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Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later

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Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later

#71

Post by underwater »

This is completely normal.

It does get better. Though in my case I'm not sure whether it's because I got older or because I landed a job that I find fulfilling.

In the short term try the Pomodoro technique. It's easy enough get started and it works.

Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later

#72

Post by brightball »

I've found freedom.to has personally be a huge help to me. I'm bad at transitioning and tend to "check something" between tasks. This has largely fixed the problem for me.

YMMV of course, but for me it was a huge help especially because it fixed the iPhone channel too.

Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later

#74

Post by house9-2 »

Besides the great suggestions already on this thread: sleep, exercise, diet and meditation;

- Consider getting a job where you pair program the majority of the time, this will completely change your ability to focus as you are in a partnership with another human to get things done.

- Alternatively, try using the 'Pomodoro Technique' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique

Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later

#75

Post by grok2 »

As yet another variation of the "something might be physically wrong with me" theme, please have yourself tested for thyroid issues if you feel yourself feeling foggy when trying to tackle something and if that is the cause of your procrastination. Low levels of some thyroid hormones can result in this condition of feeling a "brain-fog". It is simple to get tested for and is a relatively common problem and in most cases is a simple fix.

Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later

#76

Post by hoodwink »

raldi wrote: post #65
tirade wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thought I'd never bother with a TED talk again, but having now spent the 14 minutes watching this one, I think you've actually oversold it. It's 10 minutes restating the OP's problem (the urge to procrastinate with what is easy and fun until time pressure and fear provide enough motivation to finally work) with the visual of a funny monkey. Worse, the last 4 minutes is just the speaker throwing up his hands and sayin…

I never said anything about solutions.

Agreed. Unfortunately the solution to procrastination is unlikely to be found in a 14 minute TED Talk. However, I hoped that the OP could find some solace in recognizing that he is not inherently worse than other people. Procrastination is part of the human condition!

Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later

#77

Post by distracted828 »

When you start looking for jobs, only join a company that does TDD and pair programming. Ask about this in interviews.

TDD helps you break down tasks and, when you lose focus, you can regain it by re-running your test suite and seeing which test fails.

Pair programming help you because:

- They'll tend to have closer to a 10-6 schedule rather than encouraging you to stay up late.

- When talking through the problem with a colleague, you break the task down more easily and get through whatever mental block you have.

- You can't get distracted when someone else is right there.

It may be harder to find a company that does this because many folks think that they can move faster if they build something the "quick and dirty" way. "Quick and dirty" doesn't exist for you. "Quick and dirty" means that the project either fails outright or is one that you start procrastinating on until you get fired.

Take a look at the book The Clean Coder (http://www.amazon.com/The-Clean-Coder-Professional-Programme...). It talks about procrastination and how to overcome it.

For a practical introduction to TDD, I'm a fan of Test-Driven Web Development with Python. It is Free. http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1234000000754

Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later

#78

Post by intrasight »

Sure do. Do now, which is why I'm here ;) Just stop reading and responding to HN and your life will improve immensely. But seriously, if you have no self-control against web distractions, then either: a. disable those sites all together (using opendns.org for example) b. set router rules so that you only have access to those sites for 10 minutes every hour (sort of an enforced Pomodoro) If you are just bored, then go do something more interesting/challenging.

Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later

#79

Post by ljf »

One thing I've noticed is that in some people procrastination is some sort of protection system. (Not saying this is what op has, just a discussion point)

They seem to feel that most tasks in life are a bit beneath them (of course I can do this course work / assignment / deliver this project / get great grades / ace this interview - I don't really need to try). Then they keep waiting and waiting until there is little time left to do the work. If they get praise/good grade/the job they have proof that they are cleverer than most and can knock work out in no time. If they fail, well it's because they didn't try that hard, so their ego isn't damaged.

Anyone else noticed this kind of procrastination? Since realising it I've noticed it more and more in people around me.

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