Silence is golden.

[rivka]

I don't know why I've been so quiet lately in LJ. It would seem as though I'd have plenty to talk about: I've had some nice outings lately (including watching the Orioles beat the Twins on an absolutely perfect summer evening, in the fine company of curiousangel and Ben), some interesting conversations (including an intense discussion of faith and the problem of evil, within my small-group-ministry of Unitarians involved in human service work), some introspective funks (including the perennial question of why it is that, even when I know that putting off things I ought to do ties my stomach up in knots, I still can't seem to forge ahead and get things done), and some very cautious preliminary frubbles.

And yet, I haven't wanted to talk about it here. I'm not sure why I go through these periods of reticence. Some days I've been writing posts in my head - actually, I do that a lot, posts that will never be typed in. If someone invented a voice-activated LJ client I could carry with me through the day, maybe I'd get past this block. In the meantime, I guess I'll just be intriguingly absent.

Comments

[jenett]

Oddly enough, I thought of you when NPR pointed out that the Twins were playing the Orioles. I'm delighted to find you (and company) were there. How cool!^

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Fortunately for me I get to see you fairly frequently. I've missed your text.

I picked up a couple of really bad movies

[mittelbar.livejournal.com]

at the Comic Con. Hint hint. (Actually, can't even consider it until next weekend, but...)

[tammylc.livejournal.com]

some introspective funks (including the perennial question of why it is that, even when I know that putting off things I ought to do ties my stomach up in knots, I still can't seem to forge ahead and get things done)

If you ever feel like sharing your thoughts on this one, I'd enjoy hearing them. I used to be the anti-procrastinator, but no longer... I'm experiencing this exact same problem. I have a ton of con-related things to do, both for ConFusion and ConJose. Not having done them weighs on me heavily and ties my stomach up in knots, but I still can't seem to just do them. I think this is a sign of impending burnout, but I'm not sure what to do about it.

Re: I picked up a couple of really bad movies

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Next weekend we'll be in Edmonton (Yay! Yay! Yay!), but we are determined to have a Horrible Movie Party. Watch this space for further details!

[bandhiaduit.livejournal.com]

If someone invented a voice-activated LJ client I could carry with me through the day, maybe I'd get past this block.
I thought when I'd discovered that someone had created an LJ client I could use to compose posts on my Palm Pilot, that I'd be much more prolific, but no, not any moreso than I compose e-mail. I'm just a faster typist than writer. But too many things distract me from composing my thoughts for an articulate post. So the goofy quiz results and links to nowhere will continue to appear in my pages.

and as for procrastination--well, I'll think about it tomorrow.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I'm experiencing this exact same problem. I have a ton of con-related things to do, both for ConFusion and ConJose. Not having done them weighs on me heavily and ties my stomach up in knots, but I still can't seem to just do them. I think this is a sign of impending burnout, but I'm not sure what to do about it.

I'm in this situation with my dissertation. The main reason, for me, is that things got snarled into a mess, and I have a lot of trouble forcing myself to look at the mess. Instead I do a lot of avoidance and procrastination. That only makes things worse, because then, not only is my dissertation messed up, but my advisor is also angry with me for not making progress. And then I avoid things all the more, because I'm afraid he'll yell at me. And I'm so ashamed of not being finished yet.

I got moving on some of it. And he yelled at me, today, by e-mail. But I survived. And I think I've got a plan for how to address the problem. In other contexts (making health changes), the thing that's worked for me is to have a daily plan - not just a list of things to do, because I'll put it off, but something to do every day. Even if that something is trivial. I'm planning now to make a daily list of dissertation-related chores - even if one day's task is nothing more than looking up an address I need. Actually, that's probably the level I need to start at, just to get me moving. I want to get in the habit of doing something every day, whether I feel like it - or want to face it - or not. Looking up an address tomorrow isn't much, but it'll be more than I did all of last week.

The other thing I'm going to start doing is setting myself a weekly check-in requirement with my advisor. Every week on Friday, I'll e-mail him and either tell him what I did, or tell him why I didn't do anything. I'm hoping that the prospect of telling him why I didn't do anything will be so aversive that I'll be pushed to get things done. Maybe you could set up the same thing with your Concom?

Let me know if these seem like strategies that might work for you, and maybe we can support each other in our efforts. I think it might help to check off tasks with someone else who's similarly awful about procrastination, and knows about the whole emotional bind and the anxiety and everything.