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Ask HN: Weekend wasted again

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Re: Ask HN: Weekend wasted again

#61

Post by reitanqild »

boyter wrote: post #11

Genuine question here. Why is it that some lack the discipline to just do things that they want to do? Its a common theme that appears in most books (heck Just Fucking Ship is a whole book on this) and I have noticed this over time with different people but never understood it. Is there a psychological reason behind this? Is it something that needs to be overcome with the ways listed here? I guess what I am asking is…

If this is not a problem for you then good for you : )

For some of us it is a constant struggle.

My biggest contributors for this specific thing (weekend procrastination) are probably:

* fear of investing a lot of time without being able to finish (I get interrupted all the time outside of work). This might sound stupid, but it is really draining me to the point where when I was younger and not married I'd go to bed shortly after work, wake up and go to the office in the middle of the night just to get something I wanted to do done.

* fear of failure, coupled with perfectionism, leading to hesitation while I wait or even more dangerous, search for the perfect solution. I worked my way towards "sloppiness", telling myself it is only a draft, I can always get back to it later etc. Helpful resources: "Cult of Done" http://www.manifestoproject.it/bre-pettis-and-kio-stark/ as well as "The Now habit" by Neil Fiore.

Now for anyone who doesn't struggle: there is nothing here (unless you want to be a good boss that happens to magically make people like us output more good stuff in shorter time while enjoying work).

Re: Ask HN: Weekend wasted again

#62

Post by rabidrat »

reflexive wrote: post #18
boyter wrote: post #11

Genuine question here. Why is it that some lack the discipline to just do things that they want to do? Its a common theme that appears in most books (heck Just Fucking Ship is a whole book on this) and I have noticed this over time with different people but never understood it. Is there a psychological reason behind this? Is it something that needs to be overcome with the ways listed here? I guess what I am asking is…

> Why is it that some lack the discipline to just do things that they want to do? If I find myself unable to do the things I want to do, I have to ask: do I really want to do these things, or do I just want to want to do them? Let's say I'm convinced I need to learn a new programming language / library, and study to interview for a new job. But is this new language or new job really the thing that's missing in my lif…

And then some of us look back over two decades of half-finished projects, and think, "Wow, many of these Xes were really cool, I wish I had just sucked it up and finished a few of the Xes, even though at the time all I wanted to do is start yet another project like Y".

The real issue is that some humans have a harder time integrating their short-term and long-term desires.

Re: Ask HN: Weekend wasted again

#63

Post by jpindar »

source99 wrote: post #38
nautical wrote: post #28

This is what I have done : using password generator to have a password I cant remember + 2fa . Auto destruct cookies in browser . It actually prevents me from trying to login to fb , gmail etc as its too much work . After some time now I have a control over my urge to login . And start working friday night or early saturday morning .

This is great! I usually block sites in my /etc/hosts file. It's not a ton of work to unblock them but it's enough that when I go to facebook and it doesn't load more often then not I will alt-tab back to my editor or something productive.

I use Leechblock, which lets you block sites at certain times of day, on certain days of the week, group sites to enable/disable them as a group, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Weekend wasted again

#64

Post by ArkyBeagle »

afarrell wrote: post #48
ArkyBeagle wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People actually do what they really want to do. If that is different from what they say they want to do, then you have your answer.

But what people want to do can repeately make them miserable. "want" is not that simple of a word.

The problem is that if they don't do it, I can't say they really want it. I can see being obsessed with something like that, but that seems separate somehow.

Re: Ask HN: Weekend wasted again

#65

Post by afarrell »

ArkyBeagle wrote: post #64
afarrell wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But what people want to do can repeately make them miserable. "want" is not that simple of a word.

The problem is that if they don't do it, I can't say they really want it. I can see being obsessed with something like that, but that seems separate somehow.

Can you say that they "desire" it then? How about saying that they "believe it would make them happier"?

Re: Ask HN: Weekend wasted again

#66

Post by rabidrat »

l33tbro wrote: post #35

I become productive based on deciding I'm going to do something. Pause on that word: decision. We all have impulses, wishes, desires, etc. But you're only ever going to progress when you stop, think about what you want, be realistic with if you can actually achieve that with everything else going in your life - then DECIDE that you are going to do it. Once you've decided, that is when you follow through every time (i…

In the past, I have followed through with what seemed like good decisions at the time. As the years went on, I started to have doubts that they were not-so-great decisions, but I continued to follow through anyway, because of my awesome willpower. I definitely got some things 'done', but in some instances, they were at best a colossal waste of energy, and at worst, actually ran counter to my true goals.

Life is a process of self-discovery and adaptation. I actually agree with you, that simple 'decision' carries immense power. But if that power is wasted or ill spent, then future uses of that power carry a pall of distrust, which makes the power harder to use.

I cannot find the quote right now, but it is something like: "Some have inside themselves a volcano, and some have a glacier. Neither should take advice meant for the other."

I have a volcano in my heart, and I can spend many lifetimes spewing forth lava in all directions, for the ultimate good of no one. My lifelong struggle is to learn how best to focus that energy.

But be careful if you are a glacier, that you don't tell a younger version of myself to just start spewing in any direction. Likewise, I won't tell you to stop and make sure that you're moving in the right direction before you take any steps at all.

Re: Ask HN: Weekend wasted again

#67

Post by brazzledazzle »

boyter wrote: post #11

Genuine question here. Why is it that some lack the discipline to just do things that they want to do? Its a common theme that appears in most books (heck Just Fucking Ship is a whole book on this) and I have noticed this over time with different people but never understood it. Is there a psychological reason behind this? Is it something that needs to be overcome with the ways listed here? I guess what I am asking is…

Because there's really two different "wants". We "want" to be productive but we "want" to screw around all day browsing the web/playing video games. The former requires focus, effort and discipline while the latter requires none. How rewarding they are is commensurate with the amount of effort.

Re: Ask HN: Weekend wasted again

#68

Post by axonic »

464192002d7fe1c wrote: post #21

Not sure what HNs opinion of this will be.... I used to have similar issues. It was mostly down to procrastination and overwork/stress. Weekends were really bad since I was so busy/stressed from the week that I would get into an attitude of "i'll start doing it in an hour" and eventually it was so late that it was too late to get any work done. I had a lot to do, just very little impetus to do it now . Fixed it by st…

I wholeheartedly agree with setting goals for personal time, scheduling downtime and time with family, and pot. I caution however, as a non-24/running clock disorder/non diurnal individual who worked at night a lot in military and medicine, make sure you're strict with yourself about time and perhaps sey up a digital or analog reminder, a mental trigger to remind you of the currently active task. Plasma Workspaces are one way I stay on track and schedule driven RGB ambient lights which indicate my work mode so if I space out on engineering more disease resistant rice or using phages to kill Zika, I get an unmistakable reminder of what I -should- be doing, and also when to take breaks. Yarn on your finger, persistent Android notifications or whatever would also work.

Re: Ask HN: Weekend wasted again

#70

Post by jillav »

_jdams wrote: post #51
jillav wrote: post #40

What you need is basically to become more aware of the value of your time. Every day you get 86400 minutes offered to you. You can either not do anything with it or use it to accomplish your goals. Time is on of the only things you can't buy. Every one is equal on this level, this si the most precious and the most volatile ressource everyone has. But first you must define your goals precisely. So stop whatever you ar…

1440 minutes in a day :)

Indeed, my bad
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