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Ask HN: How do you create productive habits?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you create productive habits?

#21

Post by wallflower »

sdenton4 wrote: post #7

I keep this on my desk, in a spot where my eyes land whenever my head starts to wander: https://bwitzenhausen.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/butler-wal... "First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won't. Habit is persistence in practice."

> [The] idea — that your emotions about doing something must fall in line in order for you to actually do the thing — is what much of the existing motivational advice is based on, and yet it’s not entirely true

> You don’t have to feel like getting something done in order to actually get it done.

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/04/this-is-the-best-advice...

Re: Ask HN: How do you create productive habits?

#22

Post by secfirstmd »

pdq wrote: post #13

Pomodoro technique [1]. Break your time/tasks into 25-minute chunks, where you focus on a single task (no context-switching, pauses, breaking). Rinse, repeat. I use Flat Tomato on the iPhone, and I can track how many pomodoros I complete each day/month, which gives a good feedback as to my goal tracking. [1] http://caps.ucsd.edu/Downloads/tx_forms/koch/pomodoro_handou...

Used this and found it very useful!

Re: Ask HN: How do you create productive habits?

#23

Post by Mz »

For me, this typically involves a lot of analysis as to what the obstacles are. There are typically multiple things conspiring to turn me into a slacker and it doesn't generally work to just knuckle down and do it. Figuring out the underlying causes and addressing those is what works for me.

So, you might try spending some time asking yourself 'Why?' x, y or z is failing to get done. Be really honest with yourself. Don't tell yourself anything PC. Then, if you still want to get it done, solve those issues first.

Re: Ask HN: How do you create productive habits?

#25

Post by bbcbasic »

sdegutis wrote: post #18
jseliger wrote: post #16

Have something I really, really want to do, and do that thing until it's done. Sort of the top idea in your mind: http://paulgraham.com/top.html .

This is difficult when you have 3 things that all tie for #1, and since they need to be sorted into #1 through #3, that sorting isn't stable sorting, so each time you mentally sort it, they might end up in another order. So #1 changes all the time.

If they tie just make an arbitrary decision. E.g. pick the least fun one. Or more analysis on which should win if that is appropriate.

Re: Ask HN: How do you create productive habits?

#26

Post by stevewillows »

secfirstmd wrote: post #22
pdq wrote: post #13

Pomodoro technique [1]. Break your time/tasks into 25-minute chunks, where you focus on a single task (no context-switching, pauses, breaking). Rinse, repeat. I use Flat Tomato on the iPhone, and I can track how many pomodoros I complete each day/month, which gives a good feedback as to my goal tracking. [1] http://caps.ucsd.edu/Downloads/tx_forms/koch/pomodoro_handou...

Used this and found it very useful!

If you have a Pebble, Solanum is fantastic.

Re: Ask HN: How do you create productive habits?

#28

Post by samstokes »

Beeminder (https://www.beeminder.com/overview#how_beeminder_works) has been life-changing for me, taking me from zero to working out 3x/week and meditating 4x/week, and currently helping me learn to blog more regularly.

It's in the same category (habit formation) as Daisy and Streaks but with a somewhat power-usery focus. You commit to any number of quantifiable goals (e.g. "work out three times a week for the next 6 months"), it reminds you to stay on track, and if you fall behind, actually charges you money. The idea is to tie your long-term goal ("work out regularly") to your short-term sense of immediate priority ("work out today or it'll cost ya").

One of the reasons it works for me is that it fits with a flexible schedule. I don't have to work out at 8am every Monday; I just have to work out sometime early in the week. I can build up a "backlog" and "spend" it later. Conversely if I have a crappy week and let habits slide, it reminds me to make up for it the following week.

The Beeminder team also blogs regularly on the subject of habit formation and self-control - e.g. http://blog.beeminder.com/flexbind/ which goes into more detail on why they've designed the system the way they have.

Re: Ask HN: How do you create productive habits?

#29

Post by staunch »

Work on something you would be really excited to work on even if you were a retired billionaire. Great projects pull work out of you.

The important thing is not to fool yourself into working on something you think you're excited about but deep down are really not that excited about.

Re: Ask HN: How do you create productive habits?

#30

Post by muse900 »

Personally speaking, no apps helped me beat procrastination. What actually helped me a lot is figuring out that I am unhappy and depressed in my life and why is that. Once I figured that out I set for big changes, and stopped caring a lot for things that made me unhappy. I appreciated things I got, I started going on trips around the world and met my wife. After being happy in life I found my self in a very positive mood and very keen to explore things and not just sit in-front of a computer browsing youtube or other things that didn't help me in life.

Another thing that helped me a lot, although am a software engineer and I write code for a living, I said I'll only use computers, phones and whatsoever while I am at work. When am off work I am completely off tech, including TV. That forces me to enjoy time with my wife and go out do things, workout etc. Now of course this might not work if your goal is to make research or I don't know create app's per se or your own company. Although making sure that your hobby, goals, work whatever that is only takes part of your time a day and not the whole day tends to help into having a balanced life.

Good luck.

Edit: also something I forgot to mention those apps you mentioned might work for some people that like task specific programs etc, personally I find it that I couldn't program my life at all, I'd rather having it in a natural flow than having appointments with life, but thats just me, I see people that are quite happy with having a schedule.

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