Has anyone overcome serious Procrastination

LegacyUser

DO NOT ANSWER THIS THREAD UNLESS YOU HAVE DEALT WITH THIS ISSUE YOURSELF!!

Hi, ive been on here before about crippling issues around procrastination & perfection to do with college work. I got some good friendly support and alot of people just saying 'snap out of it'

I'm not gonna ramble on about the ins & outs this time, suffice to say i am on the borderline of ruining my life & everything i've worked for.

So the Quesion is: Has anyone ever faced an issue like this and come out the other side of it, how did you overcome it? - are there any practical suggestions you could make? - any epiphanies that made your mind come to sense?

i KNOW i can do the work, and yet i cant!

Big Wave

Can't say I've ever dealt with the issue myself, but you need to just snap out if it and everything will be fine.

AngryBadger

Procrastination is not an "issue", it's just laziness and/or lack of motivation. Figure out which one applies to you and get your finger out.

sardineta

I have and do struggle with it. I'll get back to you...

Silverfish

desperate stage wrote: »

DO NOT ANSWER THIS THREAD UNLESS YOU HAVE DEALT WITH THIS ISSUE YOURSELF!!

We won't be enforcing this. People are entitled to post, unless they break site/forum rules.

sardineta

Look into CBT. I'm currently working through exercises (you'll laugh) that were given to me last spring to help with precisely this and other issues.

Wibbs

I've certainly gone through periods of it. Now not as bad to seriously impact my life, so my take may be not be useful in your context. With me anyway looking back periods of procrastination were tied into my general emotional state at the time. They were a symptom of the underlying issue. Feelings of insecurity in general were the underlying factors. Kinda like "If I do nothing, I can't fail".

How did I get out of it? Again looking back it was mostly on the back of the rest of my life coming back up to par, so it kinda happened "naturally". I do remember that making a list of things that were coming on top of me and overwhelming me was helpful. then in order of importance sorting them one by one. Sometimes not even in order of importance. Just sorting one or two of the issues gave me confidence to tackle(or indeed ignore some of) the rest.

Now as I say mine was never at a truly serious level and maybe it doesn't apply to your situation. I think if it had gotten to that stage, I would hope I would look to outside professional guidance. Maybe along the lines of CBT that others have recommended.

af_thefragile

Hi, i can't say i've overcome it (as if you notice, i've got a thread here on a very similar topic), but i'll say i've realised one major thing that keeps holding me (or probably anyone) back and that is the lack of movement.

We (or should i say I) have lately gotten glued to our computers and the internet and we've forgotten to move. Progress and action happens through movement and if we don't move, we don't make any progress with whatever we want to do and we fall into the vicious circle of procrastination. Learning is 80% doing/practice and only 20% study/planning. If we just sit all day planning out life's, we won't make any progress. To make progress we need to physically move our bodies and get ourselves to do the particular task that we've been putting off or just planning about. But that takes too much effort and we've become too weak by sitting all day and we can't seem to have the energy anymore to move our bodies. Our muscles have gone into atrophy and we have become really unfit. So what do people do when the muscles in their bodies are wasting away and they don't have the energy to perform the necessary tasks anymore?
Yes, we go to the gym and exercise!

Remember the glory days when you were a kid and you couldn't wait to get things done? When you used to get out of bed in minutes on a saturday or sunday morning to go out and play with your friends. When you used to finish off your homework as fast as you could so after that you could go meet your friends. When you used to make no delays in getting whatever job your parents told you to do cuz you couldn't wait for the reward your mom promised you after you'ld get the job done...
Yes, there was a time when we used to be full of energy. We couldn't stay still for a moment. Our muscles were hyperactive. We used to make no hesitations in moving our whole body spontaneously at any instance.
But then we grew up. We got hooked into technology. Chained to our work desk. Caught up in the labyrinth of cyberspace. We slowly forgot to move and our muscles went into atrophy progressively getting weaker and weaker until we couldn't even do the most mundane tasks.
We became jaded, our muscles wasted.

So what we need to do now is to go back to our 6yr old self. But we can't just jump back to being 6 in a day. That is not possible. You don't go to the gym and start bench pressing 60lbs on your first day. Just like it took you the many years to get to where you are now from where you were back when you were 6, you've just gotta go back like that one year at a time. Like if you're 21, you've gotta go through being 20,19,18,17....9,8 and 7 before you can get to 6. This could be done at going back a year a month or a year a day depending on how it works for you. You could go from being 21 to being 6 in 15 months or 15 weeks or 15 days. But you've gotta take it one step at a time. You go to the gym, you start out with the smaller weights and do 5-8 reps a set first. Then as you get used to that, you slowly increase the weights and you slowly increase the reps. This is how you grow muscles. Not by going in and lifting 60lbs the first day and killing yourself or by starting with 2lbs and dogging it.

Well, i hope you managed to understand the metaphor. Decision making and taking action towards your goals is just like any other muscle in your body. If you don't use it often, it'll go to waste and stop working. To get those muscles back working, you've gotta exercise them but you won't see the results in a day, it's a slowly and steady process to build the muscles back to their capacity and if you can't keep exercising them consistently, you'll keep finding yourself constantly starting over again at square one.
So to overcome serious procrastination, you've gotta learn to do things on time. Wake up on time everyday. Do all the little things on time and get them done. You don't have to do everything in a day. Take it slowly to build the muscles. Reduce the amount of things you put off everyday one after the other. Eat on time, sleep on time, exercise regularly. Try to get a routine going. You don't have to be perfect and get everything done but try to get as many things done every week as you can and keep a track of your progress. See how less things you've procrastinated everyweek and how many things you've manage to completion in the week and watch your muscles grow! Just don't let yourself get caught up in front of your computer or the tv and end up sitting on your ass again. Remember the key is to get moving so move!!!

indieJones

We all suffer it at different times and to different degrees. Some of the strategies are similar for those with attention deficit disorder. Here's what I recommend (though I don't always follow my own advice)

- Have a schedule, use google calendar or a diary. Plan out your day in manageable blocks. Put in your recreational things too, like soccer 7pm, Lost 9pm. Should keep you organised and make you more aware how little time you have!

- Just start! Starting a long or difficult task is half the battle. Start with the thing that interest you the most or is the easiest. Then keep on going.

- Reward yourself. If you get that essay done before Friday then you can go out on Friday night. If you don't you're gonna be stuck trying to do it on the weekend.

- If you have a weakness for TV, facebook, boards etc. Distance yourself away from it.

- Get busy. I know this sounds counter intuitive but the busier you are the less you procrastinate. In my experience, it's the people with girlfriends/ sports commitments/ children/ hobbies who are the most time efficient. These things force little deadlines on you as you need to be somewhere at a certain time and they reward you for making them.

- Just do it. You know this is wrecking your life. You're smarter than this. You can do this. There's no secret or trick or magic strategy. It's strength of will. JUST DO IT

LegacyUser

You lack stress to get the work done in my opinion, sounds to me like if you had someone shouting at you everyday to DO IT!! you'd get it done no problem.
Its actually fairly common for college students to be like this, among the ones I know anyway, the change over between school environment and real life doesnt seem to work for students who maybe lacked motivation in secondary school.

I think you need to ask yourself these questions.
1. Am I interested in what Im doing?
2. Whats distracting me?
3 Was I always like this

if your answers are as follows

1. Yes
2. Internet
3 Yes

Than simply force yourself to get rid of the internet.
If its like this

1.Yes
2. Nothing in paricular.
3 No

Then you need to consider if you maybe just lack the energy, eat a hearty breakfast IMO.
Students for some reaso starve themselves.

1. Yes
2. Nothing in particular
3. No.

Then it could possibly be related to something else in your life that you havent realised.
Maybe the need to sit and think about this issue so much that its overridng your need to get up and work.

Just my un-valid opinion I suffer from this myself occasionaly and the amount of things it could be is ridicoulus.

LegacyUser

thanks sardineta, wibbs and af_thefragile for the mature and constructive replies, they really add something to the topic...

i have seen consellors and find it valuable but in this instance it seems to drag me deeper into my mind when there really is an element of having to do instead of think.. of course wibbs you are right there is other stuff behind it that i have always been willing to face, but at this stage with things about to go down the swanny i need an immediate resolution.

I would be willing to try CBT because i think it may be a more direct approach than talk therapies. but how quick could that start to be effective? As i have piles of work due between now and May

I dont think laziness is the issue as surely someone wouldnt commit to 5 years hard work in a new area only to blow it at the end due to laziness. Fear of failure is closer to the crux, as was mentioned in another thread. But i really dont have time to dig any deeper, this is why i asked for specifics

i know.. Just Do it!! i say this line to myself a hundred times a day. I guess that i just have to hope that when my last possible deadline comes that i have actually got over it and done the work.

I saw a hypnotist show once where the guy made some people believe an invisible wall had been built up around them.. and low and behold they couldnt move out of their little circle (i dunno if that's bullcrap or what), but that's what it feels like, its like my head and experience has totally convinced me i cant do this; yet logically i know i can. somehow i have to realise that that invisible wall that's stopping me is not real, and sometimes i do for a minute and i start my work but everytime i stop i'm faced with that invisible wall again and i have to reconvince myself it's not there before i start again. maybe i should try hypnotism to totally remove that invisible wall

dny123456

i've gone through it at college too.. and school. I think the problem is when the task seems so large and out of control, that you don't know where to start..

To sort this out, the solution is to try and break the problem down and make lists of what needs to be done. Perhaps by subject and then broken down by area. Then just try and attack each piece one at a time and try not to think about all the other tasks. Remember once you've dealt with one piece to physically tick it off. This will give you a sense of achievement and encouragement to continue and you will be able to observe your own progress. That used to work for me anyway.

- Get busy. I know this sounds counter intuitive but the busier you are the less you procrastinate. In my experience, it's the people with girlfriends/ sports commitments/ children/ hobbies who are the most time efficient. These things force little deadlines on you as you need to be somewhere at a certain time and they reward you for making them.

This is very true. The more free time you have, the less you get done because you think you have loads of time, and you end up wasting your life away. I've amazed myself in the past at what I've achieved under a bit of pressure. Like if I make plans to go out after work, I only have an hour to tidy up the house, print out stuff for the next day, have a snack, iron my clothes etc, and I get it all done. Tonight I set aside all evening to do things and I've just wasted the last 4 hours. The busier, the better, IMO.

af_thefragile

indieJones wrote: »

- Get busy. I know this sounds counter intuitive but the busier you are the less you procrastinate. In my experience, it's the people with girlfriends/ sports commitments/ children/ hobbies who are the most time efficient. These things force little deadlines on you as you need to be somewhere at a certain time and they reward you for making them.

This is so true!!
I remember back when i was in school i wouldn't use to skip a single day and single class cuz they used to take attendence everyday and in every class and you could end up in trouble if you were missing classes or skipping school. I had to go to school everyday and be in on time. There was no other way around it and hence i used to wake up early everyday on time to make it to school on time. Get all the homework done on time and everything cuz there really was no way around it. You had to get it done if not there was trouble waiting for you!

Now that i'm in college, i can skip as many lecture and college days i want without getting into any sort of trouble. I'm not commit to be in on time as there is no one to question me why i'm late and there's no one taking attendance. I can go whenever i want and so i've ended up atleast 10 times as lazy now as i was in school. I wake up late cuz i don't have to wake up early as i can afford to be late to college or skip a few lectures without any consequences. All this has made me really inefficient as i've ended up doing things only when i really really have to, when its like if i don't do it, i'll be in trouble!

Also that you mentioned it up there, i noticed that i have gotten a lot lazier after breaking up with my girlfriend. Before when i had a girlfriend, i used to wake up early, do all things on time so that i could make up the time out of my busy schedule to speak to/be with my girlfriend. I also used to write many more songs and practice my guitar more often back then to impress/make her happy by writing and playing songs to her. It was also when i had managed to set up and start a proper band going (i had only been playing for like barely 6months and i had my own band) cuz i was really committed in doing things i like so that i could get somewhere and make a living to be with my girlfriend n such. It was a really strong motivation factor for me.
Now that she's gone, its like i've got all the time in the world and i could do with a couple of days of procrastination (I've been looking to set up another band for over a year now and nothing seems to be working!). It wouldn't really matter as i've got the time!! Though as a matter of fact it matters a lot as i'm running out of time!

LegacyUser

Some great points made there re: 1) if someone shouted at me i'd do it & 2) if i was a kid wanting to get out to my mates to play ball, i'd do it

I saw this thing on about parkinsons law, where 'the task expands to fit the time allotted to do it'. that's what this is, i'm sure if i had to finish the work by next week to save my mother then i'd just do it. i'n all the other years of college i procrastinated to but not to this extent & not to build up such a huge pile of backlog. so part of me says, i got away with it then so i'll get away with it this time. obviously i'm not feeling enough stress and urgency of someone shouting at me yet to make me do it. somewhere inside with my talent for the subject i know i can get away with it.

which brings me to the kid wanting to get out to play ball, what is my 'going out to play ball', my incentive to not drag everything out 'til the last possible minute i can get away with it. something where i can say if i do this by saturday i can do xyz

Also a good point about making the list, the other times i left work build up i would clean the apartment to start the study, it sounds strange but this physical proactive activity would spur me into action. This time the mountain in front of me looks so daunting that that is not enough, i'll try make it into smaller hills

Overheal

AngryBadger wrote: »

Procrastination is not an "issue", it's just laziness and/or lack of motivation. Figure out which one applies to you and get your finger out.

Not necessarily.

What about fear of failure or rejection? It can be stressful to worry that all your hard earned efforts will just go to waste. You could study really hard for that test and fail anyway. Or you could work really hard on that project and nobody will notice.

+1 for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Stop thinking negatively and start thinking positively. If I study for that test Im going to do great. If I get this done now I can turn it into something amazing. You gotta give a little more space to that little voice inside your head that pushes you on to do things and less heed to that one that asks Whats The Point?

estar

you need a time limit.

impose time limits for when you need things done. enforce that limit by setting an alarm.

set small goals, and stick to defined times. ie - study 6-9. after 9 no more.

no study on sundays. go out saturdays so sundays is a no go.

re perfectionism. there is no cure for this. however common sense should be applied liberally. ie - do i need this to be perfect, or just completed on time.

LegacyUser

yes af_thefragile, it was your thread that got me to trying PI for help on this again, sorry to bogart the issue but the advice on both is useful.

Would taking on CBT at this time of year with a mountain of work due be useful? or would it be another task i'd have to accomplish in the week. Can anyone reccomend a good stating place to find it?

Great post Indiejones it's these sort of practical things i have to get stuck in on: one problem is weak times or triggers that lead me away from what i should do to yes the internet, thrash tv, even solitaire will do!(the pettyness of my distracions knows no bounds!)
1) when i've just sat down and gotten a bit of work done & i stand up to take a break or put the kettle on, all to often i dont come back for hours - maybe i should set an alarm so i dont take more than 5 mins break
2) when i am writing and i need to research a reference or something online - all too often i find some other interesting area of study on wikipedia or whatever & before you know it i'm knee deep in theories totally separate to what i need to do
3)say i have an essay due on friday at 2pm , i will count the hours i have to do it & say nooo problem, loads of time(sure i can just stay up all thursday night on coffee and do it) & as i keep delaying & delaying i keep putting the deadline further back - i'll say sure that teacher's sound she wont mind if i'm a week late + so it snowballs - why cant i just say get it done by thursday night & then i could have a night out on the town stress free!!

beks101

Get busy, OP.

I went through long periods of this in college too, and sure, perfectionism and fear of failure came into it, but in hindsight I just had too much opportunity to be bone idle. 12 hours a week for the most part, not many real hobbies, something vaguely interesting on the box/net always there to distract me...

Then I got a part-time job and started going to the gym every day and didn't really have the chance to muse over the merits of starting something now, as opposed to later...I just had to do it NOW because now was all the time I had.

Lists help too. Now I work 60 odd hours a week so don't have the 'luxury' of procrastinating but it still creeps in sometimes...but I find it easy to keep it under control with a 'checklist' of sorts. It's quite satisfying ticking things off as you get them done, and you don't have to deal with the guilt/self-loathing that comes when you know you've wasted valuable time.

If you feel you need to get to the root of the problem then I'd say CBT or some form of therapy might be something to look into, but personally I think it's something you can overcome yourself.

dudara

I understand proscrastination - it is my middle name. It's terrible. My brain knows damn well that I am procrastinating and yet it is so hard to get going.

I tackle it by making clear lists with bullet points of what I want to achieve. I work through them. I keey myself busy because the busier I am, the less I tend to dawdle. Once I am working, I am super-efficient and I get through things at a great pace. I just need to get started, and that's hard.

The Sweeper

I suffer from it because I just don't seem to have the energy to make myself do what I need to do.

Went for some routine blood screening recently because the whole 'tired, lack lustre' thing was bothering me. Turns out I'm vitamin D deficient.

If I can be vitamin D deficient here in Australia, the land of sunshine, then you could certainly be suffering from it in Ireland. I'd genuinely ask your GP for a routine set of blood screens - use 'tiredness' as opposed to 'laziness' as your request motive.

indieJones

Just to address the point you made about distractions.

Sounds like you're a bit like me in that you'll go open your browser to look something up and 1 hour later you're watching something silly on youtube. I recommend you use outlook or iCal or google calendar or something to stay organised. If you've got your day laid out on it, it will constantly pop up with reminders and warnings. Use technology for productivity not procrastination.

I also put my to do list on my igoogle homepage (i don't work for google) so every time i go check my email or see my news feed, my important deadlines are there in big red writing. If you're still finding yourself drifting away, use a timer. I often set my timer on my ipod for 5-10 minutes to zone out, go for a nap etc.

I've got borderline attention deficit disorder so I've had to work in a lot of these "safety measures" into my life so I can function. Once you get a system and get used to following it, everything works much better.

sardineta

Another thing: I committed Facebook suicide last week. It's already paying dividends.

jimbojetdriver

Desperate stage

I used to be in kind of the same position as yourself, I would keep delaying doing any study until the very last minute and then cram it all in, which just led to loads of pressure and stress.

A friend then told me he was using self hypnosis for concentration and I decided to give it a go. It worked really well for me after a while. I gradually became more and more focused and I seemed to just get through things much quicker because I wasn't being easily distracted. I ended up getting my work done and still had time to just lay back and do nothing!

If your familiar with torrents there are loads of great mp3 files on the web available for download, I'd recommend Paul Mckenna, everything he does seems to be great quality and he gets very good reviews!

It's certainly not for everybody but it's definitely worth a shot!!

All the best

Jim

TomMorgan

Who'd ever want to do anything in a country where you wake up in the dark, put on ten layers of clothes to keep the cold out, walk around all day in the wind and rain only to see it get dark again by early evening. Then you face a night where the only real activity is to go to a loud pub/club blaring some kinda of ****e hip hop and pay €5.00 a drink until you get pissed enough to forget the endemic misery that exists all around you.

After passing people vomiting and brawling on the streets at 2am while they queue at vans serving the most disgusting food known to man, you stumble home only to repeat the process every day of your life. That is until you reach middle age, when you decide to bring it down a notch by spending most of your free time at home avidly following the entrancing saga of the lives of the fictional inhabitants of Weatherfield and Albert square, the only consolation being that your life isn't as depressing as theirs.

What a country. Get out while you can, before you lose the will to complain, and eventually lose the ability to even notice that life should be better than this.

Crumble Froo

^ what? OP is talking about procrastinating with regard college work.

and for the record, i know i sure as hell love living in that country.

OP, i had a lot of problems with procrastination in college too. the two main reasons on my part were stress and perfectionism.

the stress was mostly just from feeling overwhelmed by the work to do and i'd end up putting it off and putting it off, now and then, working myself into panic attacks.
perfectionism, i could spend hours and hours researching stuff, and procrastinate and procrastinate and leave myself two hours to write the couple thousand word essay, completely selling myself short.

my solutions... when i was procrastinating most, it was usually when i had most going on in my life, the more i had going on, the more i just didn't do anything. it took me sorting out my outside life stuff before i could really deal with my college stuff. no harm in seeing the college counsellour either, i can't imagine it'll be the first time they've heard it, and of course, they'll want to do whatever they can to help you do your best at college.

smaller steps in the meantime, i found forcing myself offline helped, and making a timetable, forcing myself to do just a little bit every night, instead of leaving it till later.

TomMorgan

Crumble Froo wrote: »

^ what? OP is talking about procrastinating with regard college work.

I know he is. My solution is that he should emigrate.

I procrastinate regarding college too. OP, if you're gonna ignore my advice and stay here, you should start getting up early and going swimming or to the gym. I know it makes no sense (given that physical exertion should logically make you wearier) but it really gives you a boost for the day ahead.

Good luck brother.

Crumble Froo

TomMorgan wrote: »

I know he is. My solution is that he should emigrate.

I procrastinate regarding college too. OP, if you're gonna ignore my advice and stay here, you should start getting up early and going swimming or to the gym. I know it makes no sense (given that physical exertion should logically make you wearier) but it really gives you a boost for the day ahead.

Good luck brother.

ill +1 to the exercise thing. fresh air and exercise are very stimulating, also excellent combatants against depression, which can also be a cause of procrastination... but im really not sure how leaving the country will help get assignments in on time. :rolleyes: i could mention at this point that im not living in the country anymore, but anyway, completely off topic, ill not reply to that again.

LegacyUser

Hi OP,

Reading your post brought back lots of memories. I had a TERRIBLE habit of procrastinating all throughout my degree and masters. It came from a fear of not being able to achieve my (alleged) potential. It was essentially a form of self-sabotage. By not putting 100% into the work I'd never have to face up to whether I could have achieved a 100% mark if i DID put 100% in.

It's a weird, irrational state of mind but it really took over my life at times. Another thing that didn't help was that I was a little bit hooked on the thrill of 'getting away with it' i.e. having to write the bulk of my masters thesis over 48 horrifying hours - and still getting it handed in in the nick of time.

I always needed to reach the point where I was in danger of failing miserably before I could really get going. And I'd always leave it a little later each time before I caved and started in earnest - with the result that down the years the stakes became higher and higher - and my stress levels rose and rose - and of course the pay-off when I ultimately got away with it was higher still.

I'm working now (a functioning member of society!) and don't have the time to procrastinate although I notice it creeping in now and again. For people who don't experience it, it can seem like a funny little problem but it's a head-wrecking thing to go through - it can be really exhausting.

Anyway, advice. And not the caffeine tablets kind (although they have got me through a few consecutive all-nighters). One thing that was of enormous help to me was a strategy I found on some website. It's called 'Time Blocks' (or something like that). Basically, you set yourself small goals and a timetable to get them done in - but not an unrealistic one (because for a procrastinator - committing yourself to even two hours of applying yourself can be intimidating). Start small. Say to yourself 'For the next 20 minutes - I will begin to write the introduction - that is the only thing i will do - I will not allow myself to become distracted." After this 'time block' you reward yourself and do something that will only take a couple of mintues i.e. (I will get up and make myself a cup of tea). It's amazing how this works. When tasks are condensed down into smaller measures they're just not scary anymore. You spend your time DOING the work, instead of thinking about it AND the best thing is that once you're on a roll - you're likely to keep going - so if, 19 minutes in, and you find yourself writing some good stuff- you'll keep on going until you've finished - and then you can take your four or five minute reward. And you'll find a natural rhythm of how long you can concentrate for, so gradually you'll increase the times of the time blocks.

A typical timeblock might look like this:

13: 50 - 14:10
Write about why I chose to use questionnaires in my research - doesn't have to be word perfect - just get down some words.

14:10 - 14:14
Make a cup of coffee

14:15 - 14:35
Now write a paragraph about why I didn't use a focus group.

14:35 - 14: 39
Walk outside and around the house.

...and so on and so forth.

You don't have to finish the tasks in the allocated time - it's not about that - you can always go back another time and finish them - it's about getting started. Getting words down on paper and DOING it instead of fretting about it.


Hope that helps and best of luck!

sunnyside

af_thefragile wrote: »

i noticed that i have gotten a lot lazier after breaking up with my girlfriend. Before when i had a girlfriend, i used to wake up early, do all things on time so that i could make up the time out of my busy schedule to speak to/be with my girlfriend. I also used to write many more songs and practice my guitar more often back then to impress/make her happy by writing and playing songs to her. It was also when i had managed to set up and start a proper band going (i had only been playing for like barely 6months and i had my own band) cuz i was really committed in doing things i like so that i could get somewhere and make a living to be with my girlfriend n such. It was a really strong motivation factor for me.
Now that she's gone, its like i've got all the time in the world and i could do with a couple of days of procrastination (I've been looking to set up another band for over a year now and nothing seems to be working!). It wouldn't really matter as i've got the time!! Though as a matter of fact it matters a lot as i'm running out of time!

That is so true, if I'm doing something for someone else rather than myself I'm much more likely to complete it. The self-motivation is much more difficult.

bangersandmash

TomMorgan wrote: »

What a country. Get out while you can, before you lose the will to complain, and eventually lose the ability to even notice that life should be better than this.

That's a very narrow view of life in Ireland. Remarkably many people in Ireland manage to live active, happy and fulfilling lives here despite the traumatic conditions you've described. Besides as Af_thefragile pointed out, you don't simply change in a day. For someone who procrastinates constantly and finds small decisions difficult to make, moving to another country would be unthinkable. And it's difficult to understand how a change in climate will somehow solve the OP's study problems.

OP I'd suggest following a combination of the advice given by some other posters above. Set yourself small well-defined goals with strict time limits. Concentrate on getting one thing done at a time no matter how trivial it seems. Keep busy by constantly having your next todo goal in mind. It sounds cheesy but keeping yourself busy like that is very effective. The more free time you have, the less you'll get done. Many people find that the time it takes to complete a task tends to fill whatever time is available.

If you have genuinely tried the above and your problems continue you might consider what Minesajackdaniels said. Vitamin deficiencies and thyroid problems are more common in Ireland than many people realise.

aoibhebree

I've procrastinated my way all through secondary school and college.

If I've a deadline coming up, I sit in front of the computer or in the library, and i know I have to get started, but I just get distracted at something else and keep putting it off til the last minute. Still, even if I have to pull a couple of all-nighters right before the project is due in, I always get it done just in time, and what's more I've always gotten good results.

There were only two projects in college that I actually finished early (one a week before the deadline, the other two weeks.) I only got 46% and 54% in those.

I've finally worked out that I just need to trust myself. If I have a 5000 word essay due on Monday that I've barely started (yes, I actually do, right now!), my head is screaming at me to get working on it! However some other part of me knows that if I take it easy tonight, doss about on Boards, maybe watch a DVD later and have an early night, I'll be well able to do half of it tomorrow, half Sunday, and finish it off Monday morning. And what's more, I'm quite confident of getting a good result on it. It sounds like a stupid way of doing it, but it works for me, so why stress?

unreggd

Just plan to procrastinate!

Problem solved

Wibbs

unreggd if you can't add to this thread with something approaching useful, please refrain from posting it it. Thank you.

barkingmadlolly

OP had the same problem myself in college and can fall back into it now at work. I found that the only thing that worked for me was to break down the project into bite size chunks and set realistic time goals around each of the tasks. For me lists are the only way to go, the satisfaction of seeing progress made, generally increases my motivation and lessens the urge to put off finishing what I have to do.

LegacyUser

is this borne out of attending college i.e the getting away with it feeling and the normality of this.