SEtalk: Procrastination Isn't About Laziness

Okay, I want to start with a confession.

好，我想先坦白一件事。

I wrote most of this talk last night.

这场演讲的大部分内容，是我昨晚才写的。

At two o'clock in the morning.

凌晨2点。

And I had six weeks to prepare it!

而我明明有6周时间来准备！

So you could say I'm an expert on procrastination.

所以可以说，我是拖延症专家。

For years, I believed I was just lazy.

很多年来，我一直以为自己只是懒。

But that never really made sense.

但这一直说不通。

When I was avoiding work, I wasn't resting.

我逃避工作的时候，并没有在休息。

I was cleaning the fridge. Reorganising my bookshelf.

我在擦冰箱。重新整理书架。

I was doing everything except the thing!

除了正事，我什么都做了！

Then I came across some research that changed my mind.

后来，我偶然看到一些研究，改变了我的想法。

Psychologists who study procrastination say it isn't a time problem.

研究拖延的心理学家说，这不是时间问题。

It's an emotion problem.

这是情绪问题。

We don't avoid the task. We avoid a feeling.

我们不是在逃避任务。我们是在逃避一种感觉。

Boredom, anxiety, the fear of not being good enough.

无聊、焦虑，还有害怕自己不够好。

Think about the task you're avoiding right now.

想一想你们现在正在逃避的那件事。

Yes, you know the one.

对，你们心里都清楚是哪件。

What feeling does it give you?

它让你们有什么感觉？

For me... it was always the same fear.

对我来说……一直都是同一种恐惧。

What if I try my best, and it's still not good enough?

万一我拼尽全力，结果还是不够好呢？

So I stopped waiting for motivation.

于是我不再等待动力。

Instead, I made the first step ridiculously small.

相反，我把第一步设得小到可笑。

Not "write the report", but "open the document".

不是“写报告”，而是“打开文档”。

Just two minutes. That's the deal.

就2分钟。说好了。

And nine times out of ten, I keep going.

结果10次里有9次，我都会接着做下去。

Here's one more surprising finding.

还有一个令人意外的发现。

Students who forgave themselves for procrastinating before one exam

那些原谅了自己在一次考试前拖延的学生，

actually procrastinated less before the next one!

在下一次考试前，反而拖延得更少了！

Guilt doesn't fix procrastination. Kindness does.

内疚治不好拖延。温柔才可以。

So tonight, when you feel like avoiding something,

所以今晚，当你们想逃避某件事的时候，

don't call yourself lazy.

别说自己懒。

Ask yourself what you're afraid of,

问问自己在害怕什么，

and then take one tiny step anyway!

然后不管怎样，迈出一小步！

Thank you. And yes, I'll start my next talk earlier.

谢谢大家。还有，是的，下一场演讲我会早点开始准备。