• sazey@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    I once read someone make a point (more eloquently than me) that procrastination is your brain’s internal bullshit detector. For example, if a lion were to break into your room right now, you would get the fuck up and flee no matter how lazy/neet you may be. Therefore the matters you procrastinate on are a big old bag of hooey (according to your mind).

    • MindTraveller@lemmy.ca
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      3 months ago

      I procrastinate on cooking and then complain that I’m hungry and there’s no time to make food. I think my brain is broken.

      • shneancy@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        your brain is fully aware that you can just have two handful of nuts and be good for a couple of hours. Just because your brain also believes that you gotta have a proper meal doesn’t matter

        • ____@infosec.pub
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          3 months ago

          I’ll see your handfuls of nuts, and raise you a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter.

          It’s a) relatively cheap b) delicious c) easily edible on the fly with a spoon, time constraints be damned. It serves the purpose quite well, and even throws a bit of sugar in there too.

          Not exactly a balanced diet, but it does accomplish the goal reasonably effectively and frequently is already in the house.

          Also good when not medically quite at 100% - when not at my best, I do everything I can to follow dr. orders, ofc, but sometimes it’s more efficient to throw a tiny bit of sugar at one’s brain in a (relatively) healthier way, than to keep fighting it during recovery.

        • BruceTwarzen@lemm.ee
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          3 months ago

          This is true and also works the other way around. There is no food but i’m too lazy to go on a grocery run. Suddenly more food spawns in my house for 3 more days.

      • sazey@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Not missing a meal (or a few even) won’t kill you, try getting to a starving state and then see if your brain lets you park your ass on the couch.

        • cynar@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          The executive functions are a tiebreak system, in many ways. It balances the various possible options, both benefits and costs, short term and long.

          Procrastination is when this system can’t overcome various situational inertias. I tend to think of it akin to a teacher in a classroom. The kids are perfectly capable of raiding a kitchen, when sufficiently hungry. It’s also impossible to keep them focused on maths, when a dozen labrador puppies are released into the classroom. Within its limits however, it’s supposed to turn disparate drives into coherent action.

          I have adhd. The teacher is exhausted from a 3 day bender, and someone swiched their coffee to decaf. Avoiding situations that cause a procrastination lockup are a fact of life.