Hello, I have a big problem that interferes with every aspect of my life. And I want to ask you all if you experience this too and/or you have any ideas on how to improve this behavior?

The Problem

When I do anything interesting, or anything that just isn’t completely boring, I can’t stop when it’s time to stop and start the doing the next thing. I always think, something like “Just five minutes more” and then I sometimes finish hours later than I had planned. This breaks all time-sensitive plans and also causes me to go to sleep far too late.

I don’t think that its simple procrastination, because what I feel when I do it, is not about not wanting to start the next thing, but about not wanting to stop the current thing.

List of things I already do / have already tried

  • Setting up alarms that remind me that I need to stop doing the current thing and start doing the next thing
  • Creating schedules
  • Configuring the Wifi Router to turn of at certain times: This is very effective (when I have taken out my SIM card before), but its only helping with cutting the wifi at the end of the day for bedtime, not other time sensitive tasks that are necessary to even enable me to sleep on time (like eating dinner early enough)
  • Buffer time: Most of the time I can’t get my self to view the buffer deadline as the actual deadline
  • Reading books about habits: I read some books about habits, but these books are mostly about starting an activity, or don’t starting an activity at all, but I need to do certain things, and stop doing them on time.
  • This list is probably incomplete
  • Remy@lemmy.todayOPEnglish
    2·
    17 hours ago

    Not for a single task but for an activity or a chain of activities that rely on each other and only make sense when I do them all after each other.

    The biggest example of such a big activity chain in my life would be going to the gym: where the entire chain of activities (from getting ready for the Gym to coming home and showering after it) takes almost the whole day and if I know that I can’t just do it for 5 minutes.

    • AddLemmus@lemmy.mlEnglish
      1·
      4 hours ago

      Yes, that is actually a good example of something that is limited in how you can break it up.

      Two things, actually field-tested, help me with this:

      1. Can still break it up in two tasks: A: Get everything ready, packed, logistics figured out B: go
      2. Don’t try to force it with willpower and draw from a limited resource. Only imagine in your head how it would feel like to get ready and be on the way there. Only the simulation is “mandatory”. Go only if it feels appealing and works without willpower afterwards, otherwise treat yourself to some slack with no regrets.