Well, Timothy. Thanks for your great blog. I didn't take the test, when I first read the post -- and took it now after reading this post. This reason, why I did so, is quite simple: I felt embarrassed, to be part of the 74% of the readers who only took good advice from your blog, but weren't willing to answer a simple question, that could a lay a basis for the writer and the readers.

On the other hand, I was (and still am) pretty sceptical of the conclusions you could draw from such a test: I find it pretty hard, to let people decide for themselves how much they are procrastinating, right now. In my opinion this requires a little self-analysis -- and thats lots more than just two clicks. Escpecially for people who are afraid of evaluation, may it be from the in- or from the outside.

Finally, I don't like the technology of the poll from a privacy point of view. It tells you, right after (!) you've submitted an answer, that your IP-address was stored. But it's not so clear to me, who has this stored information, now. You? The guys who own the website of the poll? The blog people? These concerns may seem paranoid to some people. I am quite sure, the number of people on the internet who care about such issues is well above average.

Anyways, thanks again for your blog. I'm still happy to participate in your research.

Dear Dr. Pychyl,

After literally hitting bottom of procrastination destructive effects, I'm very thankful I found these valuable resources with your insight - I recently found your podcast - which I like a lot - and then learned about your blog in the 13th episode (I went through them in 1 week). To answer your question about the media in that episode, I personally find the podcasts to be a bit more helpful and enjoyable media in its own way - listening to you expressing your insights adds a personal dimension that also helps a lot. Nevertheless, the blog's great too... help is help - it's a gift: how it's delivered is secondary. I also understand how producing the podcast can be so much more work, thus affecting their frequency. Anyway, thanks again for your helping effort -the podcast and the blog - having both is a great combination! Certain issues that deserve greater depth & a more personal expression and insight may be explored in the podcast, while keeping the blog for more general issues, for example - this is what i've seen some podcasters and magazines do. Anyways, I'm taking great advantage from it. I will email you about my personal experiences & questions directly (as I'm not sure how private this blog is in that regard). For now I just wanted to thank you.. keep up this valuable work! Best regards, jcd.

I wanted to look at the results first before I submitted my answer. You said that the poll was anonymous, but the poll says that since the IP address of my computer is recorded, it is not an anonymous poll. You understand that this kind of violates the trust, don't you?

I came back later and did the poll anyway but not that first time.

I came back even again to see what others had to see about the poll, and I probably will continue to do that but I doubt that I will fill out any other poll here (at least not the first time).

I am not procrastinating by reading this blog. I am trying to find my way out of the maze I find myself in. If there is such a thing as morbid procrastination, I have it. I use sleep as an avoidance technique, and I get virtually nothing done at home regardless of its importance. I have so many things undone that I spend most of my prioritizing time thinking in circles. Making lists makes me feel more guilty. I am being treated for depression and anxiety, and right now the anxiety caused by all the undone projects makes it nearly impossible for me to begin, much less proceed.

I am going to push myself a bit beyond my comfort level tonight, and I made a list of very doable items that can be accomplished in about two hours.

PS - I do pretty well at work. It's my "cave" at home where I am totally ineffective.

First a comment on your article (above). Just a thought about the low participation rate. My thought is that many people do not get as far as filling in the survey because the act of reading the blog reminds them that they are procrastinating - and, if they are strong-willed or less prone to distraction, they quickly decide to go back to the task in hand.... except, of course, for us ADD folk.

Secondly, I tried out the Attention Test linked to on the home page. However, like your correspondents above, I was disturbed by the fact that 'Psychology Today' did not tell me who prepared the test, or who was harvesting the results, or if my personal information was being gathered. I also wanted some way of commenting on the test itself. It seemed to me that the test had not been prepared by someone who truly understood the way in which ADD works. This strongly biased the questions and will have had a negative effect on the viability of the results. Can you tell me where I might be able to expand on this - or with whom ?

I have been getting used to what information is always available in such surveys, and so I didn't hesitate to answer that I was, indeed, procrastinating while reading.

I am VERY glad you wrote a followup, and I'm intrigued as well by the results! There are an awful lot of us who know we have a problem, and yet aren't sure exactly why that is so, or exactly what will work to "cure" us of it.

I figure the more we know about our procrastination, the more likely we will find our own way to get over it. So, this is just thanks again for these awesome resources you've been providing to help us understand ourselves.

I just found this artice - and yes I was procrastinating while reading it! Just had to add a comment on the ip address thing. This is collected in surveys to avoid multiple responses from the same address biasing the results. The ip address may be able to identify you personally, but this is rare - your ip address will in most cases change every time you connect to the internet - it is dynamically assigned by your service provider. Often your ip address can only identify the country, the city or the service provider.

Anyway, in the real world, you are not anonymous. You do not wear a mask to work or to collect your children from school do you? So why the preoccupation with anonymity? Privacy is important - what you say in a private conversation, or reasonably expect to be private should be private. But anonymity is not a right - it is a privilege granted in special circumstances - to protect the *privacy* of individuals offering personal information for the sake of a scientific study, for example. Anonymity should only be used to protect privacy, but privacy does not usually require anonymity.