My TED Talk

i did a thesis on compiler technology in 2 days, that got an B from Dr Burton Smith https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burton_Smith – while I was working and married with a child!

I’ve loved this talk ever since it came out. However, I am not a procrastinator, so I didn’t relate to it. Not until now.

I found the opposite of procrastination. I am an undergraduate student, and although I rarely find myself procrastinating, I always find the panic monster at the wheel. I can’t do anything fun! I can’t escape my stress. The monkey NEVER has control. I believe the panic monster always being in control is the equal, but opposite, reaction to stress, and thus, is anxiety. This is why when any assignment, anything that needs done gets done immediately, in a vain attempt to get the monster to go back in the cage. But alas, he doesn’t and just goes on to the other thing.

With procrastination you have the monkey, fun guy, at the wheel and then the panic monster sets in when sh*t gets real. However, with anxiety, the monkey is shoved in the trunk, while the panic monster takes over.

The question is: which is worse?

Let me know your thoughts yall 😉

Hi Tim- I just wanted to say that I can completely relate. I did exactly the same thing. I hit my crucial point when I was working toward my master’s degree. We had something called the 60-hour rule, where PhD students would get stopped until they finished their master’s thesis. So, I got stopped. So, I was stopped, and hypothetically working on it for an entire academic year. I wasn’t. I’ve never been in better shape. The top of my refrigerator has never been cleaner. In November of said academic year, I was able to get approved by the university IRB and I actually collected data from more than 200 people over a few months. However, I had only written about 20 pages or so. Then, I was just paralyzed with fear…fear of failure and fear of not being good enough. I mean, how could some poor, trailer kid, write a master’s thesis. There was a part of me, that just knew that I was going to fail somewhere along the road. After all, they made such a huge mistake accepting me. I was one of 10 people who were accepted into my grad school class which ultimately resulted in a a class of 6 students. What a fucking travesty. I completely fooled them. I can’t believe it. It’s just a question of when they will finally figure out that they made a huge mistake.

Ok, so actually my thesis was accepted. I wrote my 134 page master’s thesis in 5 days. That means that I slept 2 hours each night for 4 nights. I accidentally looked down at my feet. They were swollen like really old ladies feet. My poor feet were the product of this horrible 1 week of 22 hour days. I only took breaks to pee and then go back to my desk. I still don’t know how I did it. It was the most amazing procrastination I’ve ever accomplished. On Friday, I had finished. My long-time boyfriend, who would eventually become my husband and a surgeon, helped me format my tables and graphs, Then, I had to drive my hard copy of 134 pages to my master’s thesis advisor’s apartment to meet the deadline. When I got there, I was so sleep deprived, that I forgot to put the car into park. My Mercedes climbed the curb and was headed to the building, when I climbed back in, and put it into park. I was going to be dismissed from my Ph.D. program if I didn’t meet this deadline. So, I did everything that I could. I barely made it.

That paper was full of everything that I had learned from my undergraduate advisor and things that I had learned from my 2 years of graduate school, but equally full of imposter syndrome and fear of failure. So, I can relate to your 90 page senior thesis. I just did it at the master’s level. Thank Jesus that is over. I ended up getting my master’s degree, and then getting my Ph.D. Now, I’m a fucking professional. I don’t struggle with the same level of doubt that I did before. I mean, I’m still on the road to recovery, but having gone through that process was life-changing. -Larry

Very nice TED Talk! I Really like it.

Really amazing,i want to get rid off that monkey too but i don’t know how to do it?

This talk was amazing! I could relate to everything he was saying (esp starting an important piece of work 3 DAYS BEFORE! Which is where I’m at right now) It is reassuring to know that other people are like that. However it would be interesting to talk about how much self-esteem contributes to procrastination. I believe my low self-esteem plays a significantly large part in my procrastination.

I vehemently disagree with those who link procrastination to ADHD. Its a huge shame that some wish to immediately place people into a “box with a label”. It’s lazy, and uninformed. I suppose it allows people to distance themselves from those who admit to procrastinating. Or rather, they may be frightened and looking to deflect attention away from their own deficiencies. Either way, let’s all be kind and understanding people! Procrastinators, like those who are analytical and highly organised, are simply human beings trying to make sense of their place in the world. Give them (us!) a break.