Procrastination and Pavlov's dogs

I am discovering as I age that it is easier to procrastinate than it used to be. I'm not sure what the reason is but these days if the task at hand is not one I'm going to enjoy there's an even money chance I will procrastinate doing it.

Mark Taw has written the best article on procrastination I have ever read that covers the reasons behind most procrastination and some simple things you can do about them. His correlation of people who delay doing certain tasks to Pavlov's famous conditioned dogs is simply brilliant. You can tell Mark is writing from experience since he worked on this article for over a year but the end result is worth it as he has produced  the perfect read for an afternoon when you are supposed to be doing something else. A sample from the article:

Procrastination is the reward for not doing work.

If you work hard all year, what can you look forward to? Your vacation. Procrastination is like taking that vacation right now. If you can't take a vacation at the end of a year of hard work, you might as well take it now because there is no reward for finishing your work.

(via 43 Folders)

Comments

[arebelspy]

Awesome! I'm the worst procrastinator I know. Never put off until tomorrow what you can forget about forever.

I like that new homepage though.. :D

Anyways I'd finish this reply, but I'll get to it later.

-arebelspy