Your previous blog entry *did* help me. Especially how you condensed the advice into memorable aphorisms, and telling us that your experience and research tells you that these are the three most important aspects in attacking procrastination.

As to your main point in this blog entry, I formed the following aphorism early in life, from my observations about giving tips: "People learn when they're ready to learn."

You can tell when people aren't ready to accept what you're saying when you're face-to-face, and then you can back off from giving tips, or tailor more gentle tips. But when you're distributing tips via a blog you can't tailor your tips. The criticizers should have given you more slack. You reach some with your words, but never everybody.

Thanks, Tim.

I've been thinking about your Frankl article and at first it seemed to be oversimplifying the whole issue as it didn't take into account other factors such as doubt and uncertainty that surround the cause of the procrastination. But that's exactly the point, isn't it? Because of Frankl's experience, all that Other Stuff is burned away and he's left with that one very simple point: do or die (I think that Michael Formica quoted Yoda about this). And tips are pretty much the same thing.

We hang onto that Other Stuff because we are still walking around the issue--we aren't ready to make a move. We even seek comfort from others by laughing at what is a common social phenomenon. But the sad part is, that sometimes it is necessary for us to wait too long and miss the opportunity and learn from that before we actually make the life-changing decision never to be in that situation again.

Accepting a tip is a signal that the change is underway (does that make it a Tipping Point?). It's taking a risk, which would be the sucking-it-up part. But that would be the difference between existing and living, would it not?

haha, reminds me of when a friend is having a bad golf game and me giving him a useless tip helps him out.
In my experience sometimes giving a tip to someone makes them believe in themselves again. Taking a situation in which someone feels that they failed because of a global trait they possess and changing this cognition to a specific situation that may need a different strategy to succeed. Making them think it's less about themselves and more about the situation, challenge or strategy.

The three tips are the nearly the definition of procrastinating. Don't like what you're doing? Then here's a tip: stop doing it. Hardly helpful.

I believe the section "When they don't work, why not?" has the key with "seeking a strategy (dare I say 'tip') at a lower-level". The tips just needed to be more low-level. "Get your racquet back sooner" is a good tip in precisely the same way that "Want to improve your tennis game? Work on your stroke" is not.

Having a hard time starting?
* Set an egg timer for 5 minutes. When the timer rings, feel free to stop for the day. You may surprise yourself and continue, but do not set the timer with this expectation. You must give yourself full permission to stop after 5 minutes.
* Invite a peer with the same task to join you. The load feels lighter already, knowing someone will share the burden. Set a specific time and place. Define the deliverable.
* Ask a friend to sit with you as a favor. Even when the friend knows nothing about the subject, the morale support will push you through the angst.
* Give yourself a carrot. (Business calls this celebrating milestones.) When I finish this, I'll treat myself to a movie.
* Identify the next task that will move you closer to the project's completion. Do only that task. Book Review? Next task might be "Choose book" or "Buy book" or "Check library for book" or "read chapter 1".
* Set up the stage without worrying about the actual play.
- Writing? Set up blank paper with title and your name.
- Email? Do the To:, CC:, BCC:, and Subject. Fill in the body with only their names at the top and your name at the bottom.
- Painting? Get canvas on easel, lay out paints, adjust the lighting.