Procrastination is not real, it can't hurt you

Published on May 12, 2025 7:00 PM GMTtldr: what appears as procrastination is actually a broad label for seeming mismatch or contradiction of internal desires, and the solution is to do more actions that seem defaultA student approaches the master for his guidance.Student: I want to become the best martial artist in the world, and also tend to the farm and do my chores so that I can support that endeavor. However, I am able to do none of it. I wake up, half-groggy, unsure on how the day will go, and at night I go to sleep disappointed in myself. Then I somehow grudgingly do my chores, all the while feeling bad that I’m not practicing my art, and then I’m usually tired to do anything else. Sometimes I do practice my art, but it feels incomplete and I feel burdened. Why am I procrastinating, and how do I solve it?Master: The usual question is “I want X, how do I get X?” which can be solved, but you ask “I want to want X, how do I get the want?” which is somewhat non-sensical. You either want it or not. You say you’re “procrastinating”. Procrastination is the broad fuzzy description of a phenomena where a person says he wants to do X, but does not do X. However, it is the description of this mis-match, not its cause or explanation. It’s similar to https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/RgkqLqkg8vLhsYpfh/fake-causality

https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/eQmxBtZnm4Yi8iF4o/procrastination-is-not-real-it-can-t-hurt-you