Tim Urban: Inside the mind of a master procrastinator

25.02.2021
To start a brand new section on motivation-themed content, we share a TED talk by writer and Wait But Why co-founder Tim Urban. In this hilarious and insightful talk, Urban explains why procrastinators procrastinate, and introduces a second type of procrastination which most, if not all, of us are probably guilty of.

 

Key points and selected quotes

  • There is a procrastinator system where three characters reside: the Rational Decision-Maker, the Instant Gratification Monkey, and the Panic Monster.
    • The Rational Decision-Maker gives us the ability to visualize the future, see the big picture, and make long term plans. It makes us do things that should make sense.
    • The Instant Gratification Monkey lives entirely in the present moment, has no memory of the past, and no knowledge of the future. It only cares about two things: easy and fun. The Instant Gratification Monkey is what sets procrastinators apart from non-procrastinators.
    • The Panic Monster is dormant most of the time, but suddenly wakes up everytime a deadline gets too close, there's danger of public embarrassment, an impending career disaster, or other scary consequence. It is only thing the monkey is terrified of.
       
  • Urban described procrastination as the moment when the Instant Gratification Monkey takes the wheel from the Rational Decision-Maker, to spend time in the dark playground. The dark playground is where leisure activities happen at times when they are not supposed to be happening. Because of this, there is no real fun here because the fun is completely unearned and is rather filled with guilt, dread, anxiety, and self-hatred.
     
  • The procrastinator system works because when the Panic Monster wakes up, the Instant Gratification Monkey goes away, leaving the Rational Decision-Maker in-charge to get things done. The effects of procrastination are contained to the short term.
     
  • There is a second type of procrastination: the long-term procrastination where there is no deadline. In this case, the Panic Monster does not show up because there is nothing to wake up for. Hence, the effects are not contained but rather extend outward forever.
     
  • Long term procrastination is suffered quietly, privately and is a source of long-term unhappiness and regrets. It makes people feel like at times a spectator in their own lives. The frustration is not that they couldn’t achieve their dream; it's that they were not even able to start chasing them.
     
  • Using what he called a life calendar, where a 90-year old person’s life is divided into weeks illustrated with a row of boxes, Urban challenged viewers to reflect on this question: What are you procratinating on?