Mindfulness and Procrastination

newdayperegrine

I started this year to meditate as a program to recover from some anxiety issues. I have done well integrating meditation into my daily practice and it has certainly helped me feel less anxious and recover more quickly when anxiety hits. My question is this...part of what I used to have anxiety about was procrastination. Now that I am feeling less anxiety, and I am just more relaxed about procrastinating. Are there some tips for turning mindfulness into action?

Talisman

Mindfulness is action.

Right mindfulness is:
Mindful of right/wrong views
Mindful of right/wrong intentions
Mindful of right/wrong speech
Mindful of right/wrong actions
Mindful of right/wrong livelihood
Mindful of right/wrong effort
Mindful of right/wrong mindfulness
Mindful of right/wrong concentration

Procrastination is wrong action, effort, and mindfulness

Mindful of your procrastination, you can put forth right effort and create right action by getting off your butt and doing something constructive.

TreeLuvr87

My only tip is to keep doing what you're doing. It sounds like you're becoming more relaxed and that's a good thing. If you still feel that you should be doing more, try to take a look and see if that's coming from a real need to do things, or if it's coming from the way that society tells us that we always have to do more, be more, be better, etc.

aMatt

There is a great book called Turning the Mind into an Ally, which talks about procrastination as basic laziness. Not as a judgement, but as an expression of unskillful thinking.

I rememeber it as essentially a mental delusion. Procrastination arises when we think the motivation (meaning the energy to do the task) needs to come before we do it. The motivation comes as we do the task. Imagine if you were to say "I will wait until this hunger goes away before I eat." The noticing the need is the hunger, and the energy of its fullfillment is contained in the doing.

texashermit

Exceptional post by Talisman. Many thanks.

Mindfulness is action.

Right mindfulness is:
Mindful of right/wrong views
Mindful of right/wrong intentions
Mindful of right/wrong speech
Mindful of right/wrong actions
Mindful of right/wrong livelihood
Mindful of right/wrong effort
Mindful of right/wrong mindfulness
Mindful of right/wrong concentration

Procrastination is wrong action, effort, and mindfulness

Mindful of your procrastination, you can put forth right effort and create right action by getting off your butt and doing something constructive.

SeaOfTranquility

There is an element of self - doubt behind procrastination. A type of confusion. With uncertainty between acceptance of the way things are and motivation to accomplish something. It does produce a lot anxiety and can lead to guilt. The remedy, like all forms of suffering, is awareness and letting go. Then when something needs to be done you just do it.

Keep up with the meditation, sounds like you are on the path.

Ric

I rememeber it as essentially a mental delusion. Procrastination arises when we think the motivation (meaning the energy to do the task) needs to come before we do it. The motivation comes as we do the task. Imagine if you were to say "I will wait until this hunger goes away before I eat." The noticing the need is the hunger, and the energy of its fullfillment is contained in the doing.

Exactly what I think. We somehow got in our heads that we have to feel like doing something before we can do it. So we sit around distracting ourselves waiting for that feeling to get there...its pretty ridiculous.

I think awareness is always helpful, but I think its a question of discipline. Cultivate discipline.

fivebells

Peregrine, what do you experience emotionally when you think about committing to complete a task?

Epicurus

I have a very different view on procrastination and don't allow most people to influence my perception anymore.

Procrastination is merely telling me I don't like to do something. Sometimes it's because I'm afraid of something....but often is all about feeling pressured to do something I really DON'T want to do.

newdayperegrine

Peregrine, what do you experience emotionally when you think about committing to complete a task?

Well, apathy, a strong desire to have the feeling of not doing it, sometimes anxiety about doing it, sometimes fear, sometimes pointlessness.

Zayl

I'm a lazy person by nature, but I am still rather mindful of my actions. However I still enjoy lounging a day away. I mean there have been days where I did not much else than lay on a couch/deck/grass and look at things. And I do mean really look at them, and notice all of the detail. Hell I spent half an hour just watching a beetle walk around the other day.

So to answer your question, you don't really turn mindfulness into actions... rather you perform your actions normally while being mindful.

Ric

CNN just had this artcile
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/04/12/stop.procrastinating.tips.rs/index.html?hpt=P1

NOTaGangsta

I procrastinate when I posts on here Still have insufficient cultivation as I the feeling of bordem increases the pull of the 5 desires!

fivebells

...apathy, a strong desire to have the feeling of not doing it, sometimes anxiety about doing it, sometimes fear, sometimes pointlessness.

Try this: Pick a task you've been procrastinating on, and commit to spending a specific period (may want to make short, to begin with) either working on that task, or meditating. Start the period with work, and when you experience some kind of emotional disturbance to the work, meditate. When the disturbance releases, go back to the work. If another disturbance comes up, meditate again.

Don't let this replace formal meditation. You will probably need formal meditation practice to build the capacity for this exercise. You may find metta meditation helpful (in both the work and the formal practice.)

Malachy12

I also struggle with procrastination. Sometimes it may seem like fear is the only way to overcome procrastinating because it's a strong motivator. But maybe the problem isn't motivation but distraction. I took a break from this site when I noticed I was beginning to use it just to avoid doing homework. I also want to reduce anxiety, but in order to do that I will have to get rid of the fun things that cause me the biggest distraction (you know... those things you swore you would only spend a 1/2 hour doing... but then...). So for me it's no more starting new korean dramas, because they hook me in and I can't stop watching. No more visiting fun sites (youtube, facebook, news articles etc.). No more XBox (it's in the basement now). I will have to designate a day for fun, but the other days I make a check list of what I need to do then start working on it. Beginning to work on your tasks is the hardest because it's overwhelming and you want to run or distract yourself (at least until the fear and guilt set in). I realized that I could eliminate fear and guilt as long as I stop overwhelming myself and purposefully avoiding through distraction. It's way too easy to say "I have all day tomorrow", but if you are a procrastinator like me then you have to ask yourself if tomorrow will really feel any better than today.

AllbuddhaBound

A practice that I have found useful with procrastination of late, is yet another one I have learned from reading this site comes from a book called "The Now Habit". It was recommended to me by Glow and she always manages to steer me in the right direction.

Our self-talk inside our head can take away from our motivation. I learned that every time I was saying to myself - I have to, or I should do something, I was struggling against all the oppression of my life. The authority people who were telling me You Must!!!

I experienced a huge change when I substituted "I choose to" from "I have to". I could not believe how much a little change like that can make such a difference to my behavior.

I also learned to quit focusing on the end result of my efforts and began to focus on beginnings. My new focus is to begin as often as I can because that final beginning will signal the end of things. Perfectionism can freeze you in place.

These things may appear to be simple but if you utilize them, they may be at the root of your problems.

newdayperegrine

Thanks all. The idea that mindfulness is finding the right thought and the right action has been especially helpful. I had not thought of it in that exact way...so, you really turn the discipline you get in focusing with meditation, and use it to do the right thing at the right time, clarified on the action and not the previous or future results, as you imagine them.

person

I also learned to quit focusing on the end result of my efforts and began to focus on beginnings. My new focus is to begin as often as I can because that final beginning will signal the end of things. Perfectionism can freeze you in place.

Thank you for this, first time I've heard something like it and it really hit home.

Rael

we must realize that the mind is not born or dies,we must let our thoughts disappear and have a empty mind,that is the only way to meditate. Emptiness is one of the deepest words in Buddism.Emptiness to really see ourseleves as ourseleves,only when all thoughts are swept away can you start to meditate.Many people think they are meditating when all the time there minds are not eepty.