I have heard about visualisation 20x before and even did a version of the exercises you mentioned. Never before have I seen such a good explanation of why this works. I will 100% be doing this. Thank you, fan of your work! Ps where can I send you a question?
Have you looked at Gabriele Oettingen‘s work (out of NYU - her “WOOP” method plus her book “Rethinking positive thinking)? Basically, you need both positive visualization and negative here and now plans (aka implementation intentions, invented by her husband, also a researcher at NYU and mentioned in atomic habits)
Procrastination isn’t just a “bad habit.” The NYU study you cite is great because it tracked how work unfolds over time (not just when it’s finished) and found that temporal discounting predicts more last-minute bursts.
Where I’d push back is when “weak imagination” becomes shorthand for ADHD. Time-blindness is a neurocognitive reality, not a moral failing. Plenty of us can vividly picture the future and still get hijacked by the now.
EFT can help, but comparing its effect sizes to antidepressants is apples to oranges. ADHD isn’t fixed by “just imagining harder.”
Here’s what I’ve seen: when the nervous system learns that safety lives in immediacy, the future feels thin. Not worthless, just distant. That’s not laziness; that’s survival.
Train imagination, yes. But also rebuild safety. Without it, “later” will always lose to “now.
I really love this perspective! I am coming to terms with the fact that I’ve had ADHD most my life and in the midst of pursuing a formal diagnosis. This is such a powerful outlook and mental exercise that bridges meditation and imagination!
I don't procrastinate because I get distracted. I procrastinate because even when I try to start, I don't know how to start. I don't know what action to take first. Every project, small or large, I struggle with "where to start". I wonder how future visualization can help
It doesn’t matter where you start, as long as you start. The whole point is momentum not accuracy. If you make a mistake you’ll have learned something and then you’ll have the motivation to keep going
A "to-do" list really helps me a lot, too. Like, I can function with one, but without one I'll not do anything at all no matter how much I want to, lol.
I have heard about visualisation 20x before and even did a version of the exercises you mentioned. Never before have I seen such a good explanation of why this works. I will 100% be doing this. Thank you, fan of your work! Ps where can I send you a question?
Is scrollsturbation a word?
Have you looked at Gabriele Oettingen‘s work (out of NYU - her “WOOP” method plus her book “Rethinking positive thinking)? Basically, you need both positive visualization and negative here and now plans (aka implementation intentions, invented by her husband, also a researcher at NYU and mentioned in atomic habits)
Procrastination isn’t just a “bad habit.” The NYU study you cite is great because it tracked how work unfolds over time (not just when it’s finished) and found that temporal discounting predicts more last-minute bursts.
Where I’d push back is when “weak imagination” becomes shorthand for ADHD. Time-blindness is a neurocognitive reality, not a moral failing. Plenty of us can vividly picture the future and still get hijacked by the now.
EFT can help, but comparing its effect sizes to antidepressants is apples to oranges. ADHD isn’t fixed by “just imagining harder.”
Here’s what I’ve seen: when the nervous system learns that safety lives in immediacy, the future feels thin. Not worthless, just distant. That’s not laziness; that’s survival.
Train imagination, yes. But also rebuild safety. Without it, “later” will always lose to “now.
I really love this perspective! I am coming to terms with the fact that I’ve had ADHD most my life and in the midst of pursuing a formal diagnosis. This is such a powerful outlook and mental exercise that bridges meditation and imagination!
I don't procrastinate because I get distracted. I procrastinate because even when I try to start, I don't know how to start. I don't know what action to take first. Every project, small or large, I struggle with "where to start". I wonder how future visualization can help
It doesn’t matter where you start, as long as you start. The whole point is momentum not accuracy. If you make a mistake you’ll have learned something and then you’ll have the motivation to keep going
ChatGPT is where you start. Here's the prompt: "I want to do X. Where do I start?"
ChatGPT lower your IQ with every prompt.
There are no bad tools. If all you have is a hammer, you'll certainly break things.
Some people need a push in a direction. I think it's great - for their use case.
That's great advice. I do wish LLM's were around when I was working. It likely would have helped a lot
So pet talks and manifesting.
Sound like BS that only an American can come up with.
"The point is, visualization is a skill you can get good at."
Nope, I have aphantasia. Doesn't work for me.
I have a really good visualization skill.
I can visualize complex machines take them apart and put them back together, after seeing them only once IRL.
And I still procrastinate a lot.
The only thing that helps is having a todo list for the day and a clock to see the time.
A "to-do" list really helps me a lot, too. Like, I can function with one, but without one I'll not do anything at all no matter how much I want to, lol.