I think the question of when one should have done it is a great step forward. It makes “procrastination” more specific, less of a mysterious black box. If we are ever going to find a cure for procrastination, we need to get more specific. Then we may realize there are multiple causes which require multiple solutions… which is OK as long as we can make a decision tree showing which specific form of procrastination it is, and which solution should be applied.
I think the frequent failure mode is trying to fix something else than what it broken. For example making better and better to-do list with priorities etc., when the problem is simply internet addiction. The first step should be to identify the broken part.
Also, it could be interesting to make a research, which kind of procrastination is how frequent, once we have a method for telling the difference. For example I would guess that for most people the real problem is the internet addiction. But I would like to see the data.
I think the question of when one should have done it is a great step forward. It makes “procrastination” more specific, less of a mysterious black box. If we are ever going to find a cure for procrastination, we need to get more specific. Then we may realize there are multiple causes which require multiple solutions… which is OK as long as we can make a decision tree showing which specific form of procrastination it is, and which solution should be applied.
I think the frequent failure mode is trying to fix something else than what it broken. For example making better and better to-do list with priorities etc., when the problem is simply internet addiction. The first step should be to identify the broken part.
Also, it could be interesting to make a research, which kind of procrastination is how frequent, once we have a method for telling the difference. For example I would guess that for most people the real problem is the internet addiction. But I would like to see the data.