As a widow, having lost someone I love, we learn not to procrastinate, because life is too short. Unfortunately, sometimes it's only after loss that we wake up and take notice. elaine

I feel as if my procrastination has just gotten worse over the years. All of my regrets in the past have made me even more terrified and I now question my own gut instinct.

Makes sense to me - a particularly painful form of procrastination.

I am getting a lot out of this, Doctor. Is there a connection between chronic procrastinators and bipolar disorder? I am not diagnosed, but I seem to act much like a mixed state bipolar person. In that, I alter between/even simultaneously experience the guilt/anguish/hopeless state (low), where the sense of being overwhelmed overwhelms the ability to do anything (so nothing gets done), and the false rationalized 'everything is ok/you're great/you will achieve so much' state (high), where that false sense of stability tricks you into thinking that you don't really have to do the things you really have to do (so still nothing gets done)!
Can anyone else here relate to this? This pattern has dominated my entire life, since i was old enough to have any sort of responsibility. There is no middle ground, and it's maddening. So true that it results in guilt, anguish, and loss of empowerment, all for not living to your potential. I have always wondered what was wrong with me, and why it seemed so easy for everyone else. I think focusing on procrastinating itself, rather than underlying semi-related causes, is a huge step, at least for the purposes of trying to control it.
There is a great site that regards procrastination not as a symptom but as an actual addiction, which i also find very interesting. We are compulsive avoiders. And the damage to self esteem only exacerbates it. We lay a bad track record, then we obsess about it, then we only get worse.
I think we procrastinators should look at the mechanics of how we procrastinate. We can never be totally thoughtless, or actless, right? And, the act of procrastinating is almost by definition, replacing one act or thought with another. You cannot remove an act or thought, and have a void remain; SOMETHING must replace it. Even sitting perfectly still is an act. More likey, we'll get a coffee, read something, make an unnecessary call, web surf, drive to some unnecessary spot. But can we somehow find an off-switch for the mind, as can the capable meditator? Can we look at animals that have no sense of self, and others that do? An intelligent animal, such as a parrot, can experience neuroses, depression, actual insanity. Why? Because it has a mind. It is self aware. It is capable of obsession. Can a deer be depressed? Not in this way..why? It isn't a mindful creature. It doesn't think about eating grass, or sleeping, or running. It is mostly instinctual, with some experience thrown in. It just lives, and does.
So, can we turn the mind off somehow? Because it isn't our kidneys that are making us do this, or our kneecaps. Instead of trying to figure out how to rewire the entire house, can we just hit the main shut-off, at least for short periods, and do some things without thinking about them or anything else? Is this possible? I think there's something to it. We think, we obsess about not only the tasks we avoid, but about the fact that we are procrastinating alone! Can we turn it off?
Can we teach ourselves a sort of 'thoughtless action?' Where your act is so 'simple' that it doesn't need any accompanying thought, even if the thought is totally synonymous with the act? In Dan Millman's book 'Way of the Peaceful Warrior' it says; "if you stand, stand. If you sit, sit. But whatever you do, don't wobble. Don't be the preacher who thinks about praying while making love to his wife, and thinks about making love to his wife while praying." So, what is pulling at the preacher? Thought! Thinking!I think we procrastinators are also chronich thinking 'wobblers.' Thinking is like anything else, in that it can be good or bad - we all know this. We in particular suffer from poor and uncontrolled thought. The trouble is, we go off obsessing about what's causing it, and think less about what is going on in and of itself.
I am trying to alter my behaviour by starting with admittedly large simplifications. Such as, should I spend more time analyzing why and how I got a flat tire, or more time getting it repaired. Does the the tire, or the hole in it care? Why should I? Yes, overly simple, but come on; if we are in a race and we trip on a rock, what gets us to the finish line earlier? Staring at the rock and trying to figure out how we tripped, or getting up and running as hard as we can, forgetting about the rock?
My point is, I believe there's a lot to be said for sometimes just wiping the slate clean. Stop thinking! We are disengaging from the present moment when we do. The trick is to combine this with some of that 'thoughtless action.'
Obviously, if there was a real and clear answer, well this world wouldn't even be the same place.
I have even thought of hypnosis. Has anyone tried this? Is it reccommended, or to be avoided? Any thoughts?

Hi Dr. Pychyl,
I came across your blog and wanted to thank you for coming to our presentation and for your kind, observant comments.
Sincerely,
Grafton Eliason

All regrets, griefs are momentry, as time passed we forget all thing. If we keep all these memory intake it is immpossible for is to live. This real human nature.Those who feel trauma experience in childhood, they experienced guilt feeling.Guilt feeling torture person,that he promised some and did not fulfiled