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TEDTimUrbanIncollege,Iwasagovernmentmajor,whichmeansIhadtowritealotofpapers.Now,whenanormalstudentwritesapaper,theymightspreadtheworkoutalittlelikethis.AndIwouldwanttodothatlikethat.Thatwouldbetheplan.Iwouldhaveitallreadytogo,butthen,actually,thepaperwouldcomealong,andthenIwouldkindofdothis.Andthatwouldhappeneverysinglepaper.Butthencamemy90-pageseniorthesis,apaperyou'resupposedtospendayearon.AndIknewforapaperlikethat,mynormalworkflowwasnotanoption.Itwaswaytoobigaproject.SoIplannedthingsout,andIdecidedIkindofhadtogosomethinglikethis.Thisishowtheyearwouldgo.Butthen,thefunniestthinghappened.Thosefirstfewmonths?Theycameandwent,andIcouldn'tquitedostuff.Sowehadanawesomenewrevisedplan.Butthenthosemiddlemonthsactuallywentby,andIdidn'treallywritewords,andsowewerehere.Andthentwomonthsturnedintoonemonth,whichturnedintotwoweeks.AndonedayIwokeupwiththreedaysuntilthedeadline,stillnothavingwrittenaword,andsoIdidtheonlythingIcould:Iwrote90pagesover72hours,pullingnotonebuttwoall-nighters--gotitinjustatthedeadline.Anyway,todayI'mawriter-bloggerguy.Andacoupleofyearsago,Idecidedtowriteaboutprocrastination.Now,Ihadahypothesisthatthebrainsofprocrastinatorswereactuallydifferentthanthebrainsofotherpeople.Iactuallybroughtthemheretoshowyoutoday.Sohere'sthebrainofanon-procrastinatorNow...here'smybrain.Thereisadifference.BothbrainshaveaRationalDecision-Makerinthem,buttheprocrastinator'sbrainalsohasanInstantGratificationMonkey.Now,whatdoesthismeanfortheprocrastinator?Well,itmeanseverything'sfineuntilthishappens.SotheRationalDecision-Makerwillmaketherationaldecisiontodosomethingproductive,buttheMonkeydoesn'tlikethatplan,soheactuallytakesthewheel,Thenwe'regoingtogoovertothefridge,toseeifthere'sanythingnewintheresince10minutesago.Afterthat,we'regoingtogoonaYouTubespiralthatstartswithvideosofRichardFeynmantalkingaboutmagnetsandendsmuch,muchlaterwithuswatchinginterviewswithJustinBieber'smom.Allofthat'sgoingtotakeawhile,sowe'renotgoingtoreallyhaveroomonthescheduleforanyworktoday.Now,whatisgoingonhere?TheInstantGratificationMonkeydoesnotseemlikeaguyyouwantbehindthewheel.Helivesentirelyinthepresentmoment.Hehasnomemoryofthepast,noknowledgeofthefuture,andheonlycaresabouttwothings:easyandfun.Now,intheanimalworld,thatworksfine.AndtotheMonkey,humansarejustanotheranimalspecies.Youhavetokeepwell-slept,well-fedandpropagatingintothenextgeneration,whichintribaltimesmighthaveworkedOK.But,ifyouhaven'tnoticed,nowwe'renotintribaltimes.We'reinanadvancedcivilization,andtheMonkeydoesnotknowwhatthatis.Whichiswhywehaveanotherguyinourbrain,theRationalDecision-Maker,whogivesustheabilitytodothingsnootheranimalcando.Wecanmakelong-termplans.Andhewantstotakeallofthatintoaccount.Andhewantstojusthaveusdowhatevermakessensetobedoingrightnow.Now,sometimesitmakessensetobedoingthingsthatareeasyandfun,likewhenyou'rehavingdinnerorgoingtobedorenjoyingwell-earnedleisuretime.That'swhythere'sanoverlap.Sometimestheyagree.Butothertimes,itmakesmuchmoresensetobedoingthingsthatareharderandlesspleasant,forthesakeofthebigpicture.Andthat'swhenwehaveaconflict.Andfortheprocrastinator,thatconflicttendstoendacertainwayeverytime,leavinghimspendingalotoftimeinthisorangezone,aneasyandfunplacethat'sentirelyoutoftheMakesSensecircle.IcallittheDarkPlayground.Now,theDarkPlaygroundisaplacethatallofyouprocrastinatorsoutthereknowverywell.It'swhereleisureactivitieshappenattimeswhenleisureactivitiesarenotsupposedtobehappening.ThefunyouhaveintheDarkPlaygroundisn'tactuallyfun,becauseit'scompletelyunearned,andtheairisfilledwithguilt,dread,anxiety,self-hatred--allofthosegoodprocrastinatorfeelings.Andthequestionis,inthissituation,withtheMonkeybehindthewheel,howdoestheprocrastinatorevergethimselfoverheretothisbluezone,alesspleasantplace,butwherereallyimportantthingshappen?Well,turnsouttheprocrastinatorhasaguardianangel,someonewho'salwayslookingdownonhimandwatchingoverhiminhisdarkestmomentssomeonecalledthePanicMonster.Now,thePanicMonsterisdormantmostofthetime,buthesuddenlywakesupanytimeadeadlinegetstoocloseorthere'sdangerofpublicembarrassment,acareerdisasterorsomeotherscaryconsequence.Andimportantly,he'stheonlythingtheMonkeyisterrifiedof.Now,hebecameveryrelevantinmylifeprettyrecently,becausethepeopleofTEDreachedouttomeaboutsixmonthsagoandinvitedmetodoaTEDTalk.Now,ofcourse,Isaidyes.It'salwaysbeenadreamofminetohavedoneaTEDTalkinthepast.Sothat'swhatwedidthatday.Assixmonthsturnedintofourandthentwoandthenone,thepeopleofTEDdecidedtoreleasethespeakers.AndIopenedupthewebsite,andtherewasmyfacestaringrightbackatme.Andguesswhowokeup?SothePanicMonsterstartslosinghismind,andafewsecondslater,thewholesystem'sinmayhemAndtheMonkey--remember,he'sterrifiedofthePanicMonster--boom,he'supthetree!Andfinally,finally,theRationalDecision-MakercantakethewheelandIcanstartworkingonthetalk.Andthisentiresituation,withthethreecharacters--thisistheprocrastinator'ssystem.It'snotpretty,butintheend,itworks.ThisiswhatIdecidedtowriteaboutontheblogacoupleofyearsago.WhenIdid,Iwasamazedbytheresponse.Literallythousandsofemailscamein,fromalldifferentkind