I came to this one largely because everyone else seemed to be saying this was great for ASMR. (See some of the comments beneath this video). I have to say it’s a bit marginal for me and I am considering discounting it from the playlist.
However, given how much feedback there seems to be, I am sharing it with you as it is probable you will get some positive effect from it. Carol Joy features as the person giving treatment and we are told that she is an “Integrative Medicine nurse”. I’m not really abreast of nursing specialities however a brief search indicates it to be “A state of well-being in mind, body and spirit that reflects the individual, community and population.”
Acupressure for Family and Friends
As I say Carol’s voice is not quite right for me but a number of people find this video helpful. In this Carol refers to SEVA – an act of selfless service.
UMMCVideos is the channel. This turns out to be the University of Maryland Medical Center – the downside for a brief blog item is that there are really a very large number of videos in here. There are also no less than seventy four playlists as at today’s date. It looks like we need to focus in a different way, in this case I think focusing on Carol Joy is an approach.
The comments really exalt Carol’s ability to be properly relaxing. But for some reason her voice does not do this for me. I have no idea why. The ingredients are there – it’s quiet, there is no background noise, I would imagine I should be off to sleep. In fact, I find myself looking for the next video.
I’m sure a great many people reading this will have a more positive reaction and this is why I am featuring it.
Guided Meditation – A Step by Step Video
Again, the comments are very positive. The sort of comments some of the videos I have featured so far I felt deserved rather than the nastiness that they actually got. However, it just doesn’t work for me.
On that basis I have created a Carol Joy playlist, which is here:
But I won’t be updating the overall Procrastination Pen playlist
However, the Archive playlist (created of videos that I featured in the blog but on review felt were not quite good enough to make the grade) now contains these three videos.
I hope that you find the playlists relaxing.
If you liked this blog article why not subscribe to this blog.
This time the video is more of an instruction manual. Merck Manuals is the channel which gives you a clue.
This is a comprehensive channel with a large number of videos which I am not going to attempt to count. It is about two hundred and ten as at today’s date.
That leaves a dilemma as to which set of videos to choose. Fortunately Merck Manuals also provide a set of playlists (twenty two of these as at today’s date) and ours occurs in a playlist called The Ortho Exam – Merck Manual Professional Version.
This channel has so much material I suspect we will be back here before I am very much older.
Today’s video is this one:
How to Examine the Hand | Merck Manual Professional Version
The Ortho Exam – Merck Manual Professional Version
Which helpfully tells us “Examination demonstrated by Paul Liebert, MD, Tomah Memorial Hospital.”
The funky intro music is not exactly brilliant for ASMR however the narrator has a great voice for this purpose. It is nicely relaxing in fact.
This one belongs in the Procrastination Pen playlist.
There are ten videos in the Ortho Exam – Merck Manual Professional Version playlist. This number is a bit large for a blog post (well history tells me anyway). If you can’t wait for the playlist, scroll right to the end where it will be waiting for you. The above is video four in this playlist, leaving nine videos.
How to Examine the Shoulder | Merck Manual Professional Version
The great thing with these videos is that they are consistent, demonstrated by the same person, narrated by the same person and consistently calm and quiet. They are more-or-less ideal for our purposes.
Note that erythema comes up in this video which is a redness of the skin.
This is also going to find a home in the playlist.
How to Examine the Elbow | Merck Manual Professional Version
Epicondyle is a bit more complex – here it is referring to the rounded part of the bone on the elbow.
Definitely a playlist candidate.
How to Examine the Wrist | Merck Manual Professional Version
There is a growing amount of medical terminology the more we go on with these videos. Those with more of an interest than simply a sleep aid may find this helpful:
How to Examine the Hand | Merck Manual Professional Version
This is where we came in. By now we can see that not only do we have the same intro music, same examiner and same narrator to a large extent we also have the same “patient”. I like consistency when I’m aiming for a restful experience – your mileage may vary.
How to Examine the Hip | Merck Manual Professional Version
This one seems to be considerably quieter which might be distracting, especially if you have the volume right down in order to aid sleep. On balance I think it still deserves inclusion in the playlist though.
How to Examine the Knee | Merck Manual Professional Version
What strikes me with this one is the complexity of the system. The number of nerves, ligaments, muscles and tendons needed just to get normal motion is quite amazing and something I hadn’t considered before. Probably not wise to be thinking that as you’re trying to doze off. This will also be in the playlist.
How to Examine the Ankle | Merck Manual Professional Version
The close-up shots and the distant shots here seem to be of two different patients. The close-up ones I would guess are of a male patient. (In at least some of the shots in any case). However, if you’re half asleep I suspect you will not notice.
I’m also going to add this to the playlist.
How to Examine the Foot | Merck Manual Professional Version
Our male foot patient is back initially, we go to the female patient subsequently. The only downside of such videos (if you’re awake enough to notice) is that you can start to consider if you have any of the problems described. Who doesn’t have uneven wear in their footwear for instance?
This is also going in the playlist.
How to Examine the Neck | Merck Manual Professional Version
This refers to other manuals videos. Given how consistent this set is I think this is an invitation we can’t help but take up at some future date in any case. Another one for the playlist then.
How to Examine the Back | Merck Manual Professional Version
The most consistent set of videos so far in this blog series. All of them I think deserve to be in the playlist.
The Merck Manuals playlist is here:
The overall playlist for items featured in this blog is here:
If you like this blog item why not follow this blog.
This channel was recommended in some comments to another ASMR video. This may or may not work out for the best. I search all over the place for inspiration. It is not until I have had a chance to listen to any of the videos that I understand whether the recommendation produces a complete loss (In terms of The Procrastination Pen playlist). This sort of thing happens all the time. On that note feel free to recommend to me any ASMR videos that you have found helpful. It might be that they will turn up in a future blog article.
The channel this time is sebsss it contains four videos so a nice number for one blog post. The fourth video seems to be a drinking video so not really on message for a medical examination focus. Perhaps it will feature in the future if I ever move onto drinking ASMR. The videos range from twelve to ten years ago in terms of posting. The drinking video is twelve years ago and seems a nostalgic portrayal probably only of interest to those who were there.
This leaves three all of which are more recent than the drinking video. These three maybe more suitable for a blog of this type:
This is the most recent video which was posted ten years ago. However, the sound quality is not great. The speaking is a bit fast. Rapport does not seem to be there. There is really nothing calming or relaxing about this particular presentation. If anything, I was just waiting for it to be over.
Not in the least ASMR stimulating so this one will not be in the playlist
Head to Toe
This video was posted eleven years ago. There are no notes with this one, however the medical professional from the above video appears as the “patient” in this one. Here he appears as “Tom Smith” – whether genuinely or not (Smith being a common obfuscation name). The presentation is a little busy – we’ve seen this before and it seems to be a characteristic of assessment videos – i.e. those produced by students as part of their course.
I think the medical professional introduces himself as “Matt” (something) and that he will be the “Senior” but it is all a bit jumbled and I may well be wrong.
There appear to be no clues as to the location other than the crucifix on the wall and I guarantee searching for “Tom Smith” isn’t going to get me any further.
Given Tom Smith is in a number of these videos I’d make a guess this is his channel.
The background noise is a bit high on this one. It takes a while to settle down but once the examination is under way it isn’t terrible.
Not Hollie Berry standard but worthy of inclusion in The Procrastination Pen playlist I think.
Head to Toe Assessment
The background noise is as intrusive as the last one. As with the previous video there are some good moments. Tom Smith as the patient again – but a different medical professional this time Melissa. This video is also posted eleven years ago. Again there are no notes to guide as to which establishment this is. Sadly the badge on the shoulder of Melissa is a little too small and out of focus to be useful. The letters seem to be HNMC school of nursing with the nearest establishment I can find as Holy Name Medical Centre. Great I thought – crucifix – holy name. Only their symbol is a dove not a purple cross and the only Melissa I can find there is not this Melissa.
Again I think it belongs in the playlist – but I think an edited version would be even better (particularly if it was feasible to smooth out that background noise).
Overall not as terrible as at first thought, although all of these are now subject to review and I am producing an archive list of items once in the main playlist but upon reflection don’t quite meet the grade.
(This offers regular readers the opportunity to still find their favourites).
The Tom Smith playlist is here:
The overall playlist which contains the majority of videos featured in this blog is here:
The videos which failed the grade on review are now in this archive list here:
I hope that you find these playlists relaxing
If you liked this blog item why not subscribe to this blog
The video quality for this one is a tad poor. And perhaps I don’t mean a tad. However it is quite different to what we have had before and it is partly because of its age and its purpose. This one is recorded (to video cassette tape I assume) in 1996 and reflects its time I think.
The sound quality is actually not as bad as in some of the other videos I have already featured on this blog (and no doubt many to come). There is no loud equipment noises in the background for example.
It is designed to inform/educate and as such is calm and unadulterated by extraneous sounds (such as a snazzy backing track for example). It’s recorded at the University of Michigan – Department of Neurology, February 16th 1996.
The Neurologic Exam part 1
This video is of sufficient quality that it crops up in a number of ASMR video compilations which are the kind of ASMR videos I do not watch anymore. It is too much like a box of sweets in which a good twenty percent of the sweets you do not like. Compilation videos are complicated by the fact that no one seems to be able to get the inter-clip volumes to agree. If you start off at a quiet sleep-friendly volume you can be woken sometime later by an individual with a predisposition to bellow. This is John Wald and Douglas Gelb in a demonstration of how to run a Neurologic Exam but who (presumably inadvertently) have good voices for ASMR. In this I feel that Douglas edges out John slightly. Which is good news because in this video he also does the majority of the talking.
Johnwaldmd is the channel (presumably the John Wald MD in the video footage although somewhat more advanced in years I would suggest). I’m guessing a great many of the people who watch the ASMR video compilations were probably as yet unborn when this video was first recorded.
There are only seven videos in this channel and it is obvious that we will not be looking at many of those; some of them appear to appeal to quite a narrow audience (probably family and friends).
I think we can consign four of these into the metaphorical ASMR bin without further review, leaving the above one and two others. Part two of the above presentation:
The Neurologic Examination part 2
This is the “review” section which effectively is giving instruction on how to perform the neurologic exam. In my view this is not as wonderful from an ASMR perspective so I think it won’t make the grade for the playlist.
There is also this video:
VTS 01 0
This is both silent and only 30 seconds long so it may have been some kind of test…
So one video only this time around folks.
On that basis I have not created a playlist for johnwaldmd.
The overall playlist containing all the videos featured in this blog is here:
I hope that you find it relaxing.
If you liked this blog article why not subscribe to this blog.
I realise that for people who have not been following (the ASMR theme on) this blog since the beginning might find this to be nonsense. For such people, a bit of background. With each blog article I review a video (mostly videos located on YouTube) for its ability to either produce ASMR symptoms or to be restful enough to aid in sleep. At the end of which the video either gets added to The Procrastination Pen playlist or it does not. The assumption is that ASMR aficionados will just go straight to the playlist and listen, but some of you may like to read the material before doing that.
For an idea of where this all began take a look at the initial ASMR blog post which will give you an idea.
I think we are on more solid ground today as this one is back firmly in the medical exam area.
The channel is Ryann McCarty and sadly for us is not going to be a rich resource of ASMR material. In fact, there is one playlist of music videos entitled Rye and the video that we are featuring today entitled:
Ryann McCarty Student Nurse health assessment performance
So this is all you get today I’m afraid – look at it as an appetiser – keeping you keen to see yet more. (Yes, that didn’t sound that accurate to me either). Posted in 2017 and nothing posted on this channel subsequently. (The music playlist was last updated in 2020). Hopefully Ryann is out there doing more important things with her life. The sleeve badge seems to be for Suny Downstate College of Nursing, only sometime subsequently they’ve had a rebrand.
Ryann announces herself at the beginning so we’re pretty certain this is the Ryann we’re talking about. Initially her voice is a bit loud but once the examination starts it begins to settle down (although I don’t think she will ever be a Hollie Berry).
At intervals, (despite the constant air conditioning sounds in the background) I found myself quite calmed by it.
At one stage the person behind the camera starts laughing which is a little disconcerting. (It is easy to forget that there will always be a third person in each of these one-to-one encounters due to the presence of the camera).
I also liked the comment about cold hands – one feature of using alcohol-based hand sanitiser is that your hands get properly freezing – although in other videos I have featured in the past the medical professional does warn the patient about the incoming iceberg.
The notes state “Week 6 lab- Final health assessment performance”. I’m not sure how the education process works but if Ryann achieved this level of proficiency after merely 6 weeks of education then I am impressed.
In all quite a charming short piece at twenty minutes and fourteen seconds. Worthy of adding to the Procrastination Pen playlist I think.
The overall playlist of all videos featured so far in this blog is here:
Here I’m being completely unfair – I stick with the medical theme for ages and then change tack without warning.
What can I say? This was a YouTube suggestion I watched and I liked. That said it is outside the normal progress of ASMR blog items and so is a bit of a wildcard. I’ve included it because some readers may well like it.
David has a reasonable ASMR voice not quite Dr James Gill, but still pretty good for ASMR. The video is not subdivided into sections and so it is to be hoped YouTube will not intrude with one of their noisier adverts.
There is a great write up in the notes about what was involved and the aim of the video – this is somewhat more than we have been used to of late – some of the videos reviewed recently having nothing in the way of notes (and sometimes just one sentence).
It is interesting to hear how much of a noise problem there is where David is trying to work. The sort of thing that makes me fear city breaks. That kind of outside noise would be enough to keep me awake for days.
I’m also in admiration that he can get up at 3am and still function. At that hour I would be an incommunicative zombie.
David obviously has a great deal more patience than I have.
After the intro there is no speech, so it’s an unusual one for me as I prefer people talking quietly. Think of this as a treat for people who get ASMR from brushing sounds, paper sounds, scrubbing sounds and so on.
There is a certain magic in watching the image emerge, a privilege I would not normally have as I’d be listening to the video rather than watching it.
As such I think this one is going to need special treatment as it does not really belong in the existing playlist. It’s more an ASMR item blogged for other people rather than myself.
At nearly one and one quarter hours this is a bit of a mammoth and probably stands on it’s own. However I am in the habit now of reviewing the channel on which it is found for any other ASMR-related content.
David Bull is the channel also the name of the person doing the carving.
I make it one hundred and thirty five videos at the current time, which is rather too many for a blog item. Given this is a diversion from the main subject I had better strongly limit this for fear of rebuke and shock-horror loss of reading public.
Sadly I can’t find a playlist (provided by David) that includes this one.
The playlists available include:
I think not to test your patience too much, I’m going to focus on the last one as it contains only four videos (however I fully intend to return to David’s channel in the future).
Creation of the Fox Moon woodblock print
Ukiyoe Heroes (11) : Fox Moon – preparation for carving
This video starts with David again, as we have established, he has quite a good voice. The printer though is not at all good in terms of ASMR.
This, unlike the previous one, is narrated and so is much more in keeping with our normal ASMR video.
Ukiyoe Heroes (12) : Fox Moon – carving the key block
David has a cold so less talking sadly. The carving is fascinating but of course usually I would not be watching it. There is persistent background noise – possibly air conditioning.
There is also a guest appearance from David’s neighbour.
The speed of the carving activity is quite extraordinary.
Ukiyoe Heroes (13) : Fox Moon – carving the colour blocks
This consists of initial impression taking. That is in which the key block is covered with black pigment and a test print taken. This is lovely to watch but for us that isn’t really the point. There is a radio or similar playing in the background at intervals.
This is quite chilled and quiet, much better with the narration – well until the hammering starts anyway.
Ukiyoe Heroes (14) : Fox Moon – proof printing
This is the more fun stage in terms of visuals in that you start to see the images building up. There is some kind of background fan type noise happening. It is again very calm and if it was on theme would probably be top of the pops. However carving wasn’t really what I was trying to achieve.
I think the way to manage this is to create a David Bull playlist and not to add these ones to the overall playlist.
The David Bull playlist is here:
The overall playlist (which this time does not include the items featured in this blog post, but does include those from previous blog posts) is here:
If you liked this blog item why not subscribe to this blog
Firstly apologies – the sound quality on this is not the greatest. I mean what the heck is that background humming going on? However, it’s also a piece of fun. Even the “patient” finds it highly amusing. In this one the patient will have to go by “X” as they are not identified at any stage.
I’m not sure if it is the giggles which makes it so effective. Usually I dispense with any videos that have the least kind of annoying sound in them. But in this case after a few seconds, it became just background hubbub which I could ignore. Your mileage may vary.
Chest, Lungs, Heart assessment by Nikko Holloway NU 607 Advanced Health Assessment Dr. Wildinger
Initially Nikko (assuming that is the person’s name) is a bit on the loud side, but it soon settles down till the background hubbub is increasingly distracting. (Sadly I have no way of filtering such noises out). It derives into giggles pretty quickly and at one stage they have to quit filming altogether (Warwick medical school this is not).
Nonetheless it was enjoyable and it’s a shame there aren’t any more in this series. (Preferably without the sound of Hades air-conditioning, or whatever it is). I wonder whether Nikko passed whatever assessment it was that she was completing (I’m assuming of course that this is part of an assessment process for a medical establishment.)
Sadly Nikko Holloway (for that is the channel) has only uploaded this one medical examination video. In total there are three videos but whilst the voice is reasonably relaxing, I’m not sure that the others qualify under the medical examination criteria.
For completeness here are the other two:
X- Treme Makeover N. Holloway
This indicates that Nikko attends Jacksonville State University (spring 2020 semester).
Sadly it isn’t up for much in the ASMR stakes so this one will not be in the playlist.
Recording #2
Again it is not up there in terms of ASMR-i-ness (an established term) so I will not add this one to the playlist either.
There do not appear to be a huge number of subscribers or comments for this one so perhaps this is an ASMR find. In any case I hope you find it relaxing.
I haven’t created a playlist for this (it’s one video) however it is in the long playlist of all videos featured in this series.
Why not subscribe to the playlist on YouTube and then you will get automatic updates as I change it.
It’s been a short one on this occasion. More next time.
In my opinion the first of these is the best in terms of ASMR-i-ness (if such a term could be said to exist). Yet again a change of direction as we look away from standard medical examinations and move to eye-related exams instead.
The channel comes from the Moran Eye Centre at the University of Utah.
Moran CORE (for such is the channel) provide a number of ophthalmic-related videos, but the best from an ASMR perspective is this one:
The Neuro-ophthalmology Exam: Neuro
The key to this I think is probably the interactions between Judith Warner, ophthalmologist and the “patient” Megan (who turns up in other videos in the series). Megan seems to have the most naturally restful voice here I think.
Moran CORE has so many videos that I gave up counting them and so it is critical to limit the videos that I present here. (Both for my typing fingers and your no doubt tired eyes).
Sadly Moran CORE does not present any helpful playlists that include this particular video so the obvious approach is to filter on videos “starring” the same ophthalmologist or featuring the same “patient” (Megan).
What leaps out scanning the videos is that a number of them feature the same “patient”.
Sticking to videos initially that feature the same “patient” we have this one:
The Orbital Exam
Which is with Tom Oberg instead of Judith Warner. Tom actually has a good voice ASMR-wise but again Megan’s is better. The approach is calm and de-stressing. Both Tom and Judith have been encouraging and patient – the kind of person that you want if someone is going to be examining you.
The Ophthalmic Exam: Retina and Posterior Segment
This is with Andrew Davis, who is technically brilliant I’m sure, but sadly does not have a great voice for ASMR. In this one Megan seems to say very little. So it’s a washout for us sadly and will not be added to the playlist.
The Neuro-ophthalmology Exam: Pupils; Color; Eye Movements; Prism
This is Laura Hanson with the “patient” Megan again. Laura doesn’t have the greatest ASMR voice but Megan here gets more of a speaking role which compensates to an extent.
However as before I do not think this makes the grade for the playlist.
Indirect Ophthalmoscopy with Scleral Depression
This is James Zimmerman with Megan. James’ voice is actually quite good here. But I don’t think it is going to be good enough sadly. This isn’t going to make the grade for the playlist.
How to Instill Topical Anesthetics
Lloyd B Williams with Megan. Lloyd also has a good voice. But again I don’t think this one will graduate to the playlist.
The Neuro-ophthalmology Exam: Eyelids
Laura Hanson again, as far as I can tell the last video featuring Megan and so the last of this blog item. This is slightly better than the earlier Laura video I think. However I still don’t think it is going to make the playlist.
Filtering the videos by the “patient” is an arbitrary method for limiting the videos. However Moran CORE has so many videos and they are so varied that I suspect we will be mining this resource in the future.
The Moran CORE Playlist is here:
The playlist of all videos so far covered in this blog is here:
With a blog entitled “The Procrastination Pen” I suppose it is reasonable to expect that at some stage there would be something on procrastination.
To be honest the naming was something that came to light after several days of brain stretching. It was only fixed after I discovered that all my other great name ideas were already taken.
(This is fairly familiar, see my discoveries about the use of the term “Wreck of the Week”).
It was all going swimmingly until Amazon launched a product which is actually called a “Procrastination Pen”. This consigns my little blog to low down in the Google search results.
Anyway enough of this – suffice to say that the title “Procrastination Pen” was in the search for a unique blog title rather than some manifesto of intent.
However it is not a title without aptness. Throughout my life I have struggled with procrastination. At times I would rather clean the toilet than embark on the task that I regard as the most important. During revision for the various exams I have undertaken in my life I have dusted, hoovered and tended the garden to avoid picking up a single book.
And so it was with great embrace that I greeted the book that is the subject of this post.
If like me you have symptoms of procrastination in your life I recommend that you buy this before any other book on the subject.
John turns out to have been a lifelong procrastinator of the advanced order. This puts him in a uniquely sympathetic position to other sufferers. He is the most positive person I have encountered when it comes to the treatment of procrastination.
If you want a flavour for the author’s style then visit his website here.
He raises the idea of akrasia (apparently originally from Aristotle). This describes why people will do anything other than the thing they are supposed to be doing.
He proposes that procrastinators far from being inefficient wastrels actually get a great deal of work done. However they get that work done whilst avoiding some other task.
Perversely they may be seen to be very hard-working and efficient as a result.
The major outcome of which is that being a procrastinator is quite positive and nothing whatsoever to be ashamed of.
Although he is perhaps the first to propose the term “structured procrastination” to cover this behaviour the first to write about it apparently was Robert Benchley in the Chicago Tribune in 1930. The article “How to Get Things Done” is now the subject of a blog posting.
Structured Procrastination
The benefits of structured procrastination (as opposed I suppose to doing absolutely nothing) is that it is feasible to get procrastination to work in your favour. A great deal of work can be accomplished whilst avoiding the task you really do not want to engage with.
The issue is that mentally (or physically if we can bring ourselves to be that organised) we have a list of tasks which we must accomplish.
Habitually a procrastinator will have the most important task glaring him or her in the face. He or she is quite prepared to exercise his or her self in the performance of tasks lower down that list to avoid that most important task.
The wrong thing to do when you have this mindset is to address the task directly. Worse still is to attempt to minimise the distracting tasks to focus fully on the main one. If you succeed then the only way to avoid the main task is to do something which is not constructive – watch the television, cut your toenails, pick your nose and so on.
One approach is to try to find another yet more important task and to mentally (or physically if it helps) add this task to the top of the list. Now you will be spending all of your efforts to avoid that task. Your previous most important task is now second on the list and is likely to receive attention to avoid the new most important task.
Alternatively, if no likely task presents itself, promote one of the less important tasks to be the most important one.
This means you have to fool yourself that this task is more important. As John points out we fool ourselves all the time anyway in the pursuit of procrastination so we’re already experts at this.
Perfectionist Moi?
Procrastinators are fantasists, unable to complete the task perfectly but nonetheless imagining that they are able to do so.
Finding themselves unable to complete a task to this imagined standard of perfection means the task does not get done.
That is unless the task has a deadline, in which case as the deadline passes guilt kicks in. The procrastinator attains a mad scramble to complete the task. In the process he or she gives his or herself permission to do a less than perfect job.
John states that we would be better using a task triage in this situation. Decide which tasks you can forget altogether, which you can forget until later, and which to start work on.
In the process decide whether a half-arsed job is sufficient or if a perfect job really is needed.
Lists
Surely the bane of any procrastinator and the subject of way too much time-management reading I’ve performed over the years.
Procrastinators keep lists – either mentally or, for the more disciplined, physically.
The lists are pretty pointless. The only reason they are created is to get the buzz from crossing things off the list. Hence the list grows with items that did not need to be on the list simply for the feedback of all those ticks.
Where lists do come into their own is when the procrastinator is faced with a task that he or she cannot face. Something so daunting that nominating some other task as the most important will surely fail.
Here the task needs salami slicing. Each component of the task listed out so that the procrastinator can approach it piecemeal.
The safest time to make such a list is just before sleep – that way you’re less inclined to be distracted.
Music
Motivational music is well worth having.
Personally I think that you can’t go far wrong with this:
You will have your own preferences.
Distractions
These are bread and butter for the procrastinator, email and web surfing for example. Avoiding these is not realistic. Set something that will interrupt you. At least you will stop emailing/surfing the web (or alternative distraction of choice) and do some work before the sun sets.
Desktop
A lot of procrastinators work by spreading papers across the desk. Do not resist this if it is you.
Putting papers into filing cabinets is an almost certain way of never dealing with those papers again. If you are not bound by a clear desk policy feel free to leave the papers exactly where they are when you stop working. That way you can instantly pick up where you left off.
Non-Procrastinators
Procrastinators drive such people mad. Non-Procrastinators are useful to have around. They will insist that you work in a non-procrastinating way. This can be very motivational (if hard on any relationship that you have with them).
Obsessively productive people may choose to do the tasks for you. Make sure that you contribute equally if so.
Positives
A surprisingly large number of tasks don’t need doing at all. By not working on them you gain time that non-procrastinators lose.
Some tasks find better qualified people to work on them and they also disappear from your mental (or physical) to do list.
There are many ways to spend time and many opinions about the best way to spend time. Spending time daydreaming may in the long run be more productive than writing that essay.
Procrastinators may ultimately find better ways to enjoy life.
Unpleasant News
Whilst John is positive throughout about the impact of procrastinators he does reference some material which is likely to bite a bit harder.
Procrastination: Ten Things to Know. (Read this if you’re a procrastinator in a really upbeat mood or a non-procrastinator who needs validation).
For those determined to beat their procrastination into submission John recommends this book:
I realised that in my Gravatar profile I state: “Keen on privacy and IT Security. A volunteer counsellor. I use blogging to improve my writing.” There has been a few blog items on writing and the odd one related to counselling but except for the EXIF article precious little in support of privacy.
Snowden showed us that if you decide to put something on the Internet it is not private anymore. (No matter how much security you imagine protects it).
Security services have techniques that can read information, often when we believed that information was protected.
Information that you put on the Internet today, believing it to be secure, is exposed in a security breach tomorrow.
Some people believe that this is fair enough, if you decide to put a nude selfie online for example then on your head be it.
This article is not for them.
Still reading? Ok, well there are some basic steps that you can take which will protect you. Some more advanced steps you can take if you are very keen on privacy. There are also steps you should take if your life depends on privacy (which is sadly not unfamiliar to some activists in the world today).
If you are in the group that really needs to protect your privacy faraday bags for phones do work.If you like your privacy but your life isn’t likely to be in danger over it – turn on location services only when you need it.
Similarly turn off Bluetooth and wireless when they are not in use.Better still if you do not want to be tracked leave the phone at home.
Encrypt Encryption uses mathematics to render the information inaccessible to anyone other than the people you want to have access.However encryption does not solve all problems.There is some evidence that some encryption has been circumvented. .However encryption will defeat prying eyes in the majority of cases.
Encrypted Apps – Use encrypted alternatives to text messages. The recommended system here is an app called Signal which is as easy to use as any text message system.
Unique Passwords – Make certain that every website you log into has a unique password.
Breaches in passwords happen every day.
A breach is when a company loses the usernames and passwords of its customers onto the Internet. Criminals then get hold of these details and attempt to log into as many websites as they can. It takes criminals minutes to do this it can take many years before a company is aware of the leak.
Password Managers – maintaining a different password for each login (for every website) is a discipline that is sometimes beyond the memory of the average individual. This means that you really must use a password manager.
Password Managers store all your passwords in one place and you only need to remember the one password – the one to access the password manager.
I use KeePass . It is a standalone password manager (in that it is not integrated with your browser).This reduces functionality a little but increases security a lot. (With all your passwords in one place you do want the solution to be secure).
Use two-factor authentication. Remember I said that passwords are leaked onto the internet every day? How do you stop a criminal logging in when you don’t know that your password is already out there?
Make certain logging on to your account takes more than a password.
A number of sites permit use of two-factor authentication. Usually this means that after you add your username and password you get a text on your mobile phone giving you a code that you also need to enter.This small amount of extra effort can have a big effect on your security.
Use a VPN service that cloaks your location.Every ISP has a list of addresses that they hand out to their clients. This means that when you browse the Internet others on the Internet can determine which ISP you use. In many cases this gives a good approximation of where you are accessing the Internet from.In addition every piece of browsing behaviour goes through a link provided by your ISP who has a log of your activity. The only way to disguise your activity from your ISP is to have a tool that uses an encrypted tunnel to hide what you’re are doing.
This can be a VPN , use of ToR browser or using ToR browser over a VPN .
ToR is not a panacea but it does make it much more difficult to trace any actions back to you. ToR is a technology that sends the messages you use to communicate on the Internet through a very convoluted route, making it very difficult to trace.
Of course it is far easier to keep something private if you do not share it in the first place. If you share something which would have consequences (if it became public) then perhaps sharing it is not wise. Don’t depend for example on Facebook privacy settings. It is known that people use Facebook to monitor and to trap the unwary.
Don’t put your holiday destination into Facebook until after you have returned.
It is really a bad idea to exchange nude photographs. Can you really be certain that the picture won’t turn up later on in a context which you might not like?
Many sites allow recovery of your account if you supply personal details about yourself. This means that they allow you access after you share with them a secret that they know about you. A favourite is Mother’s maiden name for example. If you forget your password – you supply your mother’s maiden name – you get to reset your password.
If that information (your mother’s maiden name) is on the Internet already (say on social media) it is no longer a secret. Criminals can use this information too.
Firstly be careful what you share. Secondly if you are asked for a secret that can be used to reset your account – lie. If your dog is called Fido and the recovery question is “pet’s name” use ”jambalaya” for example (don’t do that – it’s in the Internet now so people know it – make up your own version and keep it secret).
Once you have created a lie make sure you record it somewhere offline (say in the password manager) so if you need to recover the account you can remember what lie it was that you told them.
Make certain that you use the HTTPS version of a website (most sites have a HTTPS version now). The HTTPS-everywhere add-on can do this for you. HTTPS uses secure communication and hence is more secure to use than HTTP.
Adverts on the Internet have been the source of a great many attacks. Wherever possible use an ad-blocker. This also makes it harder for sites to track your behaviour and use it to bombard you with ads.
It is known that search engines like Google mine your information in order to sell it to advertising companies. One way to obviate this is to use an alternative search engine that does not log your behaviour. The best known of these is DuckDuckGo.
If you are one of the people whose life depends on your privacy then this article is not going to be cautious enough for you.
However it would be remiss of me to advise about these given my life has never been at risk because of a lack of privacy. You must gauge the level of risk and apply appropriate precautions.
For everyone else these few steps can make a big difference.
If you liked this article why not follow this blog
The Procrastination Pen 