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Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

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Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#111

Post by whysonot »

scottcha wrote: post #108

Personally I find it less about the techniques and more about framing the problem correctly. For example everything you mention are just subjects (means to an end) but you haven't told us what the end you are most passionate about is. I find college isn't well set up for this and I fell in to the same trap as you, lots of activities but very little focus. It took me years but eventually I started focusing on what the…

I struggled a lot with what OP describes and focusing on outcomes is something that has helped me a lot. Another slightly less intimidating way to describe this might be focusing on projects instead of skills. So the outcome doesn't have to be some grand, world-shaking innovation, it might just be the completion of some "thing" that you enjoyed making.

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#112

Post by lloeki »

inanutshellus wrote: post #102

LifeHacker had a pretty great article that helped me a lot that was about Jerry Seinfeld's secret to his success as a comedian, and it's entirely apropos: http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-se... FTA: He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker. He said for each day that I do my task of…

lift.do (now coach.me) used to implement that in a dead simple manner. To monetize, they pivoted from a "chain tracker" w/ reminders and (optional) social props to a social and coaching solution, so I don't know if this feature is still there.

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#113

Post by seanv »

I have a similar problem, I'm a business owner and see all kinds of new opportunities pop up all the time. In my early twenties I bounced around from new shiny idea to the next, generally seeing the process or project 80% through before jumping to the next one, I had some interesting results, but none of them were the home run.

I view that time now as a learning experiment in what just doesn't work, you need to focus to succeed. And not just 'focus' in the mental sense, but focus in the 'reduce the amount of projects' kind of focus.

That focus is goal setting; needs specific dates and measurable actions attached, not just dreams or desire.

Another resource that represented the next phase for me in my business and personal life is the book Essentialism, it's become somewhat of a productivity bible for me, the PRINCIPLES behind focus are extremely important...

Learning to say "No" to projects is tough because starting them is always more fun then finishing our current ones.

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#114

Post by ThreeAs »

inanutshellus wrote: post #102

LifeHacker had a pretty great article that helped me a lot that was about Jerry Seinfeld's secret to his success as a comedian, and it's entirely apropos: http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-se... FTA: He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker. He said for each day that I do my task of…

Makes me think of that submit tracker on github.

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#115

Post by hhm »

inanutshellus wrote: post #102

LifeHacker had a pretty great article that helped me a lot that was about Jerry Seinfeld's secret to his success as a comedian, and it's entirely apropos: http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-se... FTA: He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker. He said for each day that I do my task of…

Interestingly, Seinfeld denied having invented this technique: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1ujvrg/jerry_seinfeld_...

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#117

Post by maaku »

You need a system external to yourself to guide your choices day to day. I recommend reading Getting Things Done by David Allen, and The Now Habit by Neil Fiore. These books might help you develop such a system.

(Specifically, Getthing Things Done is a good system for thinking strategically about what you need done, and The Now Habit keeps you working on the plan rather than getting distracted.)

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#118

Post by gutnor »

inanutshellus wrote: post #102

LifeHacker had a pretty great article that helped me a lot that was about Jerry Seinfeld's secret to his success as a comedian, and it's entirely apropos: http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-se... FTA: He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker. He said for each day that I do my task of…

That is actually a practical implementation of the age long() wisdom that you need discipline, not motivation to succeed in various long term endeavour. My personal trick, for stuff I really don't like is to allocate a 30 min chunk a day to them. Does not seem much, sometimes it is just enough time for a few google search, but slowly to start accumulating time and after a few weeks, those 30 min are sealed in your routine and not going anywhere.

Google "Discipline vs Motivation" for plenty of other self-help guides.

() Seemed to be common wisdom when I was a kid although discipline was not really pitted against motivation (like the reading my parent did of the story rabbit vs turtle was the turtle won by discipline), then it went away when I was a teen when motivation was the only path to success ("you can become anything if you really want it"), and it only seems to be back in fashion recently.

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#119

Post by michaelmachine »

Check out "Getting Results the Agile Way: A Personal Results System for Work and Life" it was really helpful for me.

The most important thing for me in life has been focus. Pick 3 big goals for the year, 3 big goals for the month. At the start of the week pick 3 goals for the week. And each day pick 3 goals for the day.

You have to pick goals that you can accomplish in the time frame, and a limit of 3 makes it easy to keep the goals in your head.

The important thing is to always be moving towards something you think is important, and say no to the other things.

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#120

Post by cpplinuxdude »

I'm a slow reader. As a result I am extremely selective with what I read. This has probably turned out to be one of my greatest assets to date.

Also don't feel bad for forgetting an entire module. It means you watched it passively, rather than actively tried to solve problems using the knowledge you had acquired.

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