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[INTP] INTPs - How do you deal with procrastination/motivation issues?

Eris

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Jul 29, 2009
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51
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I'm sorry if this topic has been discussed, but it's one that's bothering me lately. I, like I'm sure most INTPs, have a serious issue with motivation and procrastination.

When I finally realize my habits are getting really bad, what I usually try to do is make a schedule for myself and plan whatever work I need to to out in a doable fashion. This generally works for me for things like school work (when I'm successful in forcing myself to follow it, anyways), but it tends to not work so well when I apply the same method to personal projects and whatnot.

What do you guys do to help keep yourselves motivated?
 

JonJT

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Sep 16, 2007
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Failure has been a great motivator, but I still find myself behind the ball. Making lists and generally maturing has been my greatest aid.
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
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Desperation (and knowing I can't avoid the hammer that will soon smack me) is usually the most effective motivation.

However, my actual strategy is to start creating to-do lists and schedules and do my best to follow them. The goal is to put achievable mundane items on the list and just start trying to cross off as much as possible. Large vague goals get broken into tangible subgoals, then I just turn off my "big picture" sense and try to push through the items one by one. Sometimes I jump around on the list, but the goal is to cross stuff off.

Usually that gets me over the hump even if I don't mark everything off.
 

A-J

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Jan 20, 2009
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Dexedrine :devil:. Too bad it doesn't actually help with motivation tho.
 

Grungemouse

Widdles in your cream.
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Just doing it. I tell myself that I'll never be in the mood to write, so I try to force myself through the wall.
 

Willfrey

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Nov 9, 2008
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I'm to the point when it is becoming quite clear to me that handling things ASAP as soon as they come up is far less draining and stressful then waiting for the last possible moment to do so.

In my case, taking care of unpleasant customers first thing in the morning, and dredging through the backorder list first so I can spend the rest of the afternoon slacking guilt-free.
 

The Decline

(☞゚∀゚)☞
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?
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I tell myself that I'll deal with my procrastination issues later.
 

redacted

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Nov 28, 2007
Messages
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To answer the question: I fail.

I think of it like this: there's some motivation threshold required for me to do shit, and all I can really do is affect the things that increase or decrease the motivation function. Once it hits the threshold, I'll do it. But most of the time, the best way I can think of to increase the function is waiting until the deadline gets closer.
 

The Decline

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To answer the question: I fail.

I think of it like this: there's some motivation threshold required for me to do shit, and all I can really do is affect the things that increase or decrease the motivation function. Once it hits the threshold, I'll do it. But most of the time, the best way I can think of to increase the function is waiting until the deadline gets closer.

I'm in agreement here. I struggle with an overwhelming sense of failure, which I like to put in the back of my mind. Here and there the urge to actually tackle the problematic task emerges, but usually once it becomes urgent (deadline). I can go pretty deep into fucking myself over if I want to. It must be some sort of pride thing.
 

Orangey

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I'm in agreement here. I struggle with an overwhelming sense of failure, which I like to put in the back of my mind. Here and there the urge to actually tackle the problematic task emerges, but usually once it becomes urgent (deadline). I can go pretty deep into fucking myself over if I want to. It must be some sort of pride thing.

+1
 

Tallulah

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Yeah, I agree with Evan and The Decline. Fear of failure or consequences is really the only thing that truly motivates me. I did learn in grad school that the "just do it whether you want to or not" thing does work, just not all the time. Depends on how unpleasant it is.

Getting the unpleasantness over first doesn't work for me. I get the easy/fun stuff done, and then I feel like I've actually accomplished something. Then there's less stuff to do, making it more likely I can force myself to do the stuff I don't like.
 

Edgar

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I bet a lot of INTPs will plan to comment in this thread but postpone it until they collect their thoughts, and then get distracted, and eventually never get around to doing it.
 

kelric

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Yeah, I agree with Evan and The Decline. Fear of failure or consequences is really the only thing that truly motivates me. I did learn in grad school that the "just do it whether you want to or not" thing does work, just not all the time. Depends on how unpleasant it is.

Getting the unpleasantness over first doesn't work for me. I get the easy/fun stuff done, and then I feel like I've actually accomplished something. Then there's less stuff to do, making it more likely I can force myself to do the stuff I don't like.

I'm pretty much the same as Tal - motivation is difficult sometimes, but fear of failure can almost always crush it. In school, for instance, I never had the late-night procrastinator problem. I was the guy everybody hates who's always done his studying days in advance - because my fear of failure would just start making me paranoid in advance. Of course, it was nice being able to relax the day before a big test - which probably didn't hurt, tell you the truth :D.

For things that just don't matter to me housekeeping, yard maintenance, etc. I usually wind up putting things off until something happens (I spill something on the floor... guests coming over, etc.). It's the first step that's the hardest. Once I get going, I usually do okay.
 

Matthew_Z

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I'm presently procrastinating finding a solution to said problem by posting on TypologyCentral.

I usually try to procrastinate productively. This method sounds crazy, but it has saved me in school SEVERAL TIMES.

As for my solution, I found simply taking initiative whenever possible was the best way to stop procrastination. If something needs to be done in 96 hours and should take around 2 hours to do it, why not do it now? Your stress level will go down as there is less work that needs to be done and you be able to procrastinate as work is already done. Planning to do things ahead of when you need to do them is the main tactic involved. Even if you procrastinate, the early planning should make up for it.

As I'm sure the readers of this post are thinking, this is a job easier said than done. It does require a significant amount of practice.

This is all said keeping in mind that making sure that you don't get caught in a cycle of drudgery that you will constantly want to procrastinate away.
 

Kasper

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You guys are my peeps! *shakes fist @ procrastination, does nothing about it*

Nothing works better than unbendable pressure and a need/desire to actually meet the deadline. Short of that, nothing usually happens unless I want it to.

Lists can work fairly well for short periods but the best thing for me is outsourcing unpleasant and hard to get motivated for jobs. Getting bogged down with tasks I really struggle to make myself do can make everything else seem that much bigger and harder, getting someone else to do the things that I really don't want to do helps to motivate me in those other areas as it's not so much.
 

lunalum

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I bet a lot of INTPs will plan to comment in this thread but postpone it until they collect their thoughts, and then get distracted, and eventually never get around to doing it.

:yes:

I was probably going down that road until I read your comment...

How I deal with the issues? I haven't found a method that consistently works yet. Either I need to get really super excited about the task, be threatened with extreme fail, or a combination of the two while making sure that my health and abilities are high enough to actually get somewhere.
 

Costrin

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I have no idea.... clearly fear of failure isn't enough of a motivator. Or maybe the consequences just aren't dire enough yet... yet. :doh:
 

Tallulah

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For some of my friends (non-INTPs), they can set up a rewards system with themselves. "If I get this much work done, I can watch tv, have a treat, buy something for myself, etc." This doesn't work with me. I already know that I can have that thing. Why would I withhold it from myself? Similarly, setting a clock 15 minutes ahead doesn't make me early for anything. I just mentally subtract 15 minutes and show up late anyway.
 

bluebell

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Getting the unpleasantness over first doesn't work for me. I get the easy/fun stuff done, and then I feel like I've actually accomplished something. Then there's less stuff to do, making it more likely I can force myself to do the stuff I don't like.

+1

For things that just don't matter to me housekeeping, yard maintenance, etc. I usually wind up putting things off until something happens (I spill something on the floor... guests coming over, etc.). It's the first step that's the hardest.

+2 A lot of things have a high activation energy.

As for my solution, I found simply taking initiative whenever possible was the best way to stop procrastination. If something needs to be done in 96 hours and should take around 2 hours to do it, why not do it now? Your stress level will go down as there is less work that needs to be done and you be able to procrastinate as work is already done. Planning to do things ahead of when you need to do them is the main tactic involved. Even if you procrastinate, the early planning should make up for it.

That doesn't work for me. I've tried that in my job, and all that happens is the task expands to fill the available time. Even better, the quality of my writing is crap. So I deliberately do the opposite. I deliberately leave things to the last minute and then write whatever I need to write. The quality of my writing is much much better and I don't waste so much time faffing about.

During a typical day at work, I tend to try to steer my procrastination by shifting to stuff that needs to be done and flipping between various tasks to stay interested.

For some of my friends (non-INTPs), they can set up a rewards system with themselves. "If I get this much work done, I can watch tv, have a treat, buy something for myself, etc." This doesn't work with me. I already know that I can have that thing. Why would I withhold it from myself? Similarly, setting a clock 15 minutes ahead doesn't make me early for anything. I just mentally subtract 15 minutes and show up late anyway.

+3 Also, setting artificial deadlines doesn't work either, cos I know they're artificial.

And I recently wrote this at INTPc:

I did well at school and college. Apart from doing the required assignments, I invariably did best if I studied at the last minute. I did try doing the study as I go along technique in first year college and dutifully read the textbook as we went along. Which was fine, till we got to the first exam and I tried to study for it. I couldn't remember the details well enough, but the textbook was too familiar to be able to read it again without getting bored. So I just did last minute study and it was MUCH better.

I did pay attention in lectures, though, and thought about what we were taught. But the formal sit down every night and study thing just didn't work for me.

My maths courses were all open book exams, ie you could take in all your notes and the textbook. More than once, I ended up teaching myself how to do particular integrals or differential equations while actually in the exam. I read and think quickly, which kinda saved my ass in those exams.
 

Blank

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Similarly, setting a clock 15 minutes ahead doesn't make me early for anything. I just mentally subtract 15 minutes and show up late anyway.

Aha! I have a remedy for that. When I set my alarm/clock, I'll get it close to the actual time, close my eyes and press on the button so it will skip a random number of minutes ahead. I'll look away and go distract myself.

As for how I deal with procrastination, I'll bitch and moan about it to everyone's nearby until the point where I have to get shit done...and then I'll get shit done.
 
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