I so enjoy slow reading you. While reading, you helped me come to an epiphany about myself that when i procrastinate it's because I'm not prepared, like I haven't fractured the task into steps, thus feel overwhelmed. Also, your post got me thinking about how maybe religion created "procrastination" as a way to shame us into "doing" - "idle hands" and all. Idle hands can lead to too much thinking. Anyway, really love how my mind buzzes away after reading your work.
Thank you. And in regards to religion I think it’s the religion of secularism that’s the problem. Using religion- usually Christianity- to justify ceaseless work and striving in spite of ‘consider the lilies’ being an absolutely explicit, clear as day teaching in Matthew.
I think the same has occurred in the East too- Buddhism and certainly Taoism are not the religions of the workhorses if you read the texts in question. I guess procrastination/idleness only becomes a sin when you have factories to run and widgets to make.
"Rather than being the ostensible or ironic ‘guilt’ over a certain bad taste pleasure, it often strikes me as an ironically cloaked actual guilt over feeling pleasure in general."
The only good definition I've heard of guilty pleasure are media that presents views that are fundamentally against your values but you can't help being entertained.
However that one person who told me that had a very clear example and had thought the question through. I think the majority of people fall under your rubric: guilt for feeling pleasure at all.
I love that definition of guilty pleasure but that is the only time I have heard it. I wish that were both the common usage and the common way if manifests but I do suspect that for most it is guilt about pleasure *in general*
“For the artist it might be a sign that you haven’t yet sufficiently thought your idea or your story through enough. It might be a sign that you are afraid of the self-revelation that the work will entail.”
The latter definitely resonated with me. I’ve sometimes wondered if the reason I procrastinate writing is because I truly don’t like it, as suggested in the corporate situation, but every time I do write, it provides me immense satisfaction. The fear of self-revelation is a much better explanation that weirdly reassures me because it is a perfectly normal response to exploring the unknown
As always, this was a provocative essay that could only come from the wisdom associated with deeply contemplating the “why” behind conventional “problems”. Nice job Tom
Thanks Victor, that's very kind of you to say. Perhaps this says something about my individual psychology but I tend to assume that 'laziness' is a tactic to avoid the self-revelation that can come through actually attempting something difficult rather than merely a means of conversing energy out of apathy.
Regret born of inaction stings more than whatever consequences come from trying and failing but it sometimes takes some of us quite a long time (and some bitter experience) to truly grasp this.
That’s exactly it - the classic man vs self struggle we all face today: overcome our laziness to create something meaningful or fall to the pleasures of abundance and comfort
You could say that procrastination is usually opting for ‘easy’ (often false) meaning is the moment vs opting for the chance to create real meaning over the longer term.
I’m convinced at this point that the entire idea of ‘procrastination’ was made up by somebody who had an idea for a self-improvement book.
Procrastination tells us things, deeper than ‘I am lazy’. I think the majority of us—particularly us with office jobs—spend the majority of our lives stuck procrastinating, because most jobs don’t take us 8 hours to perform but we have to stay in the office.
I wonder if the term started to perpetuate more in an industrial world, or the post-industrial world that followed.
“The best way to troll an influencer is to politely but repeatedly inquire as to what they actually do. After all we are what we are, not what we say we are.”
Sideline observer: cus scare tactics and manipulation is what all these 'alphas' do (other than glorified sales and networking), if they are not chickenhawks then they will always be snakes and leeches. Side question: anyone have a clue on Tate's "business model"?
This added some depth to my understanding of procrastination, as I always get unpleasant tasks out of the way quickly, so I never thought of procrastination one way or the other. You wrote that "Those are the two commonalities, as far as I can tell- either more preparation is needed before you begin or more commonly that you are afraid of failure or rejection that may come from completing the task." This led me to consider that fear of failure can be a factor in procrastination. A few things fell into place for me with that astute observation. Well done as usual and thanks.
Thanks. I generally look at things from the perspective that people do what they want to do. It maybe unhealthy or maladaptive but in the moment that action is what they *want* to do.
And most procrastination activities are avoidance activities- whether it be avoiding a task you aren’t ready or yet prepared to do or, more likely, to avoid the possibility of trying and failing with all of the ego bruising that that can bring along with it.
I so enjoy slow reading you. While reading, you helped me come to an epiphany about myself that when i procrastinate it's because I'm not prepared, like I haven't fractured the task into steps, thus feel overwhelmed. Also, your post got me thinking about how maybe religion created "procrastination" as a way to shame us into "doing" - "idle hands" and all. Idle hands can lead to too much thinking. Anyway, really love how my mind buzzes away after reading your work.
Thank you. And in regards to religion I think it’s the religion of secularism that’s the problem. Using religion- usually Christianity- to justify ceaseless work and striving in spite of ‘consider the lilies’ being an absolutely explicit, clear as day teaching in Matthew.
I think the same has occurred in the East too- Buddhism and certainly Taoism are not the religions of the workhorses if you read the texts in question. I guess procrastination/idleness only becomes a sin when you have factories to run and widgets to make.
"Rather than being the ostensible or ironic ‘guilt’ over a certain bad taste pleasure, it often strikes me as an ironically cloaked actual guilt over feeling pleasure in general."
The only good definition I've heard of guilty pleasure are media that presents views that are fundamentally against your values but you can't help being entertained.
However that one person who told me that had a very clear example and had thought the question through. I think the majority of people fall under your rubric: guilt for feeling pleasure at all.
I love that definition of guilty pleasure but that is the only time I have heard it. I wish that were both the common usage and the common way if manifests but I do suspect that for most it is guilt about pleasure *in general*
“For the artist it might be a sign that you haven’t yet sufficiently thought your idea or your story through enough. It might be a sign that you are afraid of the self-revelation that the work will entail.”
The latter definitely resonated with me. I’ve sometimes wondered if the reason I procrastinate writing is because I truly don’t like it, as suggested in the corporate situation, but every time I do write, it provides me immense satisfaction. The fear of self-revelation is a much better explanation that weirdly reassures me because it is a perfectly normal response to exploring the unknown
As always, this was a provocative essay that could only come from the wisdom associated with deeply contemplating the “why” behind conventional “problems”. Nice job Tom
Thanks Victor, that's very kind of you to say. Perhaps this says something about my individual psychology but I tend to assume that 'laziness' is a tactic to avoid the self-revelation that can come through actually attempting something difficult rather than merely a means of conversing energy out of apathy.
Regret born of inaction stings more than whatever consequences come from trying and failing but it sometimes takes some of us quite a long time (and some bitter experience) to truly grasp this.
That’s exactly it - the classic man vs self struggle we all face today: overcome our laziness to create something meaningful or fall to the pleasures of abundance and comfort
You could say that procrastination is usually opting for ‘easy’ (often false) meaning is the moment vs opting for the chance to create real meaning over the longer term.
Something like that.
I’m convinced at this point that the entire idea of ‘procrastination’ was made up by somebody who had an idea for a self-improvement book.
Procrastination tells us things, deeper than ‘I am lazy’. I think the majority of us—particularly us with office jobs—spend the majority of our lives stuck procrastinating, because most jobs don’t take us 8 hours to perform but we have to stay in the office.
I wonder if the term started to perpetuate more in an industrial world, or the post-industrial world that followed.
“The best way to troll an influencer is to politely but repeatedly inquire as to what they actually do. After all we are what we are, not what we say we are.”
This made me laugh.
‘I’m a copywriter’
‘But what do you actually do?’
‘I run a 7 figure agency helping clients to increase their conversion rate and sales.’
‘But what do you actually do?’
‘I hustle every day facilitating the maximum possible ROI for my clients.’
‘Good for you. But what. Do you. Actually. Do?’
*eventually*
‘I write emails that use scarcity tactics and bordering on outright lies to sell gullible people ineffective gadgets that they don’t actually need.’
‘That wasn’t so hard was it? Now remind me again why I should listen to your advice on how to be an alpha male…’
Sideline observer: cus scare tactics and manipulation is what all these 'alphas' do (other than glorified sales and networking), if they are not chickenhawks then they will always be snakes and leeches. Side question: anyone have a clue on Tate's "business model"?
This added some depth to my understanding of procrastination, as I always get unpleasant tasks out of the way quickly, so I never thought of procrastination one way or the other. You wrote that "Those are the two commonalities, as far as I can tell- either more preparation is needed before you begin or more commonly that you are afraid of failure or rejection that may come from completing the task." This led me to consider that fear of failure can be a factor in procrastination. A few things fell into place for me with that astute observation. Well done as usual and thanks.
Thanks. I generally look at things from the perspective that people do what they want to do. It maybe unhealthy or maladaptive but in the moment that action is what they *want* to do.
And most procrastination activities are avoidance activities- whether it be avoiding a task you aren’t ready or yet prepared to do or, more likely, to avoid the possibility of trying and failing with all of the ego bruising that that can bring along with it.