So in college, I was a government major, which means I had to write a lot of papers. Now, when a normal student writes a paper, they might spread the work out a little like this. So, you know --
Saya kuliah di jurusan pemerintahan, yang artinya saya harus menulis banyak makalah. Saat mahasiswa normal menulis makalah, alur kerjanya kira-kira seperti ini. Jadi, yah --
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
you get started maybe a little slowly, but you get enough done in the first week that, with some heavier days later on, everything gets done, things stay civil.
mungkin mulainya perlahan, tapi cukup banyak yang dikerjakan dalam minggu pertama yang disusul hari-hari berat belakangan, semuanya bisa selesai tanpa masalah.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
And I would want to do that like that. That would be the plan. I would have it all ready to go, but then, actually, the paper would come along, and then I would kind of do this.
Dan saya mau bekerja seperti itu. Itulah rencananya. Saya akan bersiap-siap, lalu kemudian, tugas makalah tiba, dan kira-kira inilah yang saya lakukan.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
And that would happen every single paper.
Itu terjadi di setiap tugas makalah.
But then came my 90-page senior thesis, a paper you're supposed to spend a year on. And I knew for a paper like that, my normal work flow was not an option. It was way too big a project. So I planned things out, and I decided I kind of had to go something like this. This is how the year would go. So I'd start off light, and I'd bump it up in the middle months, and then at the end, I would kick it up into high gear just like a little staircase. How hard could it be to walk up the stairs? No big deal, right?
Lalu saya dihadapkan pada skripsi 90 halaman, yang harusnya dikerjakan selama setahun. Saya tahu untuk tugas seperti itu, alur kerja saya tidak akan berhasil. Tugas ini terlalu besar. Saya menyusun rencana dan memutuskan bahwa saya harus melakukannya seperti ini. Inilah rencana saya setahun. Saya akan memulai dengan santai, sedikit berat di bulan-bulan pertengahan, dan di akhir, saya akan tancap gas seperti tangga kecil. Apa susahnya menaiki tangga? Bukan masalah besar, kan?
But then, the funniest thing happened. Those first few months? They came and went, and I couldn't quite do stuff. So we had an awesome new revised plan.
Tapi, sesuatu yang lucu terjadi. Bulan-bulan pertama itu? Ia hanya datang dan pergi, saya tidak melakukan apa-apa. Jadi kami membuat rencana kedua yang keren.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
And then --
Lalu --
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
But then those middle months actually went by, and I didn't really write words, and so we were here. And then two months turned into one month, which turned into two weeks. And one day I woke up with three days until the deadline, still not having written a word, and so I did the only thing I could: I wrote 90 pages over 72 hours, pulling not one but two all-nighters -- humans are not supposed to pull two all-nighters -- sprinted across campus, dove in slow motion, and got it in just at the deadline.
Tapi bulan-bulan pertengahan itu juga pergi begitu saja, dan tidak ada yang benar-benar saya tulis, dan sampailah kita di bulan-bulan terakhir. Lalu 2 bulan menjadi 1 bulan, lalu jadi 2 minggu. Suatu hari saya terbangun dengan hanya 3 hari sebelum batas waktu, masih belum menulis apa-apa, maka saya melakukan satu-satunya yang bisa saya lakukan: menulis 90 halaman selama 72 jam, tidak hanya begadang semalam, tapi dua malam -- manusia tidak seharusnya begadang dua malam -- berlari menuju kampus, terjun dalam gerakan lambat, dan tiba tepat di batas waktunya.
I thought that was the end of everything. But a week later I get a call, and it's the school. And they say, "Is this Tim Urban?" And I say, "Yeah." And they say, "We need to talk about your thesis." And I say, "OK." And they say, "It's the best one we've ever seen."
Saya mengira semuanya sudah berakhir. Tapi seminggu kemudian saya ditelepon dari kampus. Katanya, "Ini Tim Urban?" Jawab saya, "Ya." Lalu jawabnya, "Kita perlu membicarakan skripsimu." Jawab saya, "Oke." Katanya, "Ini (tulisan) terbaik yang pernah kami lihat."
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
(Applause)
(Tepuk tangan)
That did not happen.
Itu tidak terjadi.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
It was a very, very bad thesis.
Skripsi saya sangat, sangat buruk.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
I just wanted to enjoy that one moment when all of you thought, "This guy is amazing!"
Saya hanya ingin menikmati saat di mana kalian semua berpikir, "Pria ini luar biasa!"
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
No, no, it was very, very bad. Anyway, today I'm a writer-blogger guy. I write the blog Wait But Why. And a couple of years ago, I decided to write about procrastination. My behavior has always perplexed the non-procrastinators around me, and I wanted to explain to the non-procrastinators of the world what goes on in the heads of procrastinators, and why we are the way we are. Now, I had a hypothesis that the brains of procrastinators were actually different than the brains of other people. And to test this, I found an MRI lab that actually let me scan both my brain and the brain of a proven non-procrastinator, so I could compare them. I actually brought them here to show you today. I want you to take a look carefully to see if you can notice a difference. I know that if you're not a trained brain expert, it's not that obvious, but just take a look, OK? So here's the brain of a non-procrastinator.
Tapi tidak, skripsi saya sangat buruk. Sekarang saya seorang penulis blog. Saya menulis blog <i>Wait But Why</i>. Dan beberapa tahun lalu, saya memutuskan untuk menulis tentang penundaan. Kelakuan saya selalu membingungkan orang-orang yang tidak suka menunda, dan saya ingin menjelaskan pada orang-orang ini di seluruh dunia apa yang terjadi di kepala para penunda, dan mengapa kami seperti ini. Saya punya sebuah hipotesis bahwa otak seorang penunda sesungguhnya berbeda dengan otak orang lain. Untuk mengujinya, saya menemukan lab MRI yang mengizinkan saya memindai otak saya dan otak orang yang sudah teruji tidak suka menunda, jadi bisa saya bandingkan. Saya membawa hasilnya supaya Anda bisa lihat. Saya ingin Anda perhatikan baik-baik supaya Anda bisa menemukan bedanya. Saya tahu Anda tidak terlatih sebagai ahli otak, meski tidak begitu kentara, tapi coba lihat dulu, ya? Ini otak seseorang yang tidak suka menunda.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
Now ... here's my brain.
Lalu ... ini otak saya.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
There is a difference. Both brains have a Rational Decision-Maker in them, but the procrastinator's brain also has an Instant Gratification Monkey. Now, what does this mean for the procrastinator? Well, it means everything's fine until this happens.
Ada perbedaannya. Keduanya punya Pembuat Keputusan Logis, tapi di otak penunda ada Monyet Kepuasan Instan. Nah, apa artinya ini bagi penunda? Artinya, segalanya baik-baik saja sampai ini terjadi.
[This is a perfect time to get some work done.] [Nope!]
[Ini waktunya menyelesaikan beberapa tugas.] [Tidak!]
So the Rational Decision-Maker will make the rational decision to do something productive, but the Monkey doesn't like that plan, so he actually takes the wheel, and he says, "Actually, let's read the entire Wikipedia page of the Nancy Kerrigan/ Tonya Harding scandal, because I just remembered that that happened.
Pembuat Keputusan Logis akan membuat keputusan logis untuk melakukan sesuatu yang produktif, tapi si Monyet tidak suka rencana itu, maka ia mengambil alih kendali, dan berkata, "Ayo, baca seluruh halaman Wikipedia tentang skandal Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding, karena aku tiba-tiba ingat itu.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
Then --
Lalu --
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
Then we're going to go over to the fridge, to see if there's anything new in there since 10 minutes ago. After that, we're going to go on a YouTube spiral that starts with videos of Richard Feynman talking about magnets and ends much, much later with us watching interviews with Justin Bieber's mom.
Lalu kita akan mengecek kulkas, siapa tahu ada yang baru sejak 10 menit lalu. Lalu kita akan menjelajahi YouTube mulai dari video Richard Feynman tentang magnet dan lalu nanti belakangan, kita akan nonton video wawancara dengan ibu Justin Bieber.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
"All of that's going to take a while, so we're not going to really have room on the schedule for any work today. Sorry!"
"Ini akan makan waktu cukup lama, jadi kita benar-benar tidak punya waktu untuk bekerja hari ini. Maaf!"
(Sigh)
(Mendesah)
Now, what is going on here? The Instant Gratification Monkey does not seem like a guy you want behind the wheel. He lives entirely in the present moment. He has no memory of the past, no knowledge of the future, and he only cares about two things: easy and fun.
Apa yang terjadi di sini? Monyet Kepuasan Instan bukan oknum yang Anda inginkan memegang kendali. Ia hidup sepenuhnya di masa kini. Tidak punya memori masa lalu, tidak tahu masa depan, dan hanya peduli akan 2 hal: gampang dan menyenangkan.
Now, in the animal world, that works fine. If you're a dog and you spend your whole life doing nothing other than easy and fun things, you're a huge success!
Di dunia hewan, itu tidak apa-apa. Jika Anda seekor anjing yang hidupnya hanya melakukan hal-hal gampang dan menyenangkan, Anda sukses besar!
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
And to the Monkey, humans are just another animal species. You have to keep well-slept, well-fed and propagating into the next generation, which in tribal times might have worked OK. But, if you haven't noticed, now we're not in tribal times. We're in an advanced civilization, and the Monkey does not know what that is. Which is why we have another guy in our brain, the Rational Decision-Maker, who gives us the ability to do things no other animal can do. We can visualize the future. We can see the big picture. We can make long-term plans. And he wants to take all of that into account. And he wants to just have us do whatever makes sense to be doing right now. Now, sometimes it makes sense to be doing things that are easy and fun, like when you're having dinner or going to bed or enjoying well-earned leisure time. That's why there's an overlap. Sometimes they agree. But other times, it makes much more sense to be doing things that are harder and less pleasant, for the sake of the big picture. And that's when we have a conflict. And for the procrastinator, that conflict tends to end a certain way every time, leaving him spending a lot of time in this orange zone, an easy and fun place that's entirely out of the Makes Sense circle. I call it the Dark Playground.
Dan bagi si Monyet, manusia hanyalah sesama hewan dari spesies lain. Kita perlu cukup tidur, cukup makan, dan berkembang biak melahirkan generasi baru, yang di zaman purba mungkin bisa diterima. Tapi mungkin Anda sadar kalau ini bukan lagi zaman purba. Kita hidup dalam peradaban maju, dan si Monyet tidak tahu itu. Karena itu kita punya oknum lain di otak kita, si Pembuat Keputusan Logis, yang memberi kita kemampuan melakukan hal-hal yang tak bisa dilakukan hewan lain. Kita bisa membayangkan masa depan. Melihat gambar besarnya. Berencana jangka panjang. Dan semua itu dipertimbangkan oleh Pembuat Keputusan Logis, agar kita mengerjakan hanya hal-hal yang masuk akal untuk dikerjakan saat ini. Terkadang masuk akal melakukan hal yang gampang dan menyenangkan, seperti saat makan malam, tidur, atau menikmati waktu senggang. Di sanalah ada kesamaan. Kadang mereka saling setuju. Tapi di lain waktu, lebih masuk akal melakukan sesuatu yang lebih sulit dan kurang menyenangkan, untuk tujuan jangka panjang. Di situlah terjadi konflik. Bagi para penunda, konflik itu biasanya berakhir dengan cara tertentu, sehingga ia menghabiskan banyak waktu di zona jingga ini, tempat gampang dan menyenangkan yang sepenuhnya di luar lingkaran Masuk Akal. Saya menyebutnya Taman Bermain Gelap.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
Now, the Dark Playground is a place that all of you procrastinators out there know very well. It's where leisure activities happen at times when leisure activities are not supposed to be happening. The fun you have in the Dark Playground isn't actually fun, because it's completely unearned, and the air is filled with guilt, dread, anxiety, self-hatred -- all of those good procrastinator feelings. And the question is, in this situation, with the Monkey behind the wheel, how does the procrastinator ever get himself over here to this blue zone, a less pleasant place, but where really important things happen?
Taman Bermain Gelap ini adalah tempat yang Anda, para penunda, tahu betul. Di sini aktivitas bersantai terjadi ketika Anda harusnya tidak sedang bersantai. Kesenangan yang Anda dapatkan di sini sebenarnya tidak menyenangkan, karena bukan hak Anda, udaranya penuh dengan rasa bersalah, rasa takut, cemas,benci pada diri sendiri, semua yang dirasakan oleh para penunda. Pertanyaannya, dalam situasi ini, ketika si Monyet memegang kendali, bagaimana penunda bisa pindah ke zona biru, tempat yang tidak begitu nyaman, tapi tempat dimana hal-hal penting terjadi?
Well, turns out the procrastinator has a guardian angel, someone who's always looking down on him and watching over him in his darkest moments -- someone called the Panic Monster.
Ternyata para penunda punya malaikat pelindung, yang selalu melihat dan menjaganya di saat-saat tergelapnya -- yang disebut Monster Panik.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
Now, the Panic Monster is dormant most of the time, but he suddenly wakes up anytime a deadline gets too close or there's danger of public embarrassment, a career disaster or some other scary consequence. And importantly, he's the only thing the Monkey is terrified of. Now, he became very relevant in my life pretty recently, because the people of TED reached out to me about six months ago and invited me to do a TED Talk.
Monster Panik ini seringnya tidur, tapi tiba-tiba terbangun ketika batas waktu sudah mendekat atau ada ancaman dipermalukan di depan umum, bencana karir, atau konsekuensi mengerikan lainnya. Dan yang penting, dia adalah satu-satunya yang ditakuti si Monyet. Belakangan, dia menjadi sangat relevan dalam hidup saya, karena orang-orang TED menghubungi saya sekitar 6 bulan lalu dan mengundang saya berbicara di TED.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
Now, of course, I said yes. It's always been a dream of mine to have done a TED Talk in the past.
Tentu saya mengiyakan. Saya selalu bermimpi untuk sudah pernah berbicara di panggung TED.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
(Applause) But in the middle of all this excitement, the Rational Decision-Maker seemed to have something else on his mind. He was saying, "Are we clear on what we just accepted? Do we get what's going to be now happening one day in the future? We need to sit down and work on this right now." And the Monkey said, "Totally agree, but let's just open Google Earth and zoom in to the bottom of India, like 200 feet above the ground, and scroll up for two and a half hours til we get to the top of the country, so we can get a better feel for India."
(Tepuk tangan) Tapi di tengah-tengah kegembiraan saya, Pembuat Keputusan Logis memikirkan hal lain. Katanya, "Apa kita tahu apa yang baru saja kita setujui? Apa kita paham betul, apa yang akan terjadi pada suatu hari di masa depan? Kita harus mulai menyiapkannya sekarang." Dan si Monyet berkata, "Sangat setuju, tapi coba buka dulu Google Earth, perbesar India selatan, sekitar 60 meter di atas permukaan tanah, terus telusuri hingga bagian paling utara selama dua setengah jam agar kita bisa lebih memahami India."
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
So that's what we did that day.
Itu yang kami lakukan hari itu.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
As six months turned into four and then two and then one, the people of TED decided to release the speakers. And I opened up the website, and there was my face staring right back at me. And guess who woke up?
6 bulan menjadi 4 bulan, lalu 2 bulan, dan akhirnya 1 bulan, lalu TED mengumumkan daftar pembicara. Saya membuka situsnya dan di sanalah wajah saya, balik menatap saya. Tebak siapa yang terbangun?
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
So the Panic Monster starts losing his mind, and a few seconds later, the whole system's in mayhem.
Si Monster Panik mulai menggila, dan beberapa detik kemudian, seluruh sistem kacau.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
And the Monkey -- remember, he's terrified of the Panic Monster -- boom, he's up the tree! And finally, finally, the Rational Decision-Maker can take the wheel and I can start working on the talk.
Si Monyet -- ingat, dia takut pada Monster Panik -- kabur ke atas pohon! Dan akhirnya, akhirnya, Pembuat Keputusan Logis memegang kendali dan saya bisa mulai menyusun materi.
Now, the Panic Monster explains all kinds of pretty insane procrastinator behavior, like how someone like me could spend two weeks unable to start the opening sentence of a paper, and then miraculously find the unbelievable work ethic to stay up all night and write eight pages. And this entire situation, with the three characters -- this is the procrastinator's system. It's not pretty, but in the end, it works. This is what I decided to write about on the blog a couple of years ago.
Nah, Monster Panik menjelaskan semua jenis kegilaan para penunda, seperti bagaimana saya, yang dalam 2 minggu tidak bisa menulis kalimat pembukaan makalah, secara ajaib memperoleh etos kerja luar biasa untuk begadang semalaman dan menulis 8 halaman. Dalam situasi ini, dengan tiga pemerannya -- inilah sistem para penunda. Tidak cantik, tapi pada akhirnya berhasil. Inilah yang saya tulis di blog beberapa tahun lalu.
When I did, I was amazed by the response. Literally thousands of emails came in, from all different kinds of people from all over the world, doing all different kinds of things. These are people who were nurses, bankers, painters, engineers and lots and lots of PhD students.
Setelah posting blog itu, saya takjub melihat responnya. Saya menerima ribuan email dari beragam orang dari seluruh penjuru dunia, dengan beragam profesi. Perawat, bankir, pelukis, teknisi, dan sangat banyak mahasiswa S3.
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
And they were all writing, saying the same thing: "I have this problem too." But what struck me was the contrast between the light tone of the post and the heaviness of these emails. These people were writing with intense frustration about what procrastination had done to their lives, about what this Monkey had done to them. And I thought about this, and I said, well, if the procrastinator's system works, then what's going on? Why are all of these people in such a dark place?
Semua isi surat mereka sama, "Saya juga punya masalah ini." Tapi yang mencengangkan adalah perbedaan besar antara tulisan ringan saya dan masalah berat yang digambarkan email mereka. Mereka menulis dengan rasa frustrasi yang sangat dalam tentang akibat penundaan pada hidup mereka, tentang apa yang dilakukan si Monyet pada mereka. Saya memikirkannya, dan berkata, jika sistem penundaan ini berhasil, lalu apa yang salah? Mengapa orang-orang ini begitu terpuruk?
Well, it turns out that there's two kinds of procrastination. Everything I've talked about today, the examples I've given, they all have deadlines. And when there's deadlines, the effects of procrastination are contained to the short term because the Panic Monster gets involved. But there's a second kind of procrastination that happens in situations when there is no deadline. So if you wanted a career where you're a self-starter -- something in the arts, something entrepreneurial -- there's no deadlines on those things at first, because nothing's happening, not until you've gone out and done the hard work to get momentum, get things going. There's also all kinds of important things outside of your career that don't involve any deadlines, like seeing your family or exercising and taking care of your health, working on your relationship or getting out of a relationship that isn't working.
Ternyata, ada 2 jenis penundaan. Semua yang saya bicarakan tadi, contoh yang saya berikan, ada batas waktunya. Saat ada batas waktu, dampak penundaan dibatasi dalam jangka pendek karena Monster Panik ikut terlibat. Tapi ada jenis penundaan kedua yang terjadi pada situasi di mana tidak ada batas waktu. Jadi kalau Anda ingin karir yang perlu Anda mulai sendiri, di bidang seni, bidang wirausaha, awalnya tidak ada batas waktu, karena tidak ada yang terjadi, tidak sampai Anda keluar dan bekerja keras, mendorongnya dan bergerak maju. Ada hal-hal penting juga di luar karir Anda yang tidak punya batas waktu, seperti bertemu keluarga atau berolahraga dan menjaga kesehatan, membangun hubungan Anda, atau memutuskan hubungan buruk.
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. And it's this long-term kind of procrastination that's much less visible and much less talked about than the funnier, short-term deadline-based kind. It's usually suffered quietly and privately. And it can be the source of a huge amount of long-term unhappiness, and regrets. And I thought, that's why those people are emailing, and that's why they're in such a bad place. It's not that they're cramming for some project. It's that long-term procrastination has made them feel like a spectator, at times, in their own lives. The frustration is not that they couldn't achieve their dreams; it's that they weren't even able to start chasing them.
Jika satu-satunya cara penunda melakukan pekerjaan berat adalah Monster Panik, itu masalah, karena dalam semua situasi tanpa batas waktu ini, Monster Panik tidak muncul. Ia tidak ada alasan untuk bangun sehingga dampak penundaan tidak terbatas; dan bisa terus diperpanjang selamanya. Dan penundaan jangka panjang ini lebih tidak terlihat dan lebih jarang dibicarakan daripada penundaan jangka pendek yang lebih jenaka. Penundaan ini biasanya dialami secara pribadi dan diam-diam. Ini bisa jadi penyebab ketidakbahagiaan dan penyesalan besar. Saya pikir itulah kenapa mereka mengirim email, karena mereka berada di situasi yang buruk. Bukan karena mereka terdesak untuk menyelesaikan suatu hal. Tapi karena penundaan jangka panjang membuat mereka terkadang merasa seperti penonton dalam hidup mereka sendiri. Mereka frustrasi bukan karena tidak bisa meraih mimpi mereka, tapi karena mereka bahkan tidak bisa mulai mengejarnya.
So I read these emails and I had a little bit of an epiphany -- that I don't think non-procrastinators exist. That's right -- I think all of you are procrastinators. Now, you might not all be a mess, like some of us,
Ketika saya membaca email itu, saya mendapat sedikit ilham, bahwa menurut saya, tidak ada orang yang tidak menunda. Benar, menurut saya Anda semua adalah penunda. Mungkin Anda tidak sekacau seperti beberapa orang di antara kita,
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
and some of you may have a healthy relationship with deadlines, but remember: the Monkey's sneakiest trick is when the deadlines aren't there.
dan beberapa dari Anda mungkin tahu cara mengatur batas waktu, tapi ingat: trik terlicik si Monyet adalah ketika tidak ada batas waktu.
Now, I want to show you one last thing. I call this a Life Calendar. That's one box for every week of a 90-year life. That's not that many boxes, especially since we've already used a bunch of those. So I think we need to all take a long, hard look at that calendar. We need to think about what we're really procrastinating on, because everyone is procrastinating on something in life. We need to stay aware of the Instant Gratification Monkey. That's a job for all of us. And because there's not that many boxes on there, it's a job that should probably start today.
Saya ingin menunjukkan satu hal terakhir. Saya menyebutnya Kalender Kehidupan. Satu kotak untuk setiap minggu selama 90 tahun kehidupan. Kotaknya tidak begitu banyak, terutama karena kita telah memakai sebagian besar kotak itu. Menurut saya, kita perlu mengamati dan memahami kalender itu. Kita perlu memikirkan tentang apa yang sesungguhnya kita tunda, karena setiap orang menunda sesuatu dalam hidupnya. Kita perlu mewaspadai Monyet Kepuasan Instan. Itu tugas kita semua. Dan karena tidak banyak lagi kotak yang tersisa, itu tugas yang harus kita mulai hari ini.
Well, maybe not today, but ...
Yah, mungkin bukan hari ini, tapi ...
(Laughter)
(Tertawa)
You know. Sometime soon.
Anda tahu. Dalam waktu dekat.
Thank you.
Terima kasih.
(Applause)
(Tepuk tangan)