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How to Procrastinate Productively

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Re: How to Procrastinate Productively

#61

Post by Bjartr »

InitialLastName wrote: post #57
Bjartr wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the most damaging pieces of advice I ever received was "starting lots of things and not finishing them is bad". Rather than finish more things, I became wary of starting things. This did not improve my overall output, and in fact lost me the experience I would have gained from many started-but-unfinished projects. It's taken me years to unlearn this advice in practice. I especially take issue with calling out…

I prefer the mantra "One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off."[0] I take it as advice not to talk about anything that isn't finished, which spurs me to finish more things so I can talk about them. [0] Disclaimer: From a really old book, might be superseded by newer material (1 Kings 20:11)

To reinforce your point, the act of talking about a work-in-progress can actually give your brain a reward similar to actually finishing a that task, sapping your drive to finish things and increasing your drive to start more things, just so you can talk about them.

Re: How to Procrastinate Productively

#63

Post by mikestew »

otterpro wrote: post #55

I hadn't thought of coming to work/office early (6AM in this case), to work on personal project/hobbies. My thoughts on the benefits of this strategy: * One can actually look forward to going to work in the morning, knowing that something fun/interesting/passionate is waiting at the office. * Which leads to ... It motivates one to wake up early, which I had been struggling with. * One can avoid morning traffic/rush h…

It might be awkward and weird especially if the passion project is something that's not related to the occupation

It might also later be argued that your successful side-project belongs to the company since you used company resources to build it. I would get any agreement in writing so there are no misunderstandings later.

Re: How to Procrastinate Productively

#64

Post by wool_gather »

meko wrote: post #60
wool_gather wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> eventually the Pomodoros inevitably give way to extended sessions with flow. I have also found this to be a great way to trick my mind into working. Promise myself "just one" pomodoro, then I can go do something else. If I get that first session started, by the end of it I don't want to stop even for the five-minute break, and then next thing I know four pomodoros have gone by and, lo and behold, the opposite of th…

That's a good perspective. I drifted away from pomodoro's precisely because I found the intervals too be a bit too rigid and the breaks occurred when I'd be in the middle of something. Instead using one or more as a bootstrap for productivity is something I hadn't considered, but it seems obvious now.

I'll admit they kind of fade in and out of usefulness for me. But I always feel free to bleed into a break, too, if I'm right smack in the middle of something. I have found it important to actually take the break at some point, though. Timer rings, take a minute or two to finish the thought, then reset the timer for your break.

Re: How to Procrastinate Productively

#65

Post by InitialLastName »

Bjartr wrote: post #61
InitialLastName wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I prefer the mantra "One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off."[0] I take it as advice not to talk about anything that isn't finished, which spurs me to finish more things so I can talk about them. [0] Disclaimer: From a really old book, might be superseded by newer material (1 Kings 20:11)

To reinforce your point, the act of talking about a work-in-progress can actually give your brain a reward similar to actually finishing a that task, sapping your drive to finish things and increasing your drive to start more things, just so you can talk about them.

This.

Before I picked that up, I started a lot of things and talked a lot about them. Now for any endeavour I find myself making early decisions to push through and finish or move on ASAP. Among other things, it's meant far less time spent on books I don't actually want to be reading.

Re: How to Procrastinate Productively

#66

Post by swaggyBoatswain »

Bjartr wrote: post #50
shubhamjain wrote: post #12

At some point, you have to stop fiddling and finish what you started. Even if you procrastinate productively, spending ten minutes on a musical instrument, then another ten on reading an article, and then delving somewhere else is marginally better than binging on Youtube and Netflix. The constant context switching prevents you from going deep. All you gain is superficial knowledge. This, in my opinion, the bad "good…

One of the most damaging pieces of advice I ever received was "starting lots of things and not finishing them is bad". Rather than finish more things, I became wary of starting things. This did not improve my overall output, and in fact lost me the experience I would have gained from many started-but-unfinished projects. It's taken me years to unlearn this advice in practice. I especially take issue with calling out…

I prefer starting as many projects as I possibly can, because it gives me an endless amount of interesting things to work on. Same with writing as well, dumping things on hackernews is just potential draft blog material to write about later

My view is to go all in or not at all. Nobody rewards you for doing a half-assed job. Having many side projects lets you pinpoint one that's particularly interesting and push it to the limit.

Re: How to Procrastinate Productively

#67

Post by swaggyBoatswain »

This sounds kind of like me. I don't use things like pomodoros, I find it distracts me too much. I embrace my procrastination habits. It is like ADHD, I just go wandering mindlessly through youtube, some specific subreddits, hackernews, etc. Its not a waste of time for me because I'm learning about new technologies, software, tools, content, etc that helps me in my job and personal life. I never view anything I do for fun as a waste of time.

I have 3 cycles in personal productivity.

1) When I intentionally let my mind wander freely -> When I deep dive into a huge number of breath first content in multiple industries. I watch many documentaries,youtube videos, read news,etc and I have systems for collecting which information I've read or seen

2) Focused on one task -> Depth first approach, deep diving and learning one specific topic very well. Or working on a side project and nothing else. I try and make this timeblock last a few hours long, because there's a startup/warm up time in getting "in the zone".

3) When my mind needs a break -> play something like rocket league, ASMR, walking around for a bit, stretching, getting food, etc

At the start of my day, I usually do steps (1) (2) and (3) in order. As the day progresses I tend to focus on (2)

Re: How to Procrastinate Productively

#69

Post by therealdrag0 »

kanishkdudeja wrote: post #41
pdpi wrote: post #35

Strategy #4: Realise that procrastination might not just be a bad habit you can lifehack your way around. It may well be a symptom of an anxiety disorder, and you need to get that thing checked.

Yes. Generally, excessive procrastination has been linked with ADHD.

What about ADD?
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