Getting Past Procrastination

Tiny actions & momentum

• Many endorse the article’s idea that “action leads to motivation” when interpreted as: start with an extremely small, easy step to get the “flywheel” moving.
• Common pattern: deliberately leave an obvious, trivial next action for “future you” (e.g., a syntax error, failing test you know how to fix, half-finished sentence). This makes re-entry effortless and restores context quickly.
• Several note that even opening the IDE, running a build, or reading yesterday’s notes can be enough to tip from inaction into flow.

Tools and practical tricks

• Use TODO comments or markers and rely on git status, diffs, or git grep as a “map” of unfinished work.
• Start with a tiny refactor or “warm-up” task before the main work.
• “Prepping” (cleaning desk, gathering tools, arranging files) lowers activation energy.
• Daily checklists with absurdly low bars (“open IDE and look at notes”) help maintain minimum forward motion; some also keep an “I did” list to validate unplanned work.
• Timers (e.g., 30-minute countdowns) and time-blocking help maintain structure.

Causes & psychology of procrastination

• Proposed causes include: fear of failure, perfectionism, vague or oversized tasks, anticipated unpleasantness, misaligned values (work feels pointless), anxiety, and seasonal or life-circumstance factors.
• Some see themselves delaying most on the most important tasks because stakes feel high; others only become productive once failure is imminent.

ADHD, depression, and severity

• Multiple commenters stress that chronic, life-impairing procrastination can signal ADHD or depression; standard “just break it down and start” advice may fail and add shame.
• For ADHD, people mention executive dysfunction, chronic under-stimulation, and difficulty with “easy” boring tasks; medication and ADHD-specific coaching are reported as highly helpful for some.
• There is debate: some argue everyone faces similar struggles; others emphasize genuine neurological differences and stigma.

Meaning, context, and values

• Several argue procrastination can reflect misalignment: work feels meaningless or ethically dubious, so motivation collapses, especially in certain tech roles.
• Others say changing environment (e.g., moving from academia to industry or to more interesting research) dramatically reduced their procrastination, suggesting context matters.

Is procrastination always bad?

• A minority defend certain “procrastination” as incubation: thinking, “couch machining,” or structured procrastination can lead to better designs and insights.
• Others strongly counter that for them procrastination has been deeply damaging (lost opportunities, ongoing struggle, even suicidality) and should not be romanticized.

Outside work & everyday life

• The same micro-start techniques are applied to chores (e.g., always start dinner by laying one item on the table, fixed weekly chore times).
• Some emphasize building gentle routines and self-compassion over relentless productivity.