Read all about it here: http://waitbutwhy.com/2016/03/my-ted-talk.html
Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later
101–110 of 198 posts
Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
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!
Well, there's also the scarier point made at the end of the talk that a lot of procrastinators find a way to get through life by using deadline pressure to trigger productivity, but that while this can seem like a perfectly functional, if gut-wrenching, system, it actually leads to long-term life problems that are hard to notice until it's too late to do anything about them.
Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later
#103One 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…
> 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.
I've done this for as long as a can remember, in all aspects of life.
In my mind, there's nothing more pitiful than a person who tries his best and fails. Because that's the last thing I wish for, I rarely put much effort in things that I know could fail. When I do put a lot of effort, I usually don't make it known and act as if it was trivial.
In the end, the only work I'm proud to share with people is the one I never actually started. I've been chasing the same vision/ideal for more than 10 years, told everyone about it, and still haven't accomplished a thing. Fortunately, having done nothing prevents it from being a failure (in my mind), and the expected outcome is so great that nobody expects actual results anyways.
Now if only there was a fix that didn't involve a downgrade from thinker to doer.
Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later
#104One 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…
Unfortunately I have observed exactly the described behaviour on myself from time to time. You have also described the thoughts I have regarding this. Sometimes I procrastinate to prevent possible negative outcome of things I am not sure if I am able to solve them and focus on things I am certain I am able to instead. I am someone who gets up late and I feel way too happy if am able to be on time while getting up late.
Can anyone provide more information regarding this?
Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later
#105For a counterintuitive remedy, I'd suggest this: get busier. Have more stuff going on in your life. Pick up a hobby or two. Take on more projects. Busy people don't have time to procrastinate. Your projects, like gasses, will expand to fill the free time allotted to getting them done. So give yourself less time to get them done. Structure your time. Have at least two or three things of significance to worry about eac…
"If you want something done, ask a busy person" - Ben Franklin
Or, have kids: http://todaymix.com/picture/1631-returning-to-work-after-a-l...
Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later
#106This post hits too close to home. I suffered through this and was the worst during my Masters. I wrote my masters thesis in about two sleepless days. It was the worst period in my life.
I was alarmed, so I went to a psychiatrist and diagnosed me as ADHD, and the stimulants worked wonderfully until I started feeling the long term effects : chronic dry mouth leading me to losing one teeth, insufferable tiredness when not on my meds, and many other to mention.
Recently, my mother has being going trough chemo, and one night when she wasn't using her supplemental oxygen I put it on and went to sleep. In the morning I was my old self.
Went to a sleep center and realized that it was sleep apnea all along decreasing my motivation, my will to do things, my libido. I felt like a 70 year old in the body of a 30 year old.
Such a simple, drug-free solution to my life's woes.
Just putting it out there.
Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you keep a simple list of things to finish? Whenever you think of something that needs to be done, jot it down. Carry that black book everywhere. See if that works.
I am horrible at lists and calendars. Even if I start keeping a Todo list or an organized calendar or Evernote ideas log, I just stop paying attention to the list eventually. I see how coworkers are constantly looking at their calendar, and that's just confusing to me.
Me too. I just stopped trying to follow any productivity technique time ago, because all of them ask you a minimum of discipline and consistency, and I'm too chaotic for that.
So I just try to be responsible and get the job done.
(Well, I sometimes keep a todo list of features/bugs I have to do/fix, but not as a task list I have to follow, but as a backup memory)
Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you mind sharing more about this AI assistant? I'm very curious about it.
Similar to habitrpg (great link!) basically when you talk to people they will sometimes ask you to perform a task. In the case of your manager that can happen often :-) And that task might have a number of sub-tasks that it includes. In RPG games, like WoW and others, the user interface lets you open up your current "quests" and on each quest you can get details about how much of the quest you have done. That is call…
I would say that is possible with the technology we have today. Even if it would not be the same as what one would call an AI, you do not need it to be intelligent. I say it is enough if the user is.
If you want an intelligent todo list I suggest taking a look at something like taskwarrior[1]. It is rather powerful and really fast. It is a console application though.
Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later
#109Accept imperfection. Get a shitty version out of the way as fast as you can. Make incremental improvements from there. Or don't. A "D" is better than an "F".
Re: Ask HN: Can't concentrate to focus, until it's last minute or later
#110Maybe you turn away from your procrastinating for moment, open the editor window, type two or three lines, and then go back to procrastinating. I bet this happens a few times throughout the day.
Just as you are typing the three lines and turning back to procrastinating, how do you feel?