Tim Urban discusses how the brain of a procrastinator functions in Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator. He effectively breaks down technical neurological terms by creating a cast of characters to represent different parts of your brain.
He introduces three characters, the “Rational decision-maker” making productive decisions soon to be rejected by the “Instant gratification monkey”, later followed by the anxiety accompanying the “panic monster”. Procrastinators begin with a plan that quickly ends in a panic frenzy. Justifying their time by other seemingly more important things or simply paying attention to new thoughts. The instant gratification monkey is only interested in fun and easy tasks, presenting a problem when it comes to productivity. This constant guilty leisure time becomes a long term problem eventually wasting valuable time.
Urban emphasizes the presence and importance of the panic monster with timely deadlines, but what happens when those deadlines aren’t there? “Now if the procrastinator's only mechanism of doing these hard things is the Panic Monster, that's a problem, because in all of these non-deadline situations, the Panic Monster doesn't show up. He has nothing to wake up for, so the effects of procrastination, they're not contained; they just extend outward forever,” said Urban.
The idea of a wasted life is also presented in El Dorado, “But he grew old,” Poe said. We become so involved in leisure activities that we forget about the importance of relationships and memories outside of our own. The American Dream circles around the idea of hard work leading to success, but what happens when we delay the hard work? Is success still possible? well luckily I believe we can beat this instant ratification monkey by forcing out the need for constant leisure, in the end making the leisure enjoyable instead of guilty.
As a master procrastinator myself I learned why and how I procrastinate and how that may affect my future. I have big dreams and aspirations for my future that require hard work and that will not be accomplished if I Procrastinate my life away. This talk has inspired me to do something about my procrastination habits so they don’t affect my future success in relationship and possible careers.