[ryanjamurphy]

Hi HN! Exciting to see this model get some attention.

Admittedly, it is mostly a sketch. I created this model in self-study but published it just in case it might help someone else. As Brené Brown says, I'm trying to get it right, not to be right.

Still, I think there's a few key insights here:

1. As other replies have suggested, this model might not fit you. Procrastination is an umbrella term that describes a variety of issues, and sometimes those issues interlock! If you're struggling to match intention with action, find your model. Also, talk to a counsellor. They really help.

2. Systems sketching — in combination with self-study of our thoughts and behaviours — is a really interesting way to understand our own cognitive-behavioural problems. In my case, I sketched this model after realizing for the first time that anxiety might play a role in my procrastination behaviours. It helped me see how powerful that role really was.

After creating this model at the beginning of 2022, I engaged a counsellor and have been doing a lot more self-study. A work-in-progress on a far more involved (and idiosyncratic) model is available here: https://embed.kumu.io/fc78b8660224a57734e0bb6c52cebbd8

(Oddly enough, this was shared about 24 hours after I finished a research paper on all this work. I'll share that via my blog if and when it gets accepted by the destination.)

Thanks for a rich discussion — and thanks Kumu team for addressing the traffic spike issues.

[ryanjamurphy]

Oh, I forgot to add: Tim Pychyl's work and podcast was such an essential resource for me as I started to take my procrastination issues more seriously.[1]

Tim's a procrastination researcher out of the University of Ottawa, I think. The podcast does a fantastic job of making current research on procrastination accessible and engaging.

[1]: https://www.procrastination.ca

[divan]

Hey! How did you choose Kumu? I'm currently exploring a landscape of SD tools, and Kumu seems both cool and unusual, but it's not clear if it can be used a replacements for Stella Architect, which is prohibitevely expensive. Does it have features like feedback loop analysis, for example?

[ryanjamurphy]

Admittedly I can only speak to the merits of Kumu. I was never really trained in system dynamics, more systems thinking, so that plus the wild expense of most SD software means that I have never really given them a chance.

The other reason I can't compare them is because once I tried Kumu, I never looked back. Kumu is wonderful. It looks simple enough, but once you dig into the advanced features and the extensive documentation, you can really learn to do amazing things with it. I've used it for many years now for many clients.

But see again point 1. It isn't made to be a systems dynamics modeling tool, so simulation and analysis features you might expect to find might be missing.

My suggestion is to choose a problem to work, create a free model, and start messing around. My guess is that you'll find Kumu great for initial sketches and non-dynamics models, but you'll probably want to go elsewhere for simulation work.

[divan]

Thank you for such an elaborate answer!