Skip to content

The Procrastination-Anxiety Spiral 😵‍💫

2023-12-30 · Short · Ali · recording, 0:52 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Productivity and time · mode: Explanation and tutorial

In an extract from his book Feel-Good Productivity, Ali walks through the procrastination-anxiety spiral with the example of quitting a stable job for a less stable but more fulfilling career: overestimation, hypervigilance, unrecognition and avoidance end in more anxiety and longer procrastination.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — The procrastination-anxiety spiral, shown on choosing a career path

  • ★★ Ali takes choosing a career path as a common source of uncertainty: if you are in a stable job and thinking of quitting for a less stable but potentially more fulfilling career, the uncertainty can set off the procrastination-anxiety spiral. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ The first step of the procrastination-anxiety spiral, Ali says, is overestimation: you overestimate the negative consequences of choosing the wrong career path, such as not making enough money. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ The second step of the procrastination-anxiety spiral is hypervigilance: you become overly attentive to signs of a career choice's success or failure, such as statistics suggesting many people regret changing jobs. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ The third step of the procrastination-anxiety spiral is unrecognition (as heard): you stop identifying what would make the outcome successful, such as researching the company you are considering joining. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ The fourth step of the procrastination-anxiety spiral is avoidance: you put off the career decision completely, telling yourself that sticking out another year in your current job cannot be that bad. — 00:00:29
  • ★★★ The result of the procrastination-anxiety spiral, Ali says, is heightened emotions such as anxiety or fear, which make you procrastinate on the career decision for even longer. — 00:00:29

Mentioned

Central: procrastination-anxiety spiral

Only in the description or credits: Feel-Good Productivity (book)

← Previous: What's today's "side quest" going to be? 🛝 · Next → Can you find an adventure today? 🗺️