One thing I've noticed is that in some people procrastination is some sort of protection system. (Not saying this is what op has, just a discussion point)
They seem to feel that most tasks in life are a bit beneath them (of course I can do this course work / assignment / deliver this project / get great grades / ace this interview - I don't really need to try). Then they keep waiting and waiting until there is little time left to do the work. If they get praise/good grade/the job they have proof that they are cleverer than most and can knock work out in no time. If they fail, well it's because they didn't try that hard, so their ego isn't damaged.
Anyone else noticed this kind of procrastination? Since realising it I've noticed it more and more in people around me.
> If they get praise/good grade/the job they have proof that they are cleverer than most and can knock work out in no time. If they fail, well it's because they didn't try that hard, so their ego isn't damaged.
I've done this for as long as a can remember, in all aspects of life.
In my mind, there's nothing more pitiful than a person who tries his best and fails. Because that's the last thing I wish for, I rarely put much effort in things that I know could fail. When I do put a lot of effort, I usually don't make it known and act as if it was trivial.
In the end, the only work I'm proud to share with people is the one I never actually started. I've been chasing the same vision/ideal for more than 10 years, told everyone about it, and still haven't accomplished a thing. Fortunately, having done nothing prevents it from being a failure (in my mind), and the expected outcome is so great that nobody expects actual results anyways.
Now if only there was a fix that didn't involve a downgrade from thinker to doer.
Exactly, if anything a doer is a step above the thinker - when you do you can review and adapt to be better next time. If you just think you never actually know what the outcome would have looked like, just what you believe.
That what I mean a bit in my reply above about breaking work down in a scrum/lean way and just doing the individual pieces and not thinking just about the great big scary whole.
The only explanation I have is that the general difficulty is slowly going downwards. I was in school in two different countries (France/Germany) and on both sides there were some similarities, a shortage of funding and said funding being dependent on the number of people getting through the system.
So you have this sort of pressure that acts on the difficulty, since if the difficulty is too high less people graduate.
Then you also have the accomplishment of those before us. I remember looking at things from tests a few years ago, I would not have been able to solve that. (They were tests on mechanical forces.) What we were doing was a lot simpler, yet most did not realize this. So you have this idea that those that came before us were 'less smart' because we are acing it without much thought!
Obviously I only have a picture of my immediate surrounding. I've been in school from 2000-2014. Am currently studying. Perhaps someone from earlier or later could give their point of view on that matter?
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On another matter, I really dislike how my current reward system works. Am trying to fix it by eating regularly, something that looks like a sleep schedule, and actually giving a shit about the stuff that I produce.
Indeed, the way I try to avoid it is to make public commitments (that are achievable but timely) which will become obvious to others. This will include milestones along the way. Possibly the commitment won't be all to one person, maybe I'll be telling someone that reports to me that they can expect a list of requirements by X, then someone else that we will review the first wire frames by Y and then those I report to that they can expect to feedback on Z date. This keep me continually moving and fits nicely with the scrum/lean methodologies that we follow.
I have noticed exactly the same thing, having been in High School in France until 2013. However, I wonder if this idea isn't a red herring since it looks like some people have had this feeling for decades (or maybe there has been a steady decline of our academic level since then).
Unfortunately I have observed exactly the described behaviour on myself from time to time. You have also described the thoughts I have regarding this. Sometimes I procrastinate to prevent possible negative outcome of things I am not sure if I am able to solve them and focus on things I am certain I am able to instead. I am someone who gets up late and I feel way too happy if am able to be on time while getting up late.
Can anyone provide more information regarding this?
I think this has to do with a mixture of fear of failure, having "smart" be part of your identity and having somewhat of a fixed mindset instead of a growth mindset.
The procrastination protects your self identity because you can discount failure as having not tried that hard.
It's better to keep your identity small and value continually learning over "being smart".
I've noticed the problem in my peers and in myself too. One good remedy is this: http://mindingourway.com/have-no-excuses/
"In refusing to generate an excuse when everyone else is doing so, you violate some unspoken pact of mediocrity"
My advice is not to look at the whole but to look at pieces that you can do, make public commitments to doing them and the just do it, don't care at first if it is good or even right, just do it. Then review it (if possible review it publicly with someone you respect and trust) and then adapt it and continue.
You have to commit to starting it and being clear about what else you have on at the time and where this sits it the priority. Classic Scrum, but it works for me (mostly...)
Why is this down voted? I am being honest here. Avoiding hurting your ego is a classic sign of a covert narcissist.
I might be one myself. Not trying to insult anyone here, but trying to shed some light on the matter.
Let's break apart the parent's post and compare to what articles on narcissism say:
> most tasks in life are a bit beneath them
However quite a few Overt and Covert Narcissists will tend to feel many tasks at home and in life are beneath them. At work they may avoid and lose interest in long term, hard grind projects, as there is no quick payoff.
Narcissists hate routine. When a narcissist finds himself doing the same things over and over again, he gets depressed. He oversleeps, over-eats, over-drinks and, in general, engages in addictive, impulsive, reckless, and compulsive behaviours. This is his way of re-introducing risk and excitement into what he (emotionally) perceives to be a barren life.
The narcissist feels entitled to more. He feels it is his right – due to his intellectual superiority – to lead a thrilling, rewarding, kaleidoscopic life. He feels entitled to force life itself, or, at least, people around him, to yield to his wishes and needs, supreme among them the need for stimulating variety.
This rejection of habit is part of a larger pattern of aggressive entitlement. The narcissist feels that the very existence of a sublime intellect (such as himself) warrants concessions and allowances by others. Standing in line is a waste of time better spent pursuing knowledge, inventing and creating. The narcissist should avail himself of the best medical treatment proffered by the most prominent medical authorities – lest the asset that he is lost to Mankind. He should not be bothered with trivial pursuits – these lowly functions are best assigned to the less gifted. The devil is in paying precious attention to detail.
> (of course I can do this course work / assignment / deliver this project / get great grades / ace this interview - I don't really need to try).
The narcissist constructs a narrative in which he figures as the hero - brilliant, perfect, irresistibly handsome, destined for great things, entitled, powerful, wealthy, the centre of attention, etc. The bigger the strain on this delusional charade - the greater the gap between fantasy and reality - the more the delusion coalesces and solidifies.
> If they get praise/good grade/the job they have proof that they are cleverer than most...
> If they fail, well it's because they didn't try that hard, so their ego isn't damaged.
Self-administered punishment often manifests as self-handicapping masochism - a narcissistic cop-out. By undermining his work, his relationships, and his efforts, the increasingly fragile narcissist avoids additional criticism and censure (negative supply). Self-inflicted failure is the narcissist's doing and thus proves that he is the master of his own fate.
Masochistic narcissists keep finding themselves in self-defeating circumstances which render success impossible - and "an objective assessment of their performance improbable" (Millon, 2000). They act carelessly, withdraw in mid-effort, are constantly fatigued, bored, or disaffected and thus passive-aggressively sabotage their lives. Their suffering is defiant and by "deciding to abort" they reassert their omnipotence.
They seem to feel that most tasks in life are a bit beneath them (of course I can do this course work / assignment / deliver this project / get great grades / ace this interview - I don't really need to try). Then they keep waiting and waiting until there is little time left to do the work. If they get praise/good grade/the job they have proof that they are cleverer than most and can knock work out in no time. If they fail, well it's because they didn't try that hard, so their ego isn't damaged.
Anyone else noticed this kind of procrastination? Since realising it I've noticed it more and more in people around me.