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Laziness and Procrastination = GENETIC.

mrcockburn

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http://www.bio.davidson.edu/courses/genomics/2004/Schulenborg/page 1.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2048064.stm

Yes, these aren't conclusive, but I think they're the beginning of the truth. Do you agree that laziness and procrastination is genetic?

It's true for me. Both of my biological parents were ESFPs who procrastinated to the point of getting warrants for arrest due to not attending jury duty, hot water with the IRS, refusing to clean the house until it got infested with raccoons (I'm not even kidding - and actually, not even then), etc etc.

But I was raised by a natural, effortless workaholic ENTJ who expected the same from me - but the effortless part never rubbed off on me. When he was my age, he was only too happy to study non-stop. It was always a dreadful duty for me.

I get shit done now, because I've got goals, but I do have to make a conscious effort to NOT procrastinate, unlike xxTJs who never have that problem, because working is actually easy and enjoyable for them.

If you're a lazy procrastinator, do you find it's genetic? Are yoursiblings similar?

P.S. If you actually have to will yourself to NOT procrastinate, I group you with the actual lazy procrastinators, because your natural instinctive desire is to laze around. THe opposite group is the people who are NATURALLY prompt workaholics, effortlessly.
 

Randomnity

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THe opposite group is the people who are NATURALLY prompt workaholics, effortlessly.
Isn't this roughly 0.013% of the human population? How many people do you know who have never been tempted to procrastinate? :wacko:

(yes, TJs also procrastinate, though perhaps there is a matter of degrees at play)
 

Lily flower

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I really wish I had some sort of the "wanting to work" gene. I like intellectual work, but any kind of labor like cleaning, trimming the bushes, etc. I just can't stand.
 

uncommonentity

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I believe near enough everything in life to be a choice. If you really wanted to get something done you'd go ahead and do it. I do not believe it to be genetic.
 

jimrckhnd

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I oscilate between periods of sloth and very heavy activity. Of course at work when I'm not doing much I'm very often doing alot of thinking so I'm probably not as unproductive as it might seem. I am a horrible procrastinator about the mundane and the tedious: I balance my check book about every four or five months and if I'm off by less than $20... meh, close enough. On the other hand my parents were both a bit more "nose to the grind stone" types. I suspect as with so many other behavioral characteristics the real answer is that its a bit of blend of genetics and environment.
 

mrcockburn

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I believe near enough everything in life to be a choice. If you really wanted to get something done you'd go ahead and do it. I do not believe it to be genetic.

Someone got the industrious gene... :dry:
 

ICUP

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I definitely think it can be easier for one type vs. another to avoid procrastination.
I, for instance, will do everything in my power to sabotage my own success, including procrastination, making excuses, putting myself down, etc. I seem to get work done in spite of myself, not because of myself. I seem to do well in life because I plow ahead in spite of the fact that I really just want to be a loser. I have to overlook myself. I am not there for me, psychologically. Changes come slowly, but they come nevertheless. I have gained a tidbit of self-confidence in the past few years, and a little more optimism than I ever had. It seems that when things are going well, I want to work harder to be negative. Then when I get used to that amount of success, I give up on the negativity and allow myself to enjoy it a little.
So, in my case, procrastination can be a method, a means to an end.

I can see myself as a rock star, still knocking myself down. I just think it's a comfortable place, where I feel safe. I think I use it to control my impulses. Healthy? I don't think so, I think it's something I learned to do because I didn't have another answer at the time. I would like to be different, and I'm working in that direction.
 

King sns

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I do not naturally put my nose to the grindstone at all. My mother raised me, she is the opposite, gets things done quick, always ahead of the game. (ESFJ.) But, the rest of my family tends to be P's. Lots and lots of SP's, some NP's. Very few J's. I only do the bare minimum to get by, otherwise need a lot of external push to get through things. I find that it's a quality that is unfixable all together for me, I will need to learn to live with it or get around it somehow.
 

Within

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In our genome lies disposition, discovering it is great (yeey). The perversion of it is that it will, if successful be used as an excuse. Which is inexcusable.
 
R

Riva

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I don't think it's genetic at all. My parents are really energetic. Father is a ESTJ and my mother is a ESFP. Their energy levels are amazing for their ages. On the other hand I am a bit lazy. *Yawns.*
 

Stanton Moore

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In our genome lies disposition, discovering it is great (yeey). The perversion of it is that it will, if successful be used as an excuse. Which is inexcusable.

Prove that 'In our genome lies disposition'. You write like an adolescent boy addicted to Nietzsche.
 

freeeekyyy

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I believe near enough everything in life to be a choice. If you really wanted to get something done you'd go ahead and do it. I do not believe it to be genetic.

^ Such a very J perspective. It's funny, I've seen practically this same thing many times before. Ps always seem to view decisions as being consequential of circumstance, where Js view them more independently.
 

Oaky

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I believe near enough everything in life to be a choice.
True. Personal life is mostly choice of reaction to every circumstance.
If you really wanted to get something done you'd go ahead and do it.
Not true. Willpower to do something may be independent from the intensity of the desire for it's results.
 

Such Irony

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Everyone procrastinates to some degree. Different types are prone to procrastinating on different things. Basically people are likely to procrastinate on activities calling on their nonpreferences- especially if they aren't confident in using them or cause them strain.

I don't think there is a such thing as a procrastination gene. I do think there may be a heritary component to certain personality traits that could contribute to procrastination though. Like being prone to depression, for example. If you're depressed, you're probably less likely to be motivated and thus procrastinate more.

What makes people procrastinate and to what degree is a complex interaction of personality traits and environmental influence. I think environment probably plays a greater role in who procrastinates the most. Are you surrounded by people who are self-motivated or those who are more lazy?
 

thisGuy

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I don't think its genetic. Its, what I call, 'inertia of comfort' - you don't want to change what you are doing because you are comfortable doing it
 

Little_Sticks

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In our genome lies disposition, discovering it is great (yeey). The perversion of it is that it will, if successful be used as an excuse. Which is inexcusable.

I think I get you. Even though differences surely exist, correlating them to a disposition is the same as creating an excuse. But if it's considered inexcusable, that's an excuse to disallow others to make a choice. A bit of a conundrum, really.
 

Mae

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My parents are both STJs. My mom always has to be doing something and while my dad is not as high energy as my mom, he also likes to get things done according to plan and on schedule. I, on the other hand, am as lazy as you can possibly get and still have a pulse. I put off everything I can get away with.
I think I was one of those kids you hear about, "switched at birth".
 

INTP

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I don't think it's genetic at all. My parents are really energetic. Father is a ESTJ and my mother is a ESFP. Their energy levels are amazing for their ages. On the other hand I am a bit lazy. *Yawns.*

Genes do skip generations quite often..
 
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