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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

#291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your argument is a bit contradictory: I can skip one day of work just like I can skip 1 workout ("nothing bad will happen"). However, I am pretty sure there are dire/severe consequences to not maintaining your physical health over time [1], just like there are if you do not perform at work. 1 - https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/about-physical-activity...

If nothing happens when you skip one day of work, perhaps you should work less or be fired. In important jobs, not working stalls processes and sometimes even endangers lives.

This feels like grasping at straws here: How do you handle acute illness? Do you just "push through" and potentially get your coworkers sick, all while cranking out sub-par work?

Further, should I be fired or reduce my schedule if I am hospitalized after a car-accident, or require a surgical intervention like the one I 'skipped' 7 days of work to have done?

...The logic of your argument just really doesn't compute, but I may just be missing something.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#292

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…

Sometimes I have a really hard time to start working on some tasks and I think it is linked to anxiety and stress, not mere laziness . As long as there are no big expectations (like when exercising), I have usually no procrastination issues.

I've faced that issue. Not totally solved it. I found some help in a YouTube channel on ADHD in a couple of videos from "How to ADHD" titled "wall of awful." That gave some good ideas to make it past that point and start.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#293
post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People ask me why I take cold showers regularly, post to my blog daily, and never miss my burpee-based twice-daily calisthenics over more than a decade (approaching 150,000 cumulative burpees). Among many reasons, developing the skill to do what I said I would is tremendously valuable. Without these habits, I lacked discipline and thought to avoid tricks, which I thought of as short-term cheats. The habits developed…

Interesting. Can you elaborate? What kind of tricks?

I think his trick is to do what ever he said he would do. So it sounds like holding himself accountable.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Body-You will say anything to get what it wants, including “We don’t have time.” I’m calling it Body-You but, at least for me, it’s really a collection of parts of my mind that are against the action. As for the “lying”, Body-You knows it is not a lie but doesn’t care. If You believes You is lying, Body-You is more than happy to use that as yet another excuse.

Personally I call these two people the "Planner" and the "Doer". Neither of them start out with bad intentions, but only one of them has to actually do things in the present moment, so resentment can definitely build up between the two.

Feels like higher mind vs primitive mind

https://waitbutwhy.com/2019/08/fire-light.html

Loong but great read

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#295

>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 absolutely works for me. I call it the 'zeroth draft'.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#298

I have a nagging feeling that any time we have to force ourselves to do a task, something is wrong at a fundamental level; that we are somehow out-of-tune with nature; that contemporary society is missing a key insight about our minds and the way we organize our work. An eagle doesn't force itself to hunt for food; it just hunts. I can't imagine it having to psych itself up simply to be. Looking for and harnessing th…

I completely get you. You also mentioned that it is easier said than done.

Someone asked an Indian guru that what would happen if Jesus had a second coming now. The Indian guru replied that in old days Jesus was able to gather 12 dedicated followers. Today he will not be able to gather even 1 because of student loans and 30 year mortgages.

This sums it up. Even if something is very close to my heart and I don't need any motivation to do it, my first thought is "Will I earn some money from it". I suppose it is the same for a lot of people

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#299

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…

In 2014, I ran 5km every morning. 356 days. I hated every single one of these runs. I did get better at it, but I did not end up enjoying it. Certainly was never "feeling amazing". Eventually dropped the habbit. Now spending more time in the Gym and on the Bike.

Try running further.

At 5k your body is only just about warmed up - I never really enjoy a run until after the 5k mark, it gets easier after that point

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#300

>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…

Make it work, make it right, make it fast [1]. This has helped me tremendously in my programming career and especially in my side projects, where I have very limited time and energy. Its a solid strategy for breaking down complex work.

[1]: https://wiki.c2.com/?MakeItWorkMakeItRightMakeItFast

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