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Comment by imjonse | Hacker News Reader

"Across a decade working at hypergrowth tech companies like Meta and Pinterest, I constantly struggled with procrastination [...] I was not making progress on the things that mattered."

Maybe unless one can really convince themselves that their daily work matters (really matters and not just for their team/company metrics) one is bound to procrastinate as a symptom of some subconscious sense of pointlessness.

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Relentlessly trying to lock up as much of the world's information as possible behind your login wall, I'd be struggling with procrastination as well.

Maybe the answer isn't so much finding new tricks to play on your mind, but finding something to do that doesn't involve codifying more power in the strong leader, to increase his masculinity in the worklace or whatever the political issue du jour is.

Power and control over people's lives and public image is what they get off on, how can anyone feel like they have purpose working on that is beyond me, so it's true that innovation would be thwarted by procrastination - if they give them the "next big thing" it'll be monopolized and weaponized rather than given to the people like tcp/ip initially was. The key term is decentralization, and it's being blown up in favor of locked up datacenters behind layers of digital policing.

Yep, it's hard to summon genuine motivation when, deep down, something feels meaningless. You can build all the productivity systems in the world, but if the work itself feels hollow...

I observe the opposite: the more important something is the more afraid I am to approach it. I procrastinate because it is important.

I suspect it's because of fear of failure, as failure is more consequential the more important the task is.

For me it’s inverted. I have a hard time doing anything until failure is a concrete possibility. Then I become incredibly motivated to not fail.

The problem starts later in life, when a person starts misjudging both time/resources needed to rush complete a task and consequences of failing it.

Failing practically anything during the study in the university is a laughing matter. Worst case you have wasted 6 years on partying and got nothing in return, maybe some debt too if it was in the USA. Failing a task later in life may lead to jail time, deportation, divorce, eviction, homelessness etc. So getting familiar with procrastination and letting it get more severe with years is recipe for disaster.

When I see stories like this I always wonder "How did you get and keep jobs at meta and Pinterest if you have a procrastination problem?"

I procrastinated so badly I could never apply for jobs. And the jobs I did get I lost quickly due to the same procrastination.

I think almost everybody has procrastination problems of some degree from time to time. Especially in occupations that need concentration on complicated things.

But procrastination problems don't mean infinite procrastination. It's just that work keeps piling up and then it has to be done in a burst when it has to really be done. I find this doesn't necessarily mean my output is less (in the short term), it's just that it's exhausting.

Also productivity requirements at work, no matter how fancy workolace, are typically way less than you may think. Just showing up and not actively cause grief goes a long way.

What you tend to see publicly is people in their productive phases, or quite exceptional outliers, or just messaging.

I was thinking about it a lot.

I think the programmers in most environments aren't judged based on some hard metrics that could say someone procrastinated half of the time and could have done twice as much.

Most judgement comes from remembering whether anything has been done at all, and if yes then whether it was sunbathing of quality. People (I at least) will rate higher someone who worked less but contributed higher quality code. Also good contributions to discussion, mentoring juniors is something a procrastinator might not even think is work but is valued highly.

And even while procrastinating some part of your brain often thinks about problem so the time isn't completely lost.

All in all procrastinators aren't as bad as it sounds unless we get into some deep pathology.

I made similar comments on this site alluding to how when I went into this field, I thought I was going to be working with passionate people that truly cared about the craft. I was met with the rude reality that none of my coworkers care about this craft in the slightest, and it is all merely just an ends to a means for them. Now, I do not necessarily blame my coworkers. Passion is not really within one's control.

For the sake of analogy, I feel like I wanted to be a photographer and take beautiful and artistic pictures, but in reality, I just take school pictures for a living.

Now, I do believe there are passionate jobs with passionate programmers out there, but:

1. I do not know where nor with whom one would even find such roles.

2. My lack of skill would be more burdensome than helpful for such teams. I'm not new either. I've been at this game for over a decade now.

So, I am stuck in this procrastination loop -- I lack the skills to better my situation, but I also feel so far behind that I, at some level, believe I am incapable of ever being able to find/retain such a job.

Long story short, I am not sure what your particular reasons are for procrastinating, but brother/sister, I don't blame you one bit for it.

My lack of skill would be more burdensome than helpful for such teams. I'm not new either. I've been at this game for over a decade now.

seems like you are also suffering from imposter syndrome. if you have been doing this for over a decade you should have learned something.

I lack the skills to better my situation

practice. work on a side project. follow and implement tutorials. contribute to FOSS projects. (contact me if you want some suggestions. see my profile)

And how have you overcome this to maintain a functional life? Honestly curious.

My boss met with me this week to have me finish something important to get done by Friday. That really kicked me into gear this week and I was very motivated and productive. Come Friday, no message, no more push from him, no mention of how he needs my work or asking how it's going. That instantly tanked my motivation to continue

in situations like this i forgive them if the only effect is that i get work done faster without downsides to my other activities/responsibilities. priorities change. if less procrastination is the only sideeffect i am not complaining.

> Come Friday, no message [...] tanked my motivation to continue

I see the bookends, but notice the root cause

> That really kicked me into gear [...] I was very motivated and productive

You don't have intrinsic motivation for these tasks and the job. This is the thread to pull on. Keep asking "why?"

In the least, I recommend a pro-active note, letting him know you're done and ready for his feedback on the assignment or new priorities. Figure out why he didn't (or persistently doesn't) follow-up.

Come on, be professional. Your job is to simply message when the job is done by Friday.

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