How to Stop Procrastinating: A Simple Guide to Mastering Difficult Tasks and Breaking the Procrastination Habit

by S.J. Scott

This means that they avoid doing certain tasks because they fear the risk of making a mistake and looking anything less than perfect. They want their work to be perfect and cling to the idea that they will inevitably fail if the task is not in line with their given talents, so it’s best to set it aside for another time.

misinformation remains in an individual’s memory and continues to influence their thinking, even if the person is aware that they are mistaken. The person is also likely to make use of the misinformation, especially if it fits with their existing beliefs and makes a logical story. This then leads to spreading the inaccurate information to other people.

The researchers found that your beliefs and personal views can be significant obstacles for changing believed misinformation. Additionally, an attempt to present someone with an unwanted truth that is against what they previously believed can even backfire and amplify their incorrect ideas.

your personal belief that it will go away on its own is detrimental.

concepts: the hot-cold empathy gap and time inconsistency.

there are different versions of yourself when making a decision. Each “self” represents the decision-maker at a certain point in time and the inconsistency happens when their preferences are not aligned.

Present You and Future You are constantly at odds. You might set a goal that you hope Future You will achieve, but it’s always Present You who does the heavy lifting of working at this daily goal. And the only thing that Present You wants is to watch Netflix and eat a bag of potato chips.

Future You has all sorts of dreams and plans, but Present You often succumbs to the instant gratification of an immediate reward.

present bias.

a person’s tendency to prioritize payoffs that are more immediate when considering the trade-offs between two future moments.