Thread by @robertwiblin, 'Ugh Fields' are a really useful concept. The existing write-up isn't targeted [...]

'Ugh Fields' are a really useful concept. The existing write-up isn't targeted at ordinary readers so I'll have a go:

Have you ever had an overdue task, a task which isn't so bad in itself, but which you can't bring yourself to think about without feeling awful? 1/25

Most people experience this from time to time. Here's how things reach that dire point.

The first day the task is on your to-do list you don't end up starting it, because the short-term reward isn't large enough to overcome the psychological cost of doing so. 2/25

Maybe you feel low energy, maybe you're insecure about whether you can do a good job, maybe the task involves a bit of social awkwardness — it doesn't matter. You delay.

Unfortunately this task is one that only gets more unpleasant over time. 3/25

For instance, maybe now you're going to have to rush it and do a bad job and you fear everyone is going to judge you negatively.

Or your late delivery is going to embarrass you whenever you do eventually send it out. 4/25

Or maybe you're simply ashamed and annoyed with yourself that you haven't started already.

So as time passes the task becomes even less appealing to work on.

Even less appealing than it was the first day, when you decided you didn't want to start! 5/25

So now it's inevitable that — unless you're rescued by a day when you feel especially energetic, or a deadline that makes the costs of further delay intolerable — this is a task that you're destined to put off until you shuffle off this mortal coil. 6/25

OK, almost everyone has experienced this nightmare. But what else happens at the same time?

Each time you think about the task you a) don't start it, and b) feel a pang of guilt/shame/fear about your ever-more-procrastinated task. 7/25

Those bad feelings will probably get worse over time, as you feel more and more ridiculous about your situation.

But — and this is the interesting thing — you're also being negatively reinforced for even thinking about the topic. 8/25

The main thing you now mentally associate with this task is not the actions involved to complete it, or the rewards of doing so, but rather just the flinching pain you feel whenever you accidentally think about it. 9/25

As a result, over time your lizard brain will try to find more and more creative ways to avoid the task that you're avoiding even coming into your awareness.

For instance, you'll avoid looking at your inbox, where the dreaded email awaits you. 10/25

Or you'll make sure your eyes never slow down long enough to settle on the loathsome subject line.

After all, you won't do the task, so why suffer the pain of thinking about it, and your perpetual failure? 11/25

I don't have a perfect way out of this mental flytrap but here's some things that might help reduce the damage done by Ugh Fields:

1. This happens to basically everyone, so try to see the humour in this absurd design flaw in the human brain. 12/25

There's no point feeling ashamed about this any more than you're ashamed of e.g. enjoying eating food.

It's just how people are built and sadly there are no brain engineers around to roll out a patch. 13/25

2. Just recognising and labelling this phenomenon makes it less bad because it's an accurate systemic explanation for the problem rather than a personal one (e.g. "I'm lazy and never get things done"). 14/25

3. Because you've been avoiding thinking about the topic, if you do think about it for a bit, with an open mind, you might quickly strike on a way to get out of the task, or a way to do a much shorter version of it. 15/25

... For instance perhaps you could just email back something like — "Thanks for your patience on this. Unfortunately I don't see how I'm going to be able to fit it into my schedule any time soon, is there anyone else who can take it on?" 16/25

4. If you think about it calmly, you may well find that the task actually isn't as important as it seems. The person you imagine is dismayed by your failure may only be 2/10 annoyed, or perhaps not even have noticed.

Remember, they've got their own stuff going on. 17/25

5. By the time something is deep in an Ugh Field, often it's no longer the most productive thing you could be doing anyway.

Especially relative to the effort required.

So consider just deciding to deliberately drop it in favour of something else that's more motivating... 18/25

...Actively cross it off your to-do list.

Throw away those New Yorkers you've been planning to read over for months but never gotten to (or whatever else will be a nagging reminders of the task).

You have more valuable things to do; the task is gone. 19/25

6. Hire/ask someone else to do it.

E.g. if you're procrastinating on your taxes, maybe it's time to accept that it's aversive enough that it's simply worth paying a professional. 20/25 ...

... E.g. If you have to write an unpleasant and overdue email, get a friend or family member to draft it for you. They'll probably find it way less awful as for them it won't be emotionally charged and marinated in shame. 21/25

7. This happens more to people with depression, anxiety, ADD, or other mental health and energy issues.

If Ugh Fields are a constant issue for you, it might be best to try tackling those health and well-being issues above all. 22/25

8. There's all the normal literature on overcoming procrastination that I won't repeat here. 23/25

9. Over time learn to recognise tasks that are likely to end up in your 'Ugh Field'.

It's stuff that's typically unpleasant to do, gets more unpleasant with delay, and has no clear deadline or expiry date. 24/25 ...

...Then, before taking on any optional responsibilities, reflect on whether they're likely to be Ugh Fielded. If they will, do what you can to steer clear of them before you even start.

Hope this helps! Fin. 25/25

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