I'm the exact opposite. I used to slack a LOT more, and have cut down on it heavily since my school days. Back then I would regularly last night assignments and pull multiple all nighters to do it, because I _knew I could_. As long as I subconsciously knew "I can get this down in the delta between now->due date" I would put it off, even if that delta involved not sleeping/eating/etc, and "Forgiving myself" only made it worse since I'd just keep doing it.
It was when I got into industry, and instead was posed with the equation of "If I didn't rush, I would have done better work, and more effectively used the time of the people paying me", which had enough external variables that the need to change became pressing. I used (and still use) the feelings of guilt at wasting my bosses time, the feelings of falling behind in my skill/learnings, and dominatingly (as I get older) the feeling of "There just isn't enough time in the day" to force myself off of procrastination every time I notice myself doing it too much.
Take this with the context that I've never been one for positive reinforcement. Seeing my own flaws and failings drives me far more than getting a pat on the back. I think you hit the nail on the head re: rationality, as that I don't think I _could_ forgive myself even if I tried, I wouldn't really internalize believing it in a way that would impact my behavior.
(And aptly, I've now procrastinated enough in writing this, and need to be back to reading docs :) )
A fair point; I try and take it a different way (as opposed to their having leverage over me), if my conscience is clear in terms of having done GOOD WORK and not wasted any time by procrastinating, they have _less_ leverage from my point of view, since I know I've been delivering 100% and can come from a position of strength.
In terms of motivating myself by negatives instead of positives, that's something I've put literally decades in trying to adjust and something I'm not sure I'll ever break myself of. It's too useful in other areas (looking critically at my own code, looking critically at problem spaces, being unbiased in introspection) that as with the OPs point of not truly internalizing something despite agreeing logically that "X should be this way", I'm not sure I could truly internalize looking at things in a positive light.
It was when I got into industry, and instead was posed with the equation of "If I didn't rush, I would have done better work, and more effectively used the time of the people paying me", which had enough external variables that the need to change became pressing. I used (and still use) the feelings of guilt at wasting my bosses time, the feelings of falling behind in my skill/learnings, and dominatingly (as I get older) the feeling of "There just isn't enough time in the day" to force myself off of procrastination every time I notice myself doing it too much.
Take this with the context that I've never been one for positive reinforcement. Seeing my own flaws and failings drives me far more than getting a pat on the back. I think you hit the nail on the head re: rationality, as that I don't think I _could_ forgive myself even if I tried, I wouldn't really internalize believing it in a way that would impact my behavior.
(And aptly, I've now procrastinated enough in writing this, and need to be back to reading docs :) )