How to stop being lazy and start being productive? [Archive]

UltraWright

29th April 2011, 10:28

I am a Mathematician, and for the last three years I have been procrastinating and lazing around. In fact, I have not done any work at all during the last 20 months. I just read things that do not involve using my brain, eat and sleep.

You might say that I am depressed, and I am. I saw a couple of doctors and I was put on an antidepressant, but I ended up feeling happier while procrastinating :D.

So, how can I stop being a hypocrite and start being productive? I can not fight for the working class while I myself am not one of them, can I?

Tower of Bebel

29th April 2011, 10:51

Get a job!

Seriously, look for some work you could do. (Whether that is a real 'job' or not doesn't matter.) The act of searching is already part of the productive process.

bcbm

29th April 2011, 19:51

there is nothing wrong with being lazy, the idler enjoys all the pleasure life has to offer. toil and productivity are myths of the ruling class to keep us all chained to the grindstone.

bcbm

29th April 2011, 19:53

the right to be lazy (http://www.marxists.org/archive/lafargue/1883/lazy/ch01.htm)

ÑóẊîöŉ

2nd May 2011, 22:59

#FF0000

2nd May 2011, 23:21

there is nothing wrong with being lazy, the idler enjoys all the pleasure life has to offer. toil and productivity are myths of the ruling class to keep us all chained to the grindstone.

Nuh uh. I've got the exact same problem as OP here, and it's not that I want to work or anything. I'm lazy and procrastinate to the point that I don't do things that I might want to do.

Like when my friends call me to hang out. Takes me like six hours to get ready cause I'm just not doing anything.

and jesus. who knows how long it's been since i've written anything.

Ele'ill

2nd May 2011, 23:28

I haven't written anything in a long time- at least five months.

Regarding procrastinating about things in general- The trick is to just jump into the task and realize that you're going to be grumpy and mad and that's fine because it goes away after a while and will eventually stop all together when you continue to jump into tasks consistently. Get in the mood to be mad when you have things to do and just make it happen- get everything done and just be mad about it. If you have something you want to do just immediately do it even if it's done incorrectly and you end up having a miserable time.

Il Medico

2nd May 2011, 23:29

I've had this problem for the last two semesters. My first semester in college I had a GPA for that term of 3.75, the following term I took to big of a load and it dropped to a 3.00 for that term. The term after words, I started being lazy only had a 1.75 for that term, this semester looks like it could be worse. (I know I have failed one class and due to my professor pulling the biggest dick mover ever for the final, I could see my B plummet to a D or F.)

Luisrah

2nd May 2011, 23:31

Nuh uh. I've got the exact same problem as OP here, and it's not that I want to work or anything. I'm lazy and procrastinate to the point that I don't do things that I might want to do.

Like when my friends call me to hang out. Takes me like six hours to get ready cause I'm just not doing anything.

and jesus. who knows how long it's been since i've written anything.

I know what you mean. I'm super lazy too.

I'm possibly going to be a classical guitar teacher, and I don't study as much as I should. I should play more, but sometimes I just don't feel like it, but I should.
Just like with reading, I should read more, but I'm lazy.

Magón

2nd May 2011, 23:42

So it's OK if I don't give a fuck about finding a job?

Find some long-term people to leech off of. :lol:

Quail

3rd May 2011, 00:02

Nuh uh. I've got the exact same problem as OP here, and it's not that I want to work or anything. I'm lazy and procrastinate to the point that I don't do things that I might want to do.

I do that quite a lot. I blame depression, but sometimes I probably just use that as an excuse.

Luisrah

3rd May 2011, 00:06

I do that quite a lot. I blame depression, but sometimes I probably just use that as an excuse.

I KNOW RIGHT!?

Jesus, I thought I was the only one lol

bailey_187

3rd May 2011, 00:08

theres no solution to "stop being lazy" but to....stop being lazy

thats it, stop looking for excuses and quick fix solutions

UltraWright

3rd May 2011, 00:08

Are we, revolutionary leftists who procrastinate, hypocrites?

I think I am! I advocate the struggle of the working class and yet I am not struggling nor working.

My moral sense is tingling!

Dr Mindbender

3rd May 2011, 00:11

there is nothing wrong with being lazy, the idler enjoys all the pleasure life has to offer. toil and productivity are myths of the ruling class to keep us all chained to the grindstone.
There is a problem when lethargy, depression and self destructive living habits lead to one failing to find self embetterment which leads to a diminished quality of life.

On the contrary, its the above that keeps us chained to the grindstone. Laze today, tomorrow remain a slave.

Bad bad advice bcbm.

At the OP- i often have similar problems. Find a discipline you enjoy doing. Keep reading about it and studying (preferably something that is both fun and which there is a high supply of jobs). I find there is no better cure for depression than occupational therapy. For me mastery of new skills gives me the self confidence and momentum to break out of the procrastination cycle. On the other hand, work is what made me depressed in the first place as i cannot find anything beyond the context of repetitive, boring badly paid jobs with my current skills sets.

Luisrah

3rd May 2011, 00:19

Are we, revolutionary leftists who procrastinate, hypocrites?

I think I am! I advocate the struggle of the working class and yet I am not struggling nor working.

My moral sense is tingling!

Jesus that's EXACTLY how I feel!

Dr Mindbender

3rd May 2011, 00:26

Ele'ill

3rd May 2011, 02:01

Are we, revolutionary leftists who procrastinate, hypocrites?

No, I procrastinate a lot about meeting with people and organizing but when I do it's worthwhile. I find that once I meet two, three or four times it becomes my primary occupation and I am completely comfortable. For me it's entirely about becoming comfortable. Depression and anxiety certainly play into it. I distrust bubbly extroverts who are unused to dealing with or unwilling to deal with folks who are not like them- I also understand that it's a flaw in them conflicting with a flaw in me. I find that the point where I finally see flaws in people is the point where I realize where I can make a difference (because I don't see them as less but as human like me)- it's a self worth issue I have with myself and at first everyone else around me is fantastic- heroic and super-hero iconic. To toot my own horn for a minute- most of the people and groups I've met with didn't realize I had anxiety surrounding meet-ups and what not.

I think I am! I advocate the struggle of the working class and yet I am not struggling nor working.

The struggle of the working class shouldn't be happening- you've identified that and are willing to help because the new world holds positions for neither them nor you- it will be completely changed from what it is now.

In regards to your moral senses tingling- if someone says to you 'you're not working class- you're well off and don't work we don't need your willing participation in our struggle they're lying to your face. Nothing says comfort quite like a 'prolier than thou' attitude. This of course assumes that you genuinely understand and respect their struggle.

Quail

3rd May 2011, 02:53

I KNOW RIGHT!?

Jesus, I thought I was the only one lol
If you're taking the piss then fuck you. You have no idea how I feel due to my mental health and you clearly think it's a joke. So fuck you.

bcbm

3rd May 2011, 04:58

So it's OK if I don't give a fuck about finding a job?

more than ok, its great!

Nuh uh. I've got the exact same problem as OP here, and it's not that I want to work or anything. I'm lazy and procrastinate to the point that I don't do things that I might want to do.

Like when my friends call me to hang out. Takes me like six hours to get ready cause I'm just not doing anything.

and jesus. who knows how long it's been since i've written anything.

if you are taking so long and putting off doing things, maybe it is a sign you don't actually want to do them and need to evaluate and adjust your priorities accordingly?

There is a problem when lethargy, depression and self destructive living habits lead to one failing to find self embetterment which leads to a diminished quality of life.

some of us enjoy being lazy depressed drunks

On the contrary, its the above that keeps us chained to the grindstone. Laze today, tomorrow remain a slave.

unless you're like a trillionaire ceo or get lucky and land a job you actually enjoy you're pretty much doomed to being chained to the grindstone as long as capitalism exists to keep us there, but that doesn't mean you can't find enjoyment. i try to keep my grinding to a minimum and spend my free time as i please, even if it means sleeping until 3 pm and then cracking a beer.

Bad bad advice bcbm.

nuh uh

I do that quite a lot. I blame depression, but sometimes I probably just use that as an excuse.

idk i feel like its kind of a cycle like you don't find fulfillment in shit so you get depressed which leads to not finding fulfillment... its tricky. especially if circumstances have you stuck in a rut

Luisrah

3rd May 2011, 16:50

If you're taking the piss then fuck you. You have no idea how I feel due to my mental health and you clearly think it's a joke. So fuck you.

I'm not joking, I'm sorry if you interpreted it as a joke. But why would I be joking about it? It's nothing to be laughing about

I know how it feels because I get depressed too, and it's a horrible feeling, specially when it involves self-esteem issues. I hate it, why would I do it to anyone else?

PhoenixAsh

3rd May 2011, 17:40

Perhaps thread too serious for chit?

Also I know this feeling...it gets engrained into your behaviour. The longer you maintain it the harder it gets to reverse and it will spread to other area's....

I have this....I know exactly what you mean.

I am in the, hopefully, last stages of a depression. I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Its still a long way to go but I am getting more and more angry at myself for not being able to climb over the psychological wall I need to climb and get over my fears which hold me back from doing the thing I need to do to fix it. I am afraid to fail myself again, afraid of rejection, afraid to start something I do not know, afraid to be afraid....and angry, very, very angry.

I know what I must do. I know what actions I should take. But I do not have the energy, nor the courage to brake from the vicious cycle which makes things worse and worse and continuously perpetuates the feelings of inadequacy and uselesnes and selfloathing. So....a part of me which I can not silence keeps telling myself "whats the use?"

And I really, really want to get over the "wall" but I have too little energy and everytime I try...I seem to fail or give up because its making me uncomfortable...

Here is a poem a girl send me...it reminded her of me...I really wished I could get over myself.

I know I'm going nowhere
and I'm travelling pretty fast
Depending on the future
but still living in the past.

Thinking that tomorrow
I'll start another life
Today I'm just too busy
with my worry and my strife.

Wondering what I'll be like
in another month or two.
I'll start to change tomorrow -
yes, I know that's what I'll do!

Well tomorrow never happens
and I'm going nowhere fast
Depending on the future,
but still living in the past.

Another day has gone by
and I'm still the same old way
Oh well, it doesn't matter -
tomorrow's another day!

Dr Mindbender

3rd May 2011, 18:58

some of us enjoy being lazy depressed drunks

No they don't. If they were experiencing enjoyment they wouldnt be trying to escape what was making them depressed in the first place by turning to the bottle. Depression and alcoholism are illnesses which require help.

Its like saying some of us enjoy being cancer riddled heart disease victims.

unless you're like a trillionaire ceo or get lucky and land a job you actually enjoy you're pretty much doomed to being chained to the grindstone as long as capitalism exists to keep us there, but that doesn't mean you can't find enjoyment. i try to keep my grinding to a minimum and spend my free time as i please, even if it means sleeping until 3 pm and then cracking a beer.

Speak for yourself. I myself am learning skills in my free time to make me a more productive member of the human species. Just because we arent born bourgeoisie does not mean we cant experience some modest level of success in our productivity.

nuh uh
Yah huh.

tracher999

3rd May 2011, 19:08

being lazy is fun doing fucking nothing for this fucking system ore other fucks

Dr Mindbender

3rd May 2011, 19:27

being lazy is fun doing fucking nothing for this fucking system ore other fucks

You do realise if everyone takes that attitude post revolution the whole of society will grind to a halt, right?

bcbm

3rd May 2011, 19:57

No they don't. If they were experiencing enjoyment they wouldnt be trying to escape what was making them depressed in the first place by turning to the bottle. Depression and alcoholism are illnesses which require help.

Its like saying some of us enjoy being cancer riddled heart disease victims.

some of us ie me:rolleyes:

Speak for yourself. I myself am learning skills in my free time to make me a more productive member of the human species. Just because we arent born bourgeoisie does not mean we cant experience some modest level of success in our productivity.

good for you

You do realise if everyone takes that attitude post revolution the whole of society will grind to a halt, right?

and?

Wanted Man

3rd May 2011, 19:58

Try working with woefully incompetent or lazy people for a bit. Annoyance, and the desire to make yourself look better than them, is a great motivation to do it properly, with the idea that "if you want something done properly, do it yourself". Fuckers. The downside is that after a while, you just want to go back to being lazy.

UltraWright

3rd May 2011, 20:04

being lazy is fun doing fucking nothing for this fucking system ore other fucks

I do not want to do work for the system, I want to do it for myself!

Fuck this, I will force myself to stay off the Internet for a couple of weeks starting now to try and get anything done. Wish me luck, comrades!

HEAD ICE

3rd May 2011, 20:46

watch this video

yX39J_YyKbs

Dr Mindbender

3rd May 2011, 21:21

and?

http://gadgetsteria.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/facepalm.jpg

Ele'ill

3rd May 2011, 21:57

Never leave an enemy behind? Does that mean kill them all? So if I'm drag racing does that mean I have to let the enemy win?

Kuppo Shakur

4th May 2011, 01:33

STEP ONE:
Get paper.
STEP TWO:
Get pencil.
STEP THREE:
Write down all projects that need doing.
STEP FOUR:
Do something small for any one of the projects each day.
STEP FIVE:
Watch in disbelief as your list gradually shrinks.

HERE'S HOW IT WORKS:
Although you start slow, and are likely to skip a day now and then, as you do complete things, no matter how small, you become motivated to do more and more until you run out of medication and have to start over.

bcbm

4th May 2011, 04:49

lol youre too easy doc:tt1:

Vendetta

4th May 2011, 05:25

Quit smoking so much weed, start working out, profit.

Worked for me. Mostly.

Tablo

4th May 2011, 06:08

Yeah, cutting back on the weed definitely helps for me. I barely smoke during the school year.

Robespierre Richard

4th May 2011, 06:34

I mean if it's really serious you should talk to a therapist, it could just be a symptom of something that can be treated, but if you're just like ehh then just find something to be motivated by, because it's not going to find you.

synthesis

5th May 2011, 04:58

"Procrastination is the soul rebelling against entrapment" - Nicholas Taleb

Tomhet

5th May 2011, 05:45

My co-workers treat me like shit(esp managers), I hate my job, but I NEED the $$$... The plight of capitalism, no???

Niccolò Rossi

5th May 2011, 11:22

You do realise if everyone takes that attitude post revolution the whole of society will grind to a halt, right? and?

I like this alot.

Personally, I've started to become more aware of the fact that I have serious procrastination/laziness issues to the point of like self-sabotage. I would like to think the problem isn't me, but a society governed by timesheets and clock in cards and sales figures and productivity indexes.

So, I'm a left-wing looney? Come at me bro.

Nic.

Patchd

5th May 2011, 11:52

So, how can I stop being a hypocrite and start being productive? I can not fight for the working class while I myself am not one of them, can I?
But you are surely part of the working class? You might not be a worker, but your position of unemployment doesn't drastically change your subservience to the means of production, you are waiting to get back to work and so you are still tied to work.

Dr Mindbender

5th May 2011, 14:16

I like this alot.

Personally, I've started to become more aware of the fact that I have serious procrastination/laziness issues to the point of like self-sabotage. I would like to think the problem isn't me, but a society governed by timesheets and clock in cards and sales figures and productivity indexes.

So, I'm a left-wing looney? Come at me bro.

Nic.

Here lies the problem.

Imagine the revolution has already happened. Everyone is happy to sit around pizza boxes, beer tins etc, and watching the refuse pile up. Eventually rats and disease arrive but no one wants to take the initiative to do anything because they dont have to.

Do you wait for everyone to die of bubonic plague or do you force people at gunpoint to pick up the rubbish? Its a slippery slope.

Theres a big difference between productivity for the sake of productivity and necessity. I agree that capitalism enforces us to do asinine unnecessary work (financial and customer service sector for example) but it doesnt mean theres not a whole bunch of human needs that will still need to be taken care of post revolution.

Lord Testicles

5th May 2011, 14:37

Do you wait for everyone to die of bubonic plague or do you force people at gunpoint to pick up the rubbish? Its a slippery slope.

Or you could pick up some rubbish, I'd imagine that it's far less effort than trying to coerces large groups of people to do things at gunpoint.

Dr Mindbender

5th May 2011, 14:49

Or you could pick up some rubbish, I'd imagine that it's far less effort than trying to coerces large groups of people to do things at gunpoint.
My point is who is responsible for large scale refuse disposal if noone wants to stick their oar out.

Why should i do anything if bcbm wants to sit on his ass watching judge judy?

bcbm

5th May 2011, 17:54

if everybody wants to sit around smoking pot and drinking beer and watching judge judy reruns, more power to em and we'll all die in a few short weeks but i suspect freed from the restraints of capital a humanity-for-itself would begin to emerge and embark on all manner of wild adventures and activities. people are lazy fucks because this system is garbage and after being forced to do a week of miserable work most people would rather get drunk or blow their brains out, a problem which "after the revolution has already happened" won't exist. worrying about future "post-revolutionary" productivity is fucking stupid, its about finally being freed from all that bullshit and creating a human world

Dr Mindbender

5th May 2011, 19:14

Lord Testicles

6th May 2011, 14:23

My point is who is responsible for large scale refuse disposal if noone wants to stick their oar out.

Why should i do anything if bcbm wants to sit on his ass watching judge judy?

Well you really only have two options, pick up some rubbish or join bcbm and watch some judge judy.
Chances are if you want to have clean streets, there will be legions of people who are on a similar line of thought, so I think it's highly unlikely that you'll end up as a one man crusade trying to clean up the streets.