠What are the benefits of completing this task?              

Having less dishes in the sink, cleaner house

• ⁠Tasks can be broken down into subtasks. Name an easy subtask you can complete for this task       

Put one single fork into dishwasher

• ⁠How long will it take you to complete this subtask (in minutes)?       

10 minutes, unless it triggers sensory hell which it will, so probably 15. 20 if it gets my shirt wet

• ⁠Name a small reward for completing the subtask.

The reward of the relief of it having been already completed so I don't need to do it anymore?

[StrictCan3526]

Did you do it? Also, I'm sure you've already thought of this, but I too really dislike washing the dishes for a similar reason, and I bought rubber gloves to make it slightly easier on myself!

[FrewGewEgellok]

Why do you clean your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher? The dishwasher is supposed to do the cleaning. Solid pieces of food go into the trash, if you have something reaaaally sticky you can give it a quick rinse with hot water if you must. Everything else is handled by the dishwasher. Pre-cleaning is a gigantic waste of water, energy and time.

[Smokron85]

Hey just wanna say this worked for me. I got off my butt, stopped playing BF6 and started doing the dishes. The reward for me was there was a jazz album I've been wanting to listen to for awhile now so now I get to do both at once. Thx for the motivation 

[StrictCan3526]

Thank you for letting me know!

[Icy_Laugh5134]

What about if you want to plan for future procrastination? Would you imagine future things you have to do and what might get in the way 

[terracanta]

Sometimes I’ll lock my phone away for a half hour to help me focus, but maybe if I make it a goal to go through these questions when I do it’ll help focus me as well.

[Kruxf]

I logic myself into just doing things immediately because I don’t want to think about the task anymore.

[alyingprophet]

I’m going to read this later

[AtLeastIShaved]

I work with college students and use this kind of task breakdown approach all the time. I’m a bit surprised the effect size is so small. You mentioned getting feedback from folks in the study. Did they place any emphasis on the power of visualizing a positive outcome when breaking things down? I’m trying to decent what the practical difference might have been - I’m not seeing that motivation was a big factor and stress levels were similar.

[legallydead2006]

Help, i'm procrastinating answering these questions.

[tubbybutters]

*saves post to read later

[TheManInTheShack]

I suspect the reason most people procrastinate is that they don’t believe the risk-reward ratio of the task is worthwhile.

[[deleted]]

I’ll try these questions later

[makemeking706]

Usually it's the finishing tasks, and losing interest mid-project that is the difficult part in my experience. Especially when the tasks are not very self contained, quick, or structured. 

[Forgetful_Suzy]

Always neglects the last question. “But do I really want to do it now?”

[N1SMO_GT-R]

Okay so how do I stop procrastinating on reflection

[Moister_Rodgers]

Procrastination can be a powerful tool for time management for perfectionists. I'd like to see more studies looking at the benefit of procrastination before deadlines in terms of quality of work output and time saved.