Ask HN: Weekend wasted again

The best thing I did was get a hobby that got me out of the house. For me it is drone racing, but it could be jogging, swimming, or even go fly a kite.

Once I get back into the house, I've burned off some energy and can focus on my side project. For whatever reason if I sit in front of the computer all weekend I have a hard time getting started.

We all require some sort of forced schedules. Don't beat yourself too much about this.

Next weekend try this:

For every 55 min of YouTube/Facebook etc, put in 5 min of serious work. Just 5. But be disciplined about this schedule. Time yourself so that you don't do a minute more of the work!

Learn the schedule habit first.

I ban the time sinks like Reddit and Facebook till after the work is done whenever that is. But it's unrealistic to keep working all day without browsing internet even for a little while if you're addicted to clicking links. To solve that I allow myself visits to a number of sites that are updated (with new links/stories) less often. Vice and Snapzu, for example. I let myself visit them as many times as I want for as long as I want during work. Since these are "slower" kind of sites, you'll start spending more and more time with your own work rather than chasing clicks. By the time work is done and Reddit is unlocked you'll be so exhausted you'll only spend a little time on it. After a while this breaks your addiction to Reddit. The best part is you don't have to time your work time vs leisure time.

This entire thread is worth checking out: The "I want to do everything but end up doing nothing" dilemma: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9049208

Start working on a project Friday afternoon and well through the night. It sets the tone for the weekend.