英文原文
How to stop procrastinating - Headspace
Did you open this article and tell yourself you’d read it later? You’re not alone. In this digital age, there are more distractions pulling on our attention than ever before. The thing we need to be doing keeps gnawing away at the back of our minds, but we find ourselves putting it off until the last possible moment. If you’re ready to break this cycle, stick with us and keep reading — this one’s for you.
We’re all familiar with procrastination — the act of delaying or postponing something until later, or another day entirely. Serial procrastinators represent about 20% of the population. For any of us, procrastination can happen when we feel overwhelmed by a task, or when something is regarded as too tedious to tackle, or when the fear of failure obstructs a lofty goal. The good news? Understanding why we procrastinate, and learning a little more about what’s going on in our minds, can help us break the habit and feel more productive.
Why we procrastinate
We’ve been procrastinating long before the lure of the social media scroll. Centuries ago, Greek philosophers called it the Akrasia effect. “Akrasia” means lacking command, and this term was often used when people went against their better judgment. Many of us can relate to putting off filing that tax form or making that difficult phone call. And while we usually get to the task in the end without negative consequences, we still might wonder why we couldn’t just get on with it in the first place.
With one in five of us being chronic procrastinators, the habit can start to become debilitating and negatively impact our health and well-being. Chronic procrastinators tend to avoid important actions and decisions in all areas of life, even to the extent of putting off a visit to the doctor to discuss a worrying health concern.
To get to the root of our procrastination, one study from 2019 suggested a neurological connection — it happens when the limbic system, the emotional part of our brain, overtakes the prefrontal cortex, the part of our brain that helps us plan and make decisions. Because we tend to favor instant gratification, eating a snack rather than getting on with a work project can seem more important to our happiness in a certain moment.
From a character standpoint, procrastination is sometimes put down to being disorganized, or even lazy. But neither is at the heart of the reasons why people procrastinate, and research points increasingly to emotional causes. Timothy Pychyl, a psychology professor at Carleton University, Ottawa, has researched procrastination for decades and says: “Procrastination is an emotional-management problem. We procrastinate when we find a task aversive, we resent doing it, or we fear it. To escape those emotions, we escape the task,” he says.
Among the emotional reasons we procrastinate could be low self-esteem — unhelpful negative storylines dominating our thoughts — that can be linked to everyday anxiety. In fact, procrastination and anxiety often go hand in hand. Sometimes, we delay starting a task or project because we feel anxious about it, and anxiety procrastination can also manifest as perfectionism, when you hold yourself to an unnecessarily high standard and it feels impossible to overcome the task in front of you. Whatever the root cause, one thing is clear: the more we get used to procrastinating, the harder the habit is to break.
How to stop procrastinating
Procrastination is like a muscle — the more we use it, the stronger it gets. So breaking the habit and learning how to not procrastinate involves finding out why we do it in the first place. One of the key reasons why we procrastinate is when a big goal or objective is in front of us, and we don’t know where to start. Instead, we put off starting that work project altogether and tell ourselves we’ll feel better about tackling it tomorrow, when the reality is we’re likely to feel the same.
One way to get motivated to accomplish a daunting project is to start small at the beginning instead of looking ahead to the end. Try to think of the project as a series of repeated steps, where the only one you need to complete at the start is the first. As you take more steps toward your goal, you’ll get more comfortable with the work and start to trust that you’re on the right path. What’s more, you can feel a sense of accomplishment every time you reach a new small milestone on the road to your larger goal.
When anxiety causes us to procrastinate, it’s important to pause and identify those thoughts and feelings rather than adding judgment that makes us label ourselves as unmotivated or lazy. Instead, recognize the anxious thoughts for what they are — just thoughts passing through. Learning to manage our thoughts and feelings, not just our time, is key to getting to the root of the procrastination problem ... and that’s where meditation and mindfulness can be helpful.
Using a mindfulness practice to avoid procrastination
An added benefit of a consistent meditation practice is that it can help us learn how to avoid procrastination. The more we sit with the mind, the more we bring our attention to its tendencies. That way, when we’re moving through our lives, we’re able to catch ourselves when a thought arises that would usually lead to procrastination — and that’s when we learn not to indulge it. When we bring this kind of awareness to the issue at hand, this is mindfulness in action.
Research supports mindfulness as a helpful tool in learning to procrastinate less, and has even shown that a regular meditation practice can actually change the physical structure of our brains and improve our executive decision-making skills. We also know that meditation can help to declutter our thoughts and sharpen our concentration, leading us to stay more focused and on task. One study found that one 15-minute session of Headspace resulted in a 22% reduction in mind-wandering.
We know that procrastination can be a pesky habit to break, but a mindfulness practice can be your best defense. Headspace co-founder and former Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe says: “Procrastination can come in so many forms: making a cup of coffee, checking social media, tidying up your house before you can start work. But if you can catch yourself at that moment ... and just sit for a moment longer, you’ll often find the need to do so really subsides.
"This is one of the things that a meditation practice can help with, giving you enough perspective on your thoughts that, from time to time, you can try something new, rather than just operating on autopilot. Not acting on the impulse to procrastinate is relatively easy. You don’t need to exert effort — in fact, all you need to do is nothing."
For more support, the Headspace app offers Focus music to help us zone in on any task or project that needs tackling. Led by our Chief Music Officer John Legend, Focus music features playlists from several artists and other soothing sounds designed to create more mental clarity, help you get in the groove, and feel more productive. With other meditation sessions for self-esteem, productivity, focus, and letting go of stress, it also helps with a range of practices that can ease the dithering and delaying that gets in the way of progress.
As an everyday practice, meditation is a real-life tool to help us all learn how to stop procrastinating. It can also be used as a good test of self-discipline. Carve out the time, commit to meditating, and show up for yourself, without putting it off. Each day we show up, we chip away at the power of procrastination, and continue to strengthen the mind.
中文翻译
如何停止拖延 - Headspace
你是否打开这篇文章并告诉自己稍后再读？你并不孤单。在这个数字时代，分散我们注意力的东西比以往任何时候都多。我们需要做的事情一直在脑海深处啃噬着我们，但我们发现自己总是拖到最后一刻才去做。如果你准备好打破这个循环，请坚持和我们一起阅读下去——这篇文章就是为你准备的。
我们都熟悉拖延症——将某事推迟或延迟到稍后或另一天的行为。习惯性拖延者约占人口的20%。对我们任何人来说，拖延可能发生在我们感到任务不堪重负时，或者当某事被认为太乏味而难以处理时，或者当对失败的恐惧阻碍了远大目标时。好消息是？理解我们为什么拖延，并更多地了解我们头脑中发生的事情，可以帮助我们打破这个习惯，感觉更有成效。
我们为什么拖延
早在社交媒体滚动诱惑出现之前，我们就一直在拖延。几个世纪前，希腊哲学家称之为“Akrasia效应”。“Akrasia”意味着缺乏控制，这个术语常用于描述人们违背自己更好判断的情况。我们许多人都能联想到推迟报税或打那个困难电话的经历。虽然我们通常最终会完成任务而没有负面后果，但我们可能仍然想知道为什么我们不能一开始就着手去做。
我们中有五分之一的人是慢性拖延者，这个习惯可能开始变得衰弱，并对我们的健康和福祉产生负面影响。慢性拖延者倾向于避免生活中所有领域的重要行动和决策，甚至到了推迟去看医生讨论令人担忧的健康问题的程度。
为了找到拖延的根源，2019年的一项研究提出了神经学联系——当边缘系统（我们大脑的情感部分）压倒前额叶皮层（帮助我们计划和决策的大脑部分）时，拖延就会发生。因为我们倾向于偏爱即时满足，吃零食而不是继续工作项目在某个时刻似乎对我们的幸福更重要。
从性格角度来看，拖延有时被归因于缺乏条理，甚至懒惰。但这两者都不是人们拖延的核心原因，研究越来越多地指向情感原因。渥太华卡尔顿大学的心理学教授Timothy Pychyl研究拖延症数十年，他说：“拖延是一个情绪管理问题。当我们发现任务令人厌恶、我们讨厌做它或害怕它时，我们就会拖延。为了逃避这些情绪，我们逃避任务。”
我们拖延的情感原因可能包括低自尊——无益的负面故事情节主导我们的思想——这可能与日常焦虑有关。事实上，拖延和焦虑常常相伴而行。有时，我们延迟开始一项任务或项目是因为我们对此感到焦虑，焦虑拖延也可能表现为完美主义，当你对自己设定不必要的高标准时，感觉无法克服面前的任务。无论根本原因是什么，有一点是清楚的：我们越习惯拖延，这个习惯就越难打破。
如何停止拖延
拖延就像肌肉——我们使用得越多，它就越强壮。因此，打破习惯并学习如何不拖延涉及找出我们为什么一开始会这样做。我们拖延的关键原因之一是当一个大目标或目标摆在我们面前时，我们不知道从哪里开始。相反，我们完全推迟开始那个工作项目，并告诉自己明天处理它会感觉更好，而现实是我们可能会感觉一样。
激励自己完成一个艰巨项目的一种方法是从一开始就从小处着手，而不是展望终点。试着将项目视为一系列重复的步骤，你开始时只需要完成第一步。随着你朝着目标迈出更多步骤，你会对工作感到更舒适，并开始相信自己走在正确的道路上。更重要的是，每次在通往更大目标的道路上达到一个新的小里程碑时，你都能感受到成就感。
当焦虑导致我们拖延时，重要的是暂停并识别那些想法和感受，而不是添加判断，让我们给自己贴上缺乏动力或懒惰的标签。相反，认识到焦虑的想法只是它们本身——只是经过的想法。学习管理我们的想法和感受，而不仅仅是时间，是解决拖延问题的关键……而这就是冥想和正念可以有所帮助的地方。
使用正念练习避免拖延
持续冥想练习的一个额外好处是它可以帮助我们学习如何避免拖延。我们越与心灵共处，就越能注意到它的倾向。这样，当我们在生活中前行时，我们能够在通常会导致拖延的想法出现时抓住自己——而这就是我们学会不纵容它的时候。当我们把这种意识带到手头的问题时，这就是行动中的正念。
研究支持正念作为学习减少拖延的有用工具，甚至表明定期冥想练习实际上可以改变我们大脑的物理结构，提高我们的执行决策能力。我们还知道冥想可以帮助理清思绪，提高注意力，使我们更专注并专注于任务。一项研究发现，一次15分钟的Headspace冥想课程导致走神减少了22%。
我们知道拖延可能是一个难以打破的讨厌习惯，但正念练习可以是你最好的防御。Headspace联合创始人、前佛教僧侣Andy Puddicombe说：“拖延可以以多种形式出现：泡一杯咖啡、查看社交媒体、在开始工作前整理房子。但如果你能在那一刻抓住自己……只是多坐一会儿，你往往会发现这样做的需要真的会消退。
“这是冥想练习可以帮助的事情之一，给你足够的视角来看待你的想法，这样你时不时可以尝试新事物，而不是仅仅按自动模式操作。不按照拖延的冲动行事相对容易。你不需要费力——事实上，你只需要什么都不做。”
为了获得更多支持，Headspace应用程序提供专注音乐，帮助我们专注于任何需要处理的任务或项目。由我们的首席音乐官John Legend领导，专注音乐包含多位艺术家的播放列表和其他舒缓声音，旨在创造更多心理清晰度，帮助你进入状态，感觉更有成效。通过其他针对自尊、生产力、专注和释放压力的冥想课程，它还有助于一系列练习，可以缓解阻碍进步的犹豫和延迟。
作为日常练习，冥想是帮助我们所有人学习如何停止拖延的现实工具。它也可以用作自律的良好测试。抽出时间，承诺冥想，为自己出现，不要拖延。每天我们出现，我们削弱拖延的力量，并继续强化心灵。
文章概要
本文探讨了拖延症的成因及应对方法，特别强调正念练习在减少拖延方面的作用。文章指出，拖延常源于情绪管理问题，如焦虑、低自尊和完美主义，而非懒惰。通过正念冥想，人们可以增强自我觉察，管理情绪，从而打破拖延习惯。文章还提到，冥想能改变大脑结构，提高决策能力和专注力，是中年人群应对拖延的有效工具。
高德明老师的评价
用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容
这篇文章就像在说，我们有时候会把事情拖到最后一刻才做，比如作业或者家务，这叫做拖延症。它告诉我们，拖延不是因为懒，而是因为我们可能觉得任务太难、太无聊，或者害怕做不好。文章说，我们可以用正念练习，就是安静地坐着，注意自己的呼吸和想法，来帮助自己不再拖延。这样，我们就能更好地管理情绪，更专注地完成任务。
佛学的各个宗派视角评价，突出《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角
从佛学视角看，拖延可视为烦恼障的一种表现，源于贪、嗔、痴等根本烦恼。显宗如禅宗强调“当下即是”，通过坐禅培养觉照力，直接对治拖延的散乱心。密宗如准提法，则通过持咒和观想，迅速净化业障，提升专注力。在《显密圆通成佛心要集》的框架下，拖延是心性迷执的产物，需显密双修来转化。显宗提供理论基础，如“应无所住而生其心”，教导我们放下对任务的抗拒；密宗如准提法，则以“准提咒”为方便，快速凝聚心力，破除拖延的惯性。准提法的优点在于其简易性和实效性，适合现代人繁忙生活，通过短时间修持即可增强意志力，减少拖延，体现了“即身成佛”的密宗精神。
在修行实践上可以应用的和可以解决人们的十个问题。
在修行实践上，正念和冥想可以应用于解决拖延相关的问题，例如：1. 提升自我觉察，识别拖延的早期信号；2. 管理焦虑情绪，减少因恐惧而延迟行动；3. 增强专注力，避免分心导致的拖延；4. 培养耐心，应对繁琐任务；5. 建立自律习惯，坚持日常修持；6. 净化负面思维，如低自尊和完美主义；7. 促进心性平和，减少冲动逃避；8. 强化决策能力，快速启动任务；9. 积累功德，通过修持准提法转化业力；10. 实现生活与修行的平衡，将正念融入工作。准提法以其咒语修持，能迅速对治拖延，帮助人们在中年阶段保持精进，提升生命品质。