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by al_ak 2139 days ago
I really do hope your page helps some people with their procrastination issues. But I can't help feel like your whole approach suffers from engineers disease. But maybe that's what will resonate with some folks.

A compassionate therapist can also do wonders for procrastination.

2 comments

Yeah, I know what you're saying. This is more of a clinical disection of procrastination.

Many more of our blog posts and book chapters are more about the emotional side of things. Plus, we do coach people 1-on-1 in our program.

That sounds pretty great actually. I just know what for me, none of this really "clicked" until I had someone to work through these emotions with
Most procrastination is emotional management, a sort of self-medicating from stress. Having a skilled therapist working through it with you sounds fantastic.

I really like a technique called the "Sedona Method" for releasing difficult emotions.

I find it amusing when I look up "Sedona Method" I find lots of blurbs in the search previews about how simple and powerful it is, yet none of them actually give any clue as to what it involves (but you can buy a book that will reveal the secret!).

Not a criticism of the technique (since I have no idea what it involves, although I'm curious), moreso of the optics to someone searching for it. As opposed to something like the Pomodoro Technique which a search for does turn up blurbs about what it involves.

Sorry it seems really vague. I think it's so simple it's confusing. Essentially, the Sedona method is to connect with whatever's bugging you and ask yourself these questions.

1. Could I let it go? (You can say yes, or no or anything. Saying "yes" is typical because it's just asking if it's possible. Saying "I don't know", is to be generally avoided because it doesn't let you "try it out".)

2. Would I let it go? (Same deal as question 1, but it puts you in the driver's seat in terms of would you take action)

3. When would you let it go? (It's an invitation to say, "now!", but answer honestly)

When explaining the Sedona Method they have you hold a pen and when you "let it go" you physically let it go. That's it. People protest and say, "it's not that easy", but if you do it earnestly you find you have a slight release. Then you just keep doing it over and over again and most stuff just tends to go away.

The way I think about it is that our mind can be run as a powerful emotional simulator, but all emotions are actually real. When we watch movies it's all a simulation but we have a genuine emotional reaction when we watch. The Sedona Method is a process that simulates letting go of resistant feelings that we have, but amazingly it does actually go away. It may come back but like regular exercise you keep chipping away at it bit by bit. Over time it does wonders.

> engineers disease

what do you mean by that?

> engineers disease

Just a guess:

> jumping straight to proposing solutions rather than working with people to understand the problem 1st. “You think you know enough to solve the problem”. [0]

[0] https://accessgranted.nz/episodes/2016/9/6/ep-98-engineers-d...

aahhhhh..... yes, they warned us about this so much in university that I've had "talk to stakeholders to really understand the nature of the problem, then keep observing" firmly lodged into my professional identity.