Discussion Forum > Imagine Procrastinating
Interesting. I'd like to know if it works. But beware of one thing: For many things, imagination actually builds desire. Perhaps it will satiate you for the present, but come back stronger later.
December 14, 2010 at 20:09 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
It's not unlike the technique I describe in Do It Tomorrow of saying "I'm not going to do x" and then doing it, or saying "I'm going to do x" and then not doing it. The aim is to trick the reactive brain into switching off the resistance/impulse.
December 14, 2010 at 22:46 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
I've done the imaginary surfing a few times now and it appears to be beneficial. I will get the urge to surf at an inappropriate time, so I will go to my list and choose "imaginary surf" instead.
I then close my eyes for a moment and imagine going to a site. Then I open them and make a hash mark (a vertical line) on a page. I repeat this 30 times. I then have no more urge to surf.
I then close my eyes for a moment and imagine going to a site. Then I open them and make a hash mark (a vertical line) on a page. I repeat this 30 times. I then have no more urge to surf.
December 30, 2010 at 21:45 |
moises
moises
Moises:In a strange way I came across your article while reading part of William Blake's story of Urizen and Los, which deals with "how Newtonian reason and view of the universe traps the imagination." Blake's point (maybe) is how the material things (on our AF list) are connected or emerge from an unconscious imaginative being; a balancing of a world of routine and habit which protects us from insecurity with imagined possibility. Perhaps AF needs 2 lists: routine/habit and the new/unexpected/different.
December 2, 2013 at 11:58 |
michael
michael
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/science/14tier.html?ref=science&pagewanted=all
New York Times article, I kept thinking, "This should work for procrastination."
Then, about 3/4 down, the author says that this should work for procrastination.
The idea is based on the old notion that we become habituated to things the more we do them. That is, there are diminishing returns. What is new is that there is some evidence that we can become habituated merely by imagining doing the thing.
So, if I felt that I spend too much time web surfing, I could do an exercise 30 times. Each time, I could imagine myself clicking on my browser and looking at a website. The hypothesis is that after the 30th imaginary surfing act, my desire to actually surf will be much lower relative to my desire to do something else on my list.
I might try putting both "surf" and "do imaginary surf exercise" on my list.