I’m studying and need help with a Writing question to help me learn.
Discussion 1:
- What does Urban claim about procrastinators? Why does he think people really procrastinate?
Urban says that everyone procrastinates, but that deadline-driven procrastination differs from situational procrastination, like waiting to start a business. When there’s no real deadline, the panic monster doesn’t appear to give that extra push—which Urban says is the real source of some people’s frustration. Because procrastination is a misplaced coping mechanism, as an emotion-focused coping strategy. People who procrastinate are] using avoidance to cope with emotions, and many of them are unconscious emotions. So, we see it as giving in to feel good. And it’s related to a lack of self-regulation skills.
2.What does Urban think we should do about procrastination? Does he offer any solutions?
The fact is, the Instant Gratification Monkey is the last creature who should be in charge of decisions—he thinks only about the present, ignoring lessons from the past and disregarding the future altogether, and he concerns himself entirely with maximizing the ease and pleasure of the current moment. He doesn’t understand the Rational Decision-Maker any better than the Rational Decision-Maker understands him—why would we continue doing this jog, he thinks, when we could stop, which would feel better. Why would we practice that instrument when it’s not fun? Why would we ever use a computer for work when the internet is sitting right there waiting to be played with? He thinks humans are insane. In the monkey world, he’s got it all figured out—if you eat when you’re hungry, sleep when you’re tired and don’t do anything difficult, you’re a pretty successful monkey. The problem for the procrastinator is that he happens to live in the human world, making the Instant Gratification Monkey a highly unqualified navigator. Meanwhile, the Rational Decision-Maker, who was trained to make rational decisions, not to deal with competition over the controls, doesn’t know how to put up an effective fight—he just feels worse and worse about himself the more he fails and the more the suffering procrastinator whose head he’s in berates him.
- Could you identify with what Urban says here? How often do you procrastinate? Why do you think you do it? Why can’t you break the habit?
“We need to think about what we’re really procrastinating on, because everyone is procrastinating on something in life,” Urban warns. Long-term procrastination–much less visible and much less talked about than the funnier, short-term, deadline-based kind, he says–is suffered quietly and privately, resulting in a huge amount of long-term unhappiness.
Consider thinking harder on the goals and dreams you’re really procrastinating on before you run out of time. Are you going to make major moves to accomplish something big today, or will you save that for tomorrow?
- What was your biggest takeaway or AHA moment from this Talk?
he says that there are four main types of avoidance archetypes, or procrastinators: the performer, the self-deprecator, the overbooked, and the novelty seeker. Figuring out which group you’re in can help you break out of your procrastination patterns — and maybe even turn in something early.
Discussion 2:
- Urban claims that procrastination comes in two forms the one surrounded by deadlines and the one that is free of deadlines and thus free of the “panic monster”. He also claims that all people are in some shape or form a procrastinator. Urban claims that the first type is not as harmful to one’s self as the second type. The first type normally will be able to get their work done since when that deadline approaches the person will begin to panic. The second type goes unchecked and can cause long term pain and suffering as they will become sad and anxious without getting necessary work done. Urban believes everyone procrastinates because there is a primal instinct, the “instant gratification monkey”, inside of us that does not recognize the scarcity of time and just wants to enjoy the short term without considering its latter effects. All also have people have a rational decision-maker but it is easily overpowered by the “monkey”.
- Urban thinks that in response to procrastination we need to be aware of the instant gratification and to put time and our use of time in perspective. Urban explains that everyone has an “instant gratification monkey” and this “monkey” derails productivity and causes people to not get their work done. People who focus on the instant gratification of just playing one more level or just one more chapter need to prioritize their assignments or goals. Urban brings up the scarcity of time and how as a human that lives on average only a few hundred weeks. By recognizing this scarcity of our time on Earth could be a great motivator to get work done and fend off the instant gratification monkey and empower the rational decision-maker. To solve the problem of procrastination Urban suggests to set priorities and put time into perspective and realize that you do not have forever to complete your goals.
- I do identify with what Urban says. I tend to push things back in favor of fun activities such as video games or watching a show. I sometimes push back assignments to have temporary enjoyment in those things rather than working on schoolwork or towards my goals. I procrastinate more often then I would like to admit, about five to six times a week. I procrastinate because I am easily distracted and I am trying to make sure I do not suffer from burnout by overworking myself. While doing this I justify not doing work saying it’s just a break but it results in a lack of work done. To combat this I have created a schedule for myself, though it has so far been hard to follow. I also listen to video game music because it helps me to stay focused on a task. It needs some work but it helps slightly.
- My biggest AHA moment was when he described the scarcity of time. When he showed the example of how many weeks there are in an average 90-year life span, it kinda scared me. It truly put in perspective how much time I likely have on this Earth. It does motivate me to try harder to do my work in a timely manner. I never really think about or like to consider my mortality and how much time I have to do work and work towards my goals on this Earth. It is truly a great motivator to work towards my goals. I still struggle, however, because the thought that my time is short so I should enjoy it crosses my mind. I will try to take the limited time on Earth as motivation to be more productive and not satisfy the “instant gratification monkey”
- Your response to at least two classmates should be 150-200 words long and be more than “I agree” or “I like what you said.” Engage in conversation!
