Procrastinating by reading books
Jul. 30th, 2013 03:32 pmI still have massive problems with procrastination, but I've improved an awful lot. I've become aware of different problems, and the ways different productivity techniques help and don't help with each[1].
Ironically, now I'm noticing something that seemed like a stereotypical procrastinator problem, but actually isn't: when I'm reading something and don't want to put it down. That's actually quite rare: normally I procrastinate by doing stuff I don't really care about (eg. "clicking refresh repeatedly") and I want to just cut it out entirely.
But last night I read the entirety of Among Others by Jo Walton[2]. Oops. I realise, after work, I need about two hours of unwinding, even if I get other things done. But I'm not sure what to do in that time. If it's too interesting, I get hooked. If it's too boring, I stop doing it.
Some of that can be puttering round the house making dinner, and so on. But too much and I get bored. And a bit can be talking to mum or rachel, but too much and I get interested. And if I have time, some can be gym, but I need some sitting down afterwards too.
So I need at least some "pleasant zero-effort" activity. Which for me is usually reading. But if it's a new, exciting book, I can't put it down. And if it's a book I've read several times before, it's boring. So most of the time, my "flop" activity is re-reading something I've read once or twice before, and savouring it, but without working my brain too hard.
So, there's a delicate balance where I need a steady supply of books I read nine months ago I want to have another look at. But I can run out...
Or I could try to be more self-controlled at reading new books, and read a couple of chapters a night. But I'm not sure if that's a lost cause...
Footnotes
[1] Yes, I wish "stop overthinking it and just do it" magically solved all my problems, but I've tried it and I've tried it and it doesn't, but slow incremental improvement *has* made me better. So if you say "stop overthinking and just do it", I'm really, really sorry if I seem not to be taking your advice, but after ten years of "X doesn't work, Y does", I'm getting very very leery of trusting someone when they say "just try X MORE".
[2] Read it!
Ironically, now I'm noticing something that seemed like a stereotypical procrastinator problem, but actually isn't: when I'm reading something and don't want to put it down. That's actually quite rare: normally I procrastinate by doing stuff I don't really care about (eg. "clicking refresh repeatedly") and I want to just cut it out entirely.
But last night I read the entirety of Among Others by Jo Walton[2]. Oops. I realise, after work, I need about two hours of unwinding, even if I get other things done. But I'm not sure what to do in that time. If it's too interesting, I get hooked. If it's too boring, I stop doing it.
Some of that can be puttering round the house making dinner, and so on. But too much and I get bored. And a bit can be talking to mum or rachel, but too much and I get interested. And if I have time, some can be gym, but I need some sitting down afterwards too.
So I need at least some "pleasant zero-effort" activity. Which for me is usually reading. But if it's a new, exciting book, I can't put it down. And if it's a book I've read several times before, it's boring. So most of the time, my "flop" activity is re-reading something I've read once or twice before, and savouring it, but without working my brain too hard.
So, there's a delicate balance where I need a steady supply of books I read nine months ago I want to have another look at. But I can run out...
Or I could try to be more self-controlled at reading new books, and read a couple of chapters a night. But I'm not sure if that's a lost cause...
Footnotes
[1] Yes, I wish "stop overthinking it and just do it" magically solved all my problems, but I've tried it and I've tried it and it doesn't, but slow incremental improvement *has* made me better. So if you say "stop overthinking and just do it", I'm really, really sorry if I seem not to be taking your advice, but after ten years of "X doesn't work, Y does", I'm getting very very leery of trusting someone when they say "just try X MORE".
[2] Read it!