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Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

deprocrastination.co

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Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#61

Post by Chris2048 »

onion2k wrote: post #20
ramblerman wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This idea is captured nicely in the book "Art and Fear" with the following anecdote: "The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroo…

Maybe this works for potters but I don't think it'd work for developers. If a compSci lecturer suggested one group would get an A for writing a perfect, bug free app and the other group would get an A for writing 50,000 lines of code, I wouldn't expect the group writing as much code as they could to make the best app.

One group writes as many tests as it can, the other one big integration test ;-)

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#62

Post by ak39 »

e19293001 wrote: post #29

I'd like to share this post[0]: The last two weeks I made it a goal to run 5km every morning. A few times, particularly today, I felt lazy and run down, but I got out of bed anyway and told myself that I'll at least walk. The next thing I know I'm running and feeling amazing and on to set one of my better times. The point: When you tell yourself "just one more game" or "just one more post", or "just one more video" a…

This indeed works. It is to in my experience the only way out of the mess.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#63

Post by danielbln »

tw1010 wrote: post #55
e19293001 wrote: post #29

I'd like to share this post[0]: The last two weeks I made it a goal to run 5km every morning. A few times, particularly today, I felt lazy and run down, but I got out of bed anyway and told myself that I'll at least walk. The next thing I know I'm running and feeling amazing and on to set one of my better times. The point: When you tell yourself "just one more game" or "just one more post", or "just one more video" a…

I used to be sceptical that the concept of overtraining was a thing, but it definitely is. Just saying that running every day consistently might not necessarily be good for you in the long run. Listen to your body.

Agreed, "listen to your body." is really important advice. I've been running every day without exception for 1252 days now, and there have been really slow, really short (2k) runs whenever I felt my body needed a bit more leeway for recovery. It takes some practice and it's not for everyone, but daily/streak running can be transformative (and was/is for me).

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#64

Post by cymantic »

ramblerman wrote: post #7
JonathanFly wrote: post #3

>Start sloppy >Another trick to start sloppy - you might have high expectations of your finished work. >You want to write a great book, not just a good one. Or create a stellar artwork, or start a great business. >All those expectations can put more pressure on you than you can bear, leading you to avoid it by procrastinating. >Instead, you can escape those expectations by starting deliberately badly. I use this one…

This idea is captured nicely in the book "Art and Fear" with the following anecdote: "The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroo…

I can’t remember the name of the ceramicist, but hearing him interviewed on Radio 4, his apprenticeship in (China|Japan) involved every pot he made being deliberately smashed at the end of the day for a year. A way to get over a fear of failure and to learn to keep repeating the process of learning.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#65

Post by MrPatan »

onion2k wrote: post #20
ramblerman wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This idea is captured nicely in the book "Art and Fear" with the following anecdote: "The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroo…

Maybe this works for potters but I don't think it'd work for developers. If a compSci lecturer suggested one group would get an A for writing a perfect, bug free app and the other group would get an A for writing 50,000 lines of code, I wouldn't expect the group writing as much code as they could to make the best app.

How about for writing the same app 5 times, no matter the quality of it? Is that a better analogy?

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#66

Post by kitd »

e19293001 wrote: post #29

I'd like to share this post[0]: The last two weeks I made it a goal to run 5km every morning. A few times, particularly today, I felt lazy and run down, but I got out of bed anyway and told myself that I'll at least walk. The next thing I know I'm running and feeling amazing and on to set one of my better times. The point: When you tell yourself "just one more game" or "just one more post", or "just one more video" a…

Agreed.

I have found myself paralysed by procrastination at times (normally when whatever project I'm currently on has lost its initial zing).

My strategy has become: Just do one task today, that's all. Doesn't matter how small. Leave the office feeling like you've done something productive.

My thought process then becomes, OK, let's do my one task early then I can browse Reddit/HN/wherever.

And of course, what happens is that that one task gives the ball its initial push, and becomes 2 tasks, or 3, or more.

It doesn't always work, but it helps take the expectations and guilt off yourself, and gives you space to breathe.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#67

Post by prawn »

andai wrote: post #9

Anyone tried using a chain calendar? I used an app that tracked how many days in a row I meditated and that's the first time in my life I was able to do a good habit consistently for 15 days straight. I didn't want to break the chain! Later I used the same idea for studying every day, started with a few minutes and worked it up slowly. Eventually, I was able to concentrate for long periods of time. That sense of mome…

We built an app* for this and use it ourselves - it's very effective. I have tasks for working (even a token amount) morning or night on a side project, working on the biggest roadblock task I have, and things like that. The app splits tasks into a "front six" and "back six" so I have six focused on work/business and then six focused on home (reading, trying to learn a language, etc).

I remember at one point having 'walk x steps' and 'read x minutes' as daily tasks, so I'd often be walking around the house while reading just before midnight to make sure I kept my streaks alive.

* https://streaks.app/ (iOS only)

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#68

Post by jakobegger »

tw1010 wrote: post #55
e19293001 wrote: post #29

I'd like to share this post[0]: The last two weeks I made it a goal to run 5km every morning. A few times, particularly today, I felt lazy and run down, but I got out of bed anyway and told myself that I'll at least walk. The next thing I know I'm running and feeling amazing and on to set one of my better times. The point: When you tell yourself "just one more game" or "just one more post", or "just one more video" a…

I used to be sceptical that the concept of overtraining was a thing, but it definitely is. Just saying that running every day consistently might not necessarily be good for you in the long run. Listen to your body.

A 5km run is probably between 30-45min activity. If you run at a medium pace, I don't think that would be an issue.

If run as fast as you can, I agree that you should take breaks.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#69

Post by notkaiho »

kitd wrote: post #66
e19293001 wrote: post #29

I'd like to share this post[0]: The last two weeks I made it a goal to run 5km every morning. A few times, particularly today, I felt lazy and run down, but I got out of bed anyway and told myself that I'll at least walk. The next thing I know I'm running and feeling amazing and on to set one of my better times. The point: When you tell yourself "just one more game" or "just one more post", or "just one more video" a…

Agreed. I have found myself paralysed by procrastination at times (normally when whatever project I'm currently on has lost its initial zing). My strategy has become: Just do one task today, that's all. Doesn't matter how small. Leave the office feeling like you've done something productive. My thought process then becomes, OK, let's do my one task early then I can browse Reddit/HN/wherever. And of course, what happe…

It doesn't always work, but at least you've done the one task. That's one thing you can tick off the to-do list, regardless of how productive your day has been otherwise.

As a lifelong realist (= pessimist) this is one of those things I struggle with too.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#70

Post by prawn »

kkwteh wrote: post #11

I use the small wins trick a lot. I start with the smallest win, which is writing down a small win on my todo list. Then, when I see the small task, I feel motivated to do it just so I can have the pleasure of checking it off my list. By that time, I'm usually on a pretty good roll and keep working.

Same. I do it when the dishes have piled up. Tell myself I'll just quickly do the easy ones, and then next thing I carry on and decide to do the biggest remaining dishes so the bench looks cleaner, and from there it's downhill and easy.
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