On Procrastination (拖延)4
Now, the panic monster explains all kinds of pretty insane procrastinator behavior, like how someone like me, could spend two weeks unable to start the the opening sentence of paper.
And then, miraculously(神奇的 非凡的) find the unbelievable work ethic to stay up all night and to write 8 pages.
And this entire situation, with the 3 characters, this is the procrastinator's system.
It's not pretty, but in the end , it works.
And this is what I decide to write about on the blog, just a couple of years ago.
Now, when I did, I was amazed by the response.
Literally thousands of emails came in, from all different kinds of people, from all over the world, do all different kinds of things,
These are people who were nurses, and bankers and painters, engineers and lots and lots of PhD students.
And they were all writing, saying the same thing," I have this problems too."
But what struck me was the contrast between the light tone of post and having this heaviness emails.
These people were writing with intense frustration about what procrastination have done to their lives, about what this monkey has done to them.
And I thought about this, and I said , well , if the procrastinator's system works, then what's going on?
Why are all of these people in such place, well, turns out that there's two kinds of procrastination.
Everything I've talked about today, the examples I'v given, they all have deadlines. And when there's deadlines, the effects of procrastinations are contained, to the short term because the panic monster get involved.
But there is a second kind of procrastination, but happens in situations when there is no deadline.
So if you wanted to have a career where you are a self-starter, something in the arts, something entrepreneurial(具有企业家精神的)-
there's no deadlines on those things at first, because nothing's happening first, not until you've gone out, and done the hard work to get momentum（动力）, get things going.
There's also all kinds of important things outside of your career, that don't involve any deadlines, like seeing your family, exercising and taking care of your health, working on your relationship or getting out of a relationship that isn't working.
1.How does the procrastinator system affect Urban?
He avoids doing work until he starts to panic and then works very hard.
2. According to Urban, if procrastinators don't have deadlines....There won't be any pressure to finish their work.
3. Before Urban wrote his blog post on procrastination, he though...there's only one kind of procrastinators.
Well，if the procrastinators only mechanism of doing these hard things is the Panic Monster, that's a problem, because in all of these non-deadline situations, the Panic Monster doesn't show up. He has nothing to wake up for,
so the effects of procrastination, they are not contained, they just extend outward forever.
And it's this long-term kind of procrastination that's much less visible, and much less talked about than the funnier(滑稽的 好笑的), your short-term deadline based kind.
It's usually suffered quietly and privately,
And it can be the source of huge amount of long-term unhappiness and regrets.
And I thought, you know that's why these people are emailing, and that's why they are in such bad place.
It's not that they are cramming(把。。。塞进) for project,
it's that long-term procrastination has made them feel like a spectator(观看 观众), at times, in their own lives.
You know the frustration, is not they couldn't achieve their drams, it's that they weren't even able to start chasing them.
So I read these emails, and I have a little bit of Epiphany(显现节), that I don't think none of procrastinators exist.
That's right, I think all of you are procrastinators.
Now, you might not all be a mess like some of us, and some of you may have a healthy relationship with deadline.
But remember the monkey's sneakiest(悄悄地 偷偷地) trick is when the deadlines are there.
And now, I want to show you one last thing,
I call this a life - calendar,
that's one box for every week of a 90-year life.
That's not that many boxes, especially since we've already used a bunch of those.
So I think we need to all take a long hard look that calendar.
when we need to think about what we're really procrastinating on, because every one is procrastinating on something in life.
We need to stay aware of the instant Gratification monkey,
that's the job for all of us.
and because there's not that many boxes on there, it's a job that you probably start today.
Well, it maybe not today, but, you know, sometime soon. thank you.
1. What is the real challenge for procrastinators?
organizing their work when they don't have deadlines.
2. What is the main purpose of Urban's presentation?
to reflect on why and how people procrastinate.
3. Urban suggests people too...consider how short their lives are.
4. If the procrastinator's only mechanism of doing these hard things is the Panic Monster, that's a problem, because in all of these non-deadline situations, the Panic Monster doesn't show up.
听 & 复述
5. Our procrastination can be the source of a huge amount of long-term unhappiness and regrets.
6. This is what I decided to write about on the blog a couple of years ago.
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