A while back, the BBC News reported that:
Often it's so innocent. It might even be relevant initially. A quick Wikipedia fact-check, perhaps. But before long you've been sucked into the wormhole. Link after link, page after page. When you finally snap out of it you've lost a precious hour and you're reading about the intricacies of 16th Century Prussian politics. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone.
"We're really entering the golden age of procrastination," says Dr Piers Steel, who has conducted surveys and written The Procrastination Equation. "One in four [people] would describe themselves as a chronic procrastinator, [while] over half the population would describe themselves as frequent," he says. "In the last 40 years there's been about a 300-400% growth in chronic procrastination," which is when it becomes particularly self-defeating, Steel explains. UK smartphone users check their phone 221 times a day on average, a recent survey found. Checking emails and social media cost 36% of respondents more than an hour each day in productivity, another survey found.
The article gives some extreme measures to stop procrastination including Victor Hugo's valet hiding clothes or Greek orator Demosthenes shaving one side of his face to discourage any outdoors procrastination. Software to discourage procrastination is also mentioned.
(Score: 5, Funny) by wonkey_monkey on Wednesday October 15 2014, @10:04PM
Wait, let me just watch this one cat video first.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 15 2014, @10:12PM
I think I get your basic idea, and I've got a few points I'd like to add just as soon as I get around to it.
(Score: 1) by GoonDu on Thursday October 16 2014, @12:25PM
[Placeholder for reply]*
*brb
(Score: 2) by skullz on Wednesday October 15 2014, @10:09PM
I bought Dr. Steel's book two years ago and the summary blurb looks very interesting. I seeing it come up in discussions as well.
But, you know...
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday October 15 2014, @10:10PM
Can SN implement some of the above mentioned software? Once in place, I could spend the entire day on SN without feeling guilty: after all, I'm doing my best to cure my procrastination.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday October 16 2014, @01:02AM
Go watch beta
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday October 16 2014, @05:28AM
What have I done to you to deserve your ill-wishes?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday October 16 2014, @06:35PM
Beta is the procrastination cure. Perhaps I should have been less terse but I had distractions to do. ;-)
(Score: 2) by juggs on Thursday October 16 2014, @01:09AM
Perhaps we could implement some kind of hours spent on site per day award. Then you would no longer be procrastinating, you'd be actively working toward an award.
Perhaps we could have side exercises that gamify learning to tie knots, or getting stones out of horse's feet, or gutting a fish etc. while you wait for the next story to churn out so as not to impact your hours on site.... we could call those... let me think... badges! Yes!! Badges! Why did no-one think of this before....
(Score: 1) by J053 on Thursday October 16 2014, @01:19AM
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday October 16 2014, @05:26AM
.
.
. [weebls-stuff.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Thursday October 16 2014, @01:11PM
Perhaps we could implement some kind of hours spent on site per day award.
And reward slow readers?
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday October 15 2014, @10:15PM
The better researched stories posted to SN the more links they contain. Sooooo many links to click.
But leave one link out, and someone is sure to demand a citation, (without even thinking about google).
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 15 2014, @10:43PM
Nice background piece here [wordpress.com].
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Wednesday October 15 2014, @10:50PM
16th Century Prussian politics sounds a lot more interesting than going back through old work orders that slipped through the cracks.
Pity that I can't get my boss to pay for it, though.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 15 2014, @10:56PM
How about pay people enough to be productive?
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday October 16 2014, @12:18AM
Perhaps the work task lack any meaning? And thus the work market should be directed to only use people for tasks that actually make meaningful difference with sustainable working conditions.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by gringer on Thursday October 16 2014, @02:47AM
I think it's more likely that people can still be productive while devoting 75% of their time to procrastination.
Ask me about Sequencing DNA in front of Linus Torvalds [youtube.com]
(Score: 3, Funny) by buswolley on Wednesday October 15 2014, @11:18PM
stop procrastinating and put the next story up Soylent editors :)
subicular junctures
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Wednesday October 15 2014, @11:35PM
I'd just like to say that procrastination is the...
Aw, screw it. I'm going to get a cup of coffee.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 16 2014, @12:10AM
Sorry, was I supposed to add a comment?
(Score: 4, Funny) by Thexalon on Thursday October 16 2014, @12:20AM
I had the idea of forming a group called Procrastinators Anonymous, but I never really got around to it.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by naubol on Thursday October 16 2014, @12:39AM
I stopped what I was doing, the laundry, in order to read this article.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday October 16 2014, @01:03AM
I'm at work late with a pile of stuff to clear off my desk before I can leave. So I'm here doing this.
(Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Thursday October 16 2014, @09:09AM
Damn, you just reminded me that I put my dirty laundry on the washing machine "just for a minute" while I grabbed a soda, then got something from my office, realized I should probably look up a couple of reviews before running to the store...oh well, I'm not going to start it at 2am, guess I'll hold off until morning/afternoon/whenever.
(Score: 2) by Aiwendil on Thursday October 16 2014, @07:19AM
How do they work? I mean, I quite frankly have a problem getting started with things, but most things are multiple-hour-sessions where an interruption would severly impact efficiency..
So, just how does the anti-procrastination-apps work? I can think of no method for an app to interrupt what one is doing to procrastinate that wouldn't also cause a serious interruptions in whatever one is supposed to do in case one got started... or are the apps intended for those that only procrastinate on the smartphone-tablet and never use those as secondary screens for data needed when actually working?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Magic Oddball on Thursday October 16 2014, @09:40AM
The anti-procrastination software I'm aware of essentially consists of a brief timer that locks down access to whatever domains or programs you're having trouble resisting. The idea is that you're supposed to initially set it for just 5 minutes, which is long enough to give you a chance to get going in your work, but short enough that it doesn't seem too overwhelming. Ideally, you'll get into your work so much that you won't even notice when the time is up; if you find yourself tempted to procrastinate at some point after the timer runs out, you can quickly (so you don't lose too much momentum) reset it to run for as long you feel like you can work.
(Score: 2) by JeanCroix on Thursday October 16 2014, @04:57PM
(Score: 2) by PizzaRollPlinkett on Thursday October 16 2014, @11:02AM
Someone asking you to buy his book is not news.
(E-mail me if you want a pizza roll!)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 16 2014, @12:00PM
But then, given the target population, he might not sell too many books.
"Oh yes, I've long planned to buy it, but then there always is this list "people interested in this book were also interested in", and, well, you have to look there, because there might be something better there, and then I looked into the reviews of one of those books, and there was a word I didn't understand, so I looked it up in Wikipedia ..."
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Thursday October 16 2014, @01:15PM
It is if it's a new book. BTW, my new one will be out when I get around to...
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 18 2014, @03:32PM
I saw the summary a few days ago but didn't have a chance to read TFA into now.
Well I kinda skimmed it but I plan to go over it more carefully when I have time, which could be this week.