I recently had occasion to review some of the akrasia tricks I've found on Less Wrong, and it occurred to me that there's probably quite a lot of others who've tried them as well. Perhaps it's a good idea to organize the experiences of a couple dozen procrastinating rationalists?
Therefore, I'll aggregate any such data you provide in the comments, according to the following scheme:
- Note which trick you've tried. If it's something that's not yet on the list below, please provide a link and I'll add it; if there's not a link for it anywhere, you can describe it in your comment and I'll link that.
- Give your experience with it a score from -10 to +10 (0 if it didn't change the status quo, 10 if it ended your akrasia problems forever with no side effects, negative scores if it actually made your life worse, -10 if it nearly killed you); if you don't do so, I'll suggest a score for you based on what else you say.
- Describe your experience with it, including any significant side effects.
Every so often, I'll combine all the data back into the main post, listing average scores, sample size and common effects for each technique. Ready?
Here's the list of specific akrasia tactics I've found around LW (and also in outside links from here); again, if I'm missing one, let me know and I'll add it. Special thanks to Vladimir Golovin for the Share Your Anti-Akrasia Tricks post.
Without further ado, here are the results so far as I've recorded them, with average score, number of reviews, standard deviation and recurring comments.
3 or More Reviews:
Collaboration with Others: Average +7.7 (3 reviews) (SD 0.6)
No Multitasking: Average +6.0 (3 reviews) (SD 2.0); note variants
P.J. Eby's Motivation Trilogy: Average +5.8 (6 reviews) (SD 3.3)
Monoidealism: Average +8.0 (3 reviews) (SD 2.0)
"Just Do It": Average +4 (2 reviews) (SD 4.2)
Irresistible Instant Motivation: +3 (1 review)
Getting Things Done: Average +4.9 (7 reviews) (SD 2.6)
Regular Exercise: Average +4.4 (5 reviews) (SD 2.3)
Cripple your Internet: Average +4.2 (11 reviews) (SD 3.0)
LeechBlock: Average +5.4 (5 reviews) (SD 2.9); basically everyone who's tried has found it helpful.
PageAddict: +3 (1 review)
Freedom (Mac)
Melatonin: Average +4.0 (5 reviews) (SD 5.4); works well for some, others feel groggy the next day; might help to vary the dosage
Execute by Default: Average +3.7 (7 reviews) (SD 2.4); all sorts of variants; universally helpful, not typically a life-changer.
Pomodoro Technique: Average +3.3 (3 reviews) (SD 4.2); mathemajician suggests a 45-minute variant
Being Watched: Average +3.2 (6 reviews) (SD 4.1); variations like co-working seem more effective; see "collaboration" below
Utility Function Experiment: Average +2.8 (4 reviews) (SD 2.8)
Meditation: Average +2.8 (5 reviews) (SD 2.8)
Modafinil and Equivalents: Average -0.8 (5 reviews) (SD 8.5); fantastic for some, terrible for others. Seriously, look at that standard deviation!
Structured Procrastination: Average -1.0 (3 reviews) (SD 4.4); polarized opinion
Resolutions (Applied Picoeconomics): Average -3.2 (5 reviews) (SD 3.3); easy to fail & get even more demotivated
1 or 2 Reviews:
Dual n-back: Average +6.5 (2 reviews) (SD 2.1)
Think It, Do It: Average +6 (2 reviews) (SD 1.4)
Self-Affirmation: Average +4 (2 reviews) (SD 2.8)
Create Trivial Inconveniences to Procrastination
Close the Dang Browser: Average +3.5 (2 reviews) (SD 3.5)
Get More Sleep: Average +3 (2 reviews) (SD 1.4)
Every Other Day Off: Average +0.5 (2 reviews) (SD 0.7)
Strict Scheduling: Average -9 (2 reviews) (SD 1.4)
Elimination (80/20 Rule): +8 (1 review)
Methylphenidate: +8 (1 review)
Begin Now: +8 (1 review)
Learning to Say No: +8 (1 review)
Caffeine Nap: +8 (1 review)
Write While Doing: +8 (1 review)
Leave Some Tasty Bits: +7 (1 review)
Preserve the Mental State: +6 (1 review)
Acedia and Me: +5 (1 review)
Third Person Perspective: +5 (1 review)
Watching Others: +5 (1 review)
Multiple Selves Theory: +5 (1 review)
Getting Back to the Music: +5 (1 review)
Remove Trivial Inconveniences: +4 (1 review)
Accountability: +2 (1 review)
Scheduling Aggressively...: +2 (1 review)
Autofocus: 0 (1 review)
Take Every Other 20 to 40 Minutes Off: -4 (1 review)
Not Yet Reviewed:
Thanks for your data!
EDIT: People seem to enjoy throwing really low scores out there for things that just didn't work, had some negative side effects and annoyed them. I added "-10 if it nearly killed you" to give a sense of perspective on this bounded scale... although, looking at the comments, it looks like the -10 and -8 were pretty much justified after all. Anyway, here's your anchor for the negative side!
Btw, "Just Do It" and "Monoidealism" are essentially the same thing, described differently. "Irresistible Instant Motivation" and (Vladimir Golovin's version of) "Self Affirmation" are specific alternative ways to achieve a monoideal or "just doing it" state. (Specifically, Vladimir's self-affirmation of "I want to do X" is a weaker form of something I call the Jedi Mind Trick, which is repeatedly saying "I am now doing X", and refusing to let any contrary/conflicting thought take hold.)
So, properly, "monoidealism" is simply the state in which you have exactly one thing on your mind, with no conflicts. It's a condition that results in one naturally taking action in relation to the thought, rather than a technique in and of itself.
So, If somebody is saying they use monoidealism or "The Hidden Meaning Of 'Just Do It'", they are simply saying they go after that state directly (and perhaps reflectively) rather than using some other technique like affirming, counting down, envisioning+comparison ("Instant Motivation"), etc..
Many other techniques listed here also reflect attempts to reach a monoideal state by manipulating the outside world, rather than the inside one. The author of "Getting Things Done" talks about creating a "mind like water", where the purpose of tracking things is to allow everything to be out of one's head.... i.e., no conflicting thoughts. Removing outside barriers is another, since the lack of a barrier means one less thing that you will think about. ;-)
So, in short, "monoidealism" is not a technique. It is the desired end-state we wish to replace akrasia with. Specific anti-akrasia techniques may further be classified by whether they seek monoidealism indirectly (by manipulating the outside world) or directly (by manipulating one's thoughts).
Presumably, there are also techniques which do not go after monoidealism either directly or indirectly, but I'm hard pressed to think of one. Even things like Pomodoro and LeechBlock attempt to remove sources of conflicting thoughts, after all. (But I would be most interested in hearing of a counterexample, and I'll admit that systemic prohpylaxis such as exercise, nutrition, drugs, etc. are a bit of a stretch to include in this category. Most forms of meditation, though, would clearly be training one's skill at maintaining monoideal states in the face of competing inputs.)
Anyway, the usefulness of a particular technique to a particular individual will largely depend on whether it addresses their particular stumbling blocks in achieving a monoideal state.
For example, a person whose primary obstacle is self-doubt will not be helped much by removing external obstacles! A person who has only one thing to do won't be helped by Structured Procrastination or Getting Things Done, and so on.
Meanwhile, although I'm the "creator" or popularizer of more than one method on this list, I personally don't use any "motivational" tricks on an ongoing basis... for the simple reason that motivational tricks can't overcome "Bruce" in the long run.
That is, if "yourself" really wants to not do something, it will simply transfer your akrasia to the use of the anti-akrasia technique itself! I've experienced this many, many times before... which is why you don't see me inventing any new techniques.
(They're pretty easy to invent, btw, once you know that the goal of any such technique is to induce a monoideal state. I bet lesswrongers could come up with a crapload of 'em... and in fact they already have!)
Anyway, AFAICT, the only long term approach to chronic (as opposed to episodic) akrasia is to:
Self-modify so as to limit the number of conflicting thoughts that can occur in the first place: if you don't have any "buttons" for your tasks to push, then you can't lose your monoideal state that way.
Monitor and manage "yourself", rather than self-identifying as the one who is doing or not doing things.
The latter is necessary because without developed skill at self-observation, you will never "get" what is setting you off in the first place, nor will you be able to modify it. The first few years of my blogging consist of mostly very superficial self-observations, at a time when I was still looking for logical reasons why I did things.
Now I know to be suspicious when my brain hands me a logical answer, because (alas) logic and action are simply not related in the way our brains are built. Logic is primarily a weapon we use to persuade other people, and to prevent ourselves from being persuaded. It seems likely there was a lot less evolutionary pressure on being able to figure out or understand reality or "truth", than there was on offensive and defensive persuasion capability!
This means that logic and verbal sophistication are the natural enemies of both motivation and self-modification, since our logic is intended to refute any ideas that might cause us to self-modify (in response to verbal persuasion/suggestion/priming)... and it's also intended to keep our inner motivations from being discovered by others!
For this reason, verbal overshadowing is the #1 obstacle to self-understanding and self-modification, for pretty much all applications, not just anti-akratic ones. Your logical, verbal mind is designed to deceive others and prevent them from deceiving you. But unfortunately, it simply counters verbal persuasion, regardless of who it's coming from. You can't convince yourself of anything by arguing and ranting, in the same way that you can't convince anyone else by arguing and ranting.
Actively persuading another person requires that they become fully engaged in the discussion, and it's no different in relation to yourself. Unless you become fully engaged with yourself in the same way, you're just shouting into the wind.
[edit: formatting]
As another LW put it with respect to rational relationships: "There ain't no one. There's a .67 or a .64 that you round up to one"
edit: I get a bit...uhh...psychotic, when I'm tired. I wrote the following draft comment at something like 4am. I don't really know what I meant, but perhaps it does mean something someone else can gain from