I smile when I read this article because it fits exactly.
Yes, for me chess reflects my personality and mood too. I know that when I'm rested I want to play aggressive chess, fighting to win at all costs. But when I'm tired, I like to play chess, but I'll settle for a draw (as long as I don't lose).
And it's the same way in life, when things are going well (either at work or in my private life) or not.
I've struggled horribly with procrastination, so read this with interest. What is the answer? I counsel students at a design school, so you think I'd have some idea, but the one thing that is so hard to deal with is procrastination. Give me a student with depressive suicidal thoughts - much easier to deal with! Sigh.
I did find an interesting article once. It starts with the usual blah blah blah, mentions that procrastination is related to our "present bias" and then lo and behold says some interesting things. It's worth a look - the recommendations seem to center around a mindfulness approach, which in general I find very useful.
One quote from the article:
"One option is to forgive yourself in the moments you procrastinate. In a 2010 study, researchers found that students who were able to forgive themselves for procrastinating when studying for a first exam ended up procrastinating less when studying for their next exam. They concluded that self-forgiveness supported productivity by allowing “the individual to move past their maladaptive behavior and focus on the upcoming examination without the burden of past acts.”
A link to article at bottom (since it is horrifically long).
The question related to personality and chess is soooo interesting. Look forward to your future musings on that one, and am heading to the Kramnik interview.
Another comrade! Thanks for sharing that article, it's really interesting. Sirois' paper on self-compassion was fascinating.
"Current research indicates that evaluating oneself in an unkind, critical, and judgmental manner may be one way that procrastinators contribute to the stress they experience." Yup.
I was a terrible procrastinator when I was a student, and though I'm much better now at managing my time (or is it self-compassion?), there are still a couple of areas that need work.
With your expertise, you may have a nice pool of knowledge on various topics that would be of interest to chessplayers grappling with the mental side of the game, Benji Portheault being one person that comes to mind who has written about this stuff recently.
Thanks for the kind words, hope you enjoyed the Kramnik interview if you got to it.
Yes, this article sure hit home, Junta. Indeed, my own chess reflects my own personality too.
I have struggled with procrastination (i.e., fear) throughout my life, so this article really resonated with me. It's a difficult task to disengage one's results from one's self-image (both in chess and in life), but it's a worthy task to continue working on. It's challenging, though, because long-term habits are hard to shake.
I don't have any particular wisdom to share, but thanks for writing another inspiring article, and let's all keep up the important work of becoming deeply aware of, and dealing effectively with, our own fears.
Thank you for the warm words, Santo. Sounds like we have some things in common—your comment certainly isn't lacking in wisdom or compassion, and I really appreciate it.
Procrastinators are hit hard when there's some task at hand that is very much meaningful (if it isn't, then, well, a last-minute attempt won't hurt us deep down), when they are trying to go out of their comfort zone or 'improve' over how they've done things and how they've been in the past. All connected to fear. Procrastination, Overthinking and Perfectionism—a new 'pop' culture in this fast-moving world. :-)
I smile when I read this article because it fits exactly.
Yes, for me chess reflects my personality and mood too. I know that when I'm rested I want to play aggressive chess, fighting to win at all costs. But when I'm tired, I like to play chess, but I'll settle for a draw (as long as I don't lose).
And it's the same way in life, when things are going well (either at work or in my private life) or not.
Thanks for sharing, Petr! Energy levels are also very important and have profound consequences.
Thank you for thinking through these and writing this straight and honest.
The overall ideal vs reality hit hard. It's the balancing act that matters if things don't go as planned.
The point #5 hit well and timely. I published my 2nd post.
I've struggled horribly with procrastination, so read this with interest. What is the answer? I counsel students at a design school, so you think I'd have some idea, but the one thing that is so hard to deal with is procrastination. Give me a student with depressive suicidal thoughts - much easier to deal with! Sigh.
I did find an interesting article once. It starts with the usual blah blah blah, mentions that procrastination is related to our "present bias" and then lo and behold says some interesting things. It's worth a look - the recommendations seem to center around a mindfulness approach, which in general I find very useful.
One quote from the article:
"One option is to forgive yourself in the moments you procrastinate. In a 2010 study, researchers found that students who were able to forgive themselves for procrastinating when studying for a first exam ended up procrastinating less when studying for their next exam. They concluded that self-forgiveness supported productivity by allowing “the individual to move past their maladaptive behavior and focus on the upcoming examination without the burden of past acts.”
A link to article at bottom (since it is horrifically long).
The question related to personality and chess is soooo interesting. Look forward to your future musings on that one, and am heading to the Kramnik interview.
Keep it up! You're a good writer!
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/smarter-living/why-you-procrastinate-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-self-control.html?unlocked_article_code=16RwRp21qExEGBz2zP6UtIHN59bqHFePCjz_0Pa64a8R1kiklsm23KG-dHe4mWOTFYBQ-8w2ZP6nXGcFbszztzsbz_PrZnSpwZLpgk6l5MwuhBWTy75_8ZW6sgLd3oNXaUTwI8V6NYPznpIjSnrRNHPmta1bxmWCk4vW9L2OU1pvJTdoG10UNkADvWhMMTdrlxxbI4DBXS-BuLYpaRFOGccTxpOhnaffFTIa74M659AWJ5LBjOon1SFCugeAai_d5MxWbI63eBJ0Hp7N_MlUA_A5Y07dAdOvlg7bPslL4nl_iw2r0Cr5bXskki9cxSAzQtXwk_hf4GvIVJJx_8TjnbsCpy2rGo3Le2sMCIFbKBto6ST_lvqrdQ_nnTspVMFXsyyl-kXY6GzDANObpg&giftCopy=4_Disclaimer&smid=url-share
Another comrade! Thanks for sharing that article, it's really interesting. Sirois' paper on self-compassion was fascinating.
"Current research indicates that evaluating oneself in an unkind, critical, and judgmental manner may be one way that procrastinators contribute to the stress they experience." Yup.
I was a terrible procrastinator when I was a student, and though I'm much better now at managing my time (or is it self-compassion?), there are still a couple of areas that need work.
With your expertise, you may have a nice pool of knowledge on various topics that would be of interest to chessplayers grappling with the mental side of the game, Benji Portheault being one person that comes to mind who has written about this stuff recently.
Thanks for the kind words, hope you enjoyed the Kramnik interview if you got to it.
I might even buy Portheault’s mindfulness course, very interesting. Just read his interview on SayChess.
Yes, this article sure hit home, Junta. Indeed, my own chess reflects my own personality too.
I have struggled with procrastination (i.e., fear) throughout my life, so this article really resonated with me. It's a difficult task to disengage one's results from one's self-image (both in chess and in life), but it's a worthy task to continue working on. It's challenging, though, because long-term habits are hard to shake.
I don't have any particular wisdom to share, but thanks for writing another inspiring article, and let's all keep up the important work of becoming deeply aware of, and dealing effectively with, our own fears.
Thank you for the warm words, Santo. Sounds like we have some things in common—your comment certainly isn't lacking in wisdom or compassion, and I really appreciate it.
Procrastinators are hit hard when there's some task at hand that is very much meaningful (if it isn't, then, well, a last-minute attempt won't hurt us deep down), when they are trying to go out of their comfort zone or 'improve' over how they've done things and how they've been in the past. All connected to fear. Procrastination, Overthinking and Perfectionism—a new 'pop' culture in this fast-moving world. :-)