mental block

[Bob]

How do you deal with a mental block?  I find sometimes I just can't get myself to do something.  Some things stay on my "to do" list forever and I never want to deal with them.  Some things just get built up in my mind and become "monsters." 

Also, how to you deal with working when you're exhuasted?  When you have things to do and a deadline, but you're wiped out?  Is there anything you do (beyond sheer willpower) to force or cajoul yourself along while you get these things done?

Thanks,
Bob

[Tash]

i hate mental blocks, especially when driving- eg. last week when i was doing a reverse park and forgot how to do it. generally if i really don't want to do something i am very good at putting it off forever, letting it lurk in my mind and make me feel guilty about not doing it. if it's an assessment i'm good at putting if off til the morning it'd due. thus if i'm exhausted i don't bother doing whatever i'm meant to be doing, i go to sleep and wake up early the next morning

[Bob]

Yes, I guess it's plain old procrastination.  It's interesting how much something little or effortless can turn into this big chore though.  Sometimes I spend more time putting it off and more energy worrying about it than it actually takes to do it.  Any advice on getting over this?  That "just do it for 1 minute" rule maybe?

The other thing I've wondered about is how to force yourself to do something.  When your mind and body and emotions are just dragging their heels kicking and screaming, but you have to do something -- Any advice on forcing yourself to do something?  Maybe that 1 minute idea again.

[Edgar]

Wow, Bob, I admire your courage in asking this question.

I think the answer to your question very much depends on the task at hand. If it is something you are really obliged to carry out then it might help to take a few moments to reflect on the goal of what you are doing. It may seem like an impossible chore at the moment but perhaps keeping in mind the greater good can help you get through it. Perhaps?

If this task is not so obligatory but just something that needs to get done, I see nothing wrong with taking some time for yourself before you tackle it! Say, "I don't feel like doing this at the moment, but if I allow myself to go out for a bit and then come back to the task, by the end of the day all will wash out."

But you might find yourself going into a rut if you say "I'll do this later" but don't actually do it later. That might indicate that perhaps something deeper than the task at hand is bothering you.

On the other hand, it is good to question one's expectations. Are you expecting too much of yourself? This can happen too.

Life is complicated. Some things are just as well put off, some not.

Good luck.

[Bob]

Courageous?  Sure!  Thanks!  (feels courageous, puffs out chest)

I think some people find this stuff kind of annoying or wimpy.  It must trigger something in some people.  I find thinking about it eventually leads me to the answers I need.

I think part of it is just recognizing it.  I've had a few times where I kept putting something off and dreading it and when I eventually came up to the deadline and completed the task, it took like 15 minutes.  But for two or three weeks it weighed on my mind.

Part of it is also that things become a habit or the mind just associates it with "later."  I want to get out of that.

Yes, I do tend to try to do many things at once and have high expectations.  I think that's just the way life is though.

Part of it is also knowing in the back of my mind that I will not complete the task completely.  Some projects have many different avenues and I hate thinking that once I start it's going to suck up more time and energy and I'm going to relive problems that I can't solve yet.  I don't have time to do it the right way and maybe even to do better than I did last time.  So it's not satisfying rehasing the same old, same old.

Part of it is just being tired or exhausted.  I'd like to push this area though.

If you have any ideas (anyone out there) please let me know.  I am interested to discover that it's not just simply not wanting to do something or that there is more to it than simply procrastinating.  It's a tangled web.

[m1469]

I saw this thread a while ago and had been successfully procrastinating my response to you until now  .  Your last post was so thought-provoking for me however, that my conscience won out and went ahead and convicted me.

I will agree that, for some people this issue is a very tangled web!  And using eyes which look on from within the web, there may not be evident answers as to a way out.  One must learn to use eyes that are completely unhindered by the mess.  Sometimes individuals will find themselves thinking they must unwind the entire mess in order to just make even a little bit of progress.  This is extremely daunting to say the least, but more importantly, I believe it to be ultimately false.   I do not think it is necessary, nor even possible to unwind the mess.  Steps can and must be taken over it and beyond it, not within it.  Perspective is the goal it would seem.

Part of it is also that things become a habit or the mind just associates it with "later."  I want to get out of that.

I think this is a crux here.  It seems the important thing in this case of wanting to boot the addiction of associating with "later", would be to not associate with "later", booting the association with "later" .  One must begin "now" to associate with "now" in place of   associating with "later".  "Now" then vetos "later".

Bernhard had mentioned somewhere (I will try to paraphrase) about visualizing oneself actually doing what must be done, not just the finished product, and that this will undoubtedly give impulse to accomplishing the work at hand.

This tool has already proven itself successful for me, when I will be disciplined and humbled enough to use it. 

m1469

[Bob]

Yes, visualizing is good.  Good idea.  Gives you clear goals to aim for too.

I just find it weird how the mind sticks things together like that.  I've had pieces of music that I would play when my hands were sore.  When I think of those pieces, I think of pain.  I've gone back and played them and they're fine.  The pain has past because I've developed more.  A little anxiety over some task over a long period of time create "monster" tasks out of anything. 

What a weird thing the mind is.  I'm even thinking of pieces of music I play only when I feel a certain, how things get welded together in the mind.  Odd, odd, odd....

[m1469]

What a weird thing the mind is.  I'm even thinking of pieces of music I play only when I feel a certain, how things get welded together in the mind.  Odd, odd, odd....

This is not so odd really.  Consider how intently individuals tie themselves to what they may view as their "experiences" in life.  Where one was born, to whom, what language one speaks, what color hair one has.  There are so many details to this and people take it all very personally.  It is not a wonder how these all become connected and messy.  Humans consider their very identity as a compilation of these experiences and tend to not know anything about themselves beyond it.

[janice]

This reminds me, I guess I better START my Christmas shopping!  LOL