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Procrastinating (For
Real This Time)
Your brain has a neocortex and a limbic system, and
sometimes they fight. Here's how to get them to play
nice.
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Think about all the stuff you've been putting offreally, go ahead. Chances
are you've been putting off thinking about the stuff you've been putting off,
right? It's not that you don't think those things are important, or even that you
believe theyll go away if you ignore them. So why are you procrastinating,
and how can you stop that?
Theres only one factor that seems to separate the good behaviors that we do
easily from those we routinely put off doing: how good they feel. In other
words, we seem to have no problem doing things that are in our our long-term
interest as long as they feel good in the here and now. It's only once those
behaviors impose upfront effort or unpleasantness that the jig is up. Its as if
all our brains care about is whether something feels good right this moment
than whether it will turn out to be good for us later.
Related:
But theres another part of your brain thats been around for millions of years
the limbic systemand it only seems to care about whats happening right
now. So if a behavior incurs more upfront hassles than upfront benefits, the
limbic system isnt interested in participating.
It's usually only when something thats good in the long run is also good in the
present that these two systems agree with each other. Hungry? Eating seems
right to both systemsno problem. When they disagree, the neocortex plays
the role of the angel on one shoulder ("Exercise, its good for you!") while the
limbic system plays the tempting devil ("Relax pal, that exercise sounds like a
lot of work").
If a behavior incurs more upfront hassles than upfront benefits, the limbic system isnt interested in participating.
Things get even more interesting when you look into how the brain works
when it's planning on good behavior later. For example, when youre making a
decision about whether to exercise in the future, the limbic system couldnt
care less, and leaves that issue up to the neocortex. But when it actually
comes time to make good on that choice, the limbic system is suddenly very
interestedand usually not too happy.
The interplay and occasional competition between these two systems explains
why we earnestly plan to behave better and just as earnestly put off doing so
when the time comes. When it comes to planning, the neocortex calmly notes
that the benefits outweigh the costs, while the limbic system takes a nap. And
when it comes to doing, the limbic system screams so loudly about the
present costs that the neocortex has little chance of pulling through.