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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

#311

Post by anthonypasq »

Mirioron wrote: post #174
keiferski wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm talking about something much deeper, more fundamental, than delayed gratification. For example: > Delayed gratification tends to lead to better outcomes in the long term These outcomes are mostly considered better because they are made in the context of the system we live in. Often they are only better in the sense that they solve a problem which the system caused in the first place. E.g. if you can delay the gra…

The thing is that this delayed gratification is what allowed modern society to appear in the first place. Without delayed gratification you can't have farming or housing. Both of which are vitally important for human survival in most places in the world. Humans, and probably all life, have a high time preference. We even have sayings about this in the form of "a bird in hand is better than two in the bush." My guess…

There are some people that would consider agriculture a step backwards.

Hunter gatherers had better social relationships and significantly more leisure time than modern humans.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#312

Post by gregoryl »

samsonradu wrote: post #306
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…

Without knowing the op’s condition (so take this with a grain of salt), I’d advise against running 5km each & every day as it could wear out your knees, specially running on harder terrain (as most do). For amateur practitioners it’s good to alternate different activities so that certain muscles get to recover.

Do you have some evidence to back that claim? I run long distances, and whilst I have been given repeated advice of this nature, I have never seen any actual evidence that this is a problem?

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#313

Post by zackmorris »

echelon wrote: post #19

I have ADHD, so this is a constant struggle. Make sure the thing you have to do is something you want to do. While you can procrastinate on the things you're truly interested in, ultimately you're more likely to follow through with the things that interest you than the other random tasks that require doing. Writing that design doc, report, or review at work? Meh. I drag my feet until I'm the last person in the office…

I wish we could switch. I had the same maker drive but something changed in me as I've gotten older and now I struggle with tasks. I could easily spend the rest of my life writing/reporting/reviewing/etc and never get any actual work done ever again. I know, it's crazy.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#314

Post by DrOctagon »

JshWright wrote: post #230
alexfoo wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couch to 5k (a.k.a. C25K) is a popular way to build up slowly and steadily. Once you're up to running 5k three times a week (which is roughly where the plan leaves you) you can limit both volume and max distance increases to 10% per week. I used to run 5-6 times a week with a usual volume of 50k/week so adding in another 1-2 gentle 5k recovery jogs to do a minimum of 5k every day wouldn't be difficult at all. But tha…

In my (totally unprofessional) opinion, C25K progresses too quickly for most people. It think the "None to Run" variant is better (and emphasizes that repeating weeks is normal, and even expected)

None to Run looks great! The slower the progression the better for beginning runners in my (also totally unprofessional) opinion too.

As a general comment, shin splints is the classic beginners too-much-too-soon running injury. Experienced runners get a whole range of other injuries, but rarely shin splints. The only time is after they take a break and try and come back too quickly (notice the pattern).

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#315

Post by srajabi »

jdsully wrote: post #305
achikin wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It reminds me of William McRaven quote: "If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed... If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. And by the end of the day, that one task completed, will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed w…

I know its not the point of the quote, but I can't believe I'm the only one who feels less comfortable in a made bed. Tightly tucked sheets feel so constricting.

I don't even understand how anyone would like it.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#316

Post by randomsearch »

cgriswald wrote: post #232
Valakas_ wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me that doesn't work because then I learn that "yeah you say just walking but we both know it will end up in running." What works instead is I promise I will walk. And then I actually only walk even if I feel like running. That way you will trust yourself. If I say "ok i go to the gym 30 mins. just for a quick training." Then even if I'm in the flow at minute 30, I stop and go home. Next time I remember that and…

I think the problem you have is that you don't know which 'you' is making the decisions. Let's call the 'tricking' you 'You' and the one you are tricking 'Body-You'. Then here is how the conversation goes: You: "Time to get up and run." Body-You: "Oh hell no. I'm tired. Plus we did a good job yesterday. And we have a lot to do today. Also, we don't want to over do it do we?" You: (sighs) "Fine. Let's at least walk fo…

Yeah, the key here is to set a minimum, not an absolute. “At least”. That’s what the original poster is missing.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#317

Post by randomsearch »

aazaa wrote: post #139

> Every small win is motivating. Every small win builds momentum. Momentum energizes. Starting small is an unreasonably good way to hack your brain. A book called "Tiny Habits" describes a system of behavior modification based on the idea: https://www.tinyhabits.com It gives the example of flossing. Instead of resolving to floss every night, resolve to floss one single tooth every night. It takes less than five secon…

Something I’ve learnt about fitness recently, and particularly recovery from injury, is that you have to push your body very very very slowly up. Much more slowly than I ever thought was necessary. And too much, back off. Gently gently catch the monkey.

Is it that you’ve discovered the mental equivalent of this attitude to physical training?

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#318

Post by axaxs »

These life hacks have never worked for me. I realized too late in life that I do my best work at night. I'm not sure if it's because I'm bored, or tired and my brain has slowed, or the news cycle has slowed down, but I can sit down at 10pm and pop out hundreds of lines of working code by 1am. If I ever have a large project to work on, I'd guess 70 percent of it is done after 9pm. Luckily, my company doesn't micromanage and as long as I write quality code on schedule everything works out.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#319

Post by randomsearch »

I’m generally good at avoiding procrastination. I have bad periods but months go by without me reading news or social media during work periods.

OTOH, a friend is the opposite. He’s the biggest procrastinator I know. Between us I don’t see an obvious explanatory factor. I would guess therefore that it’s something innate, perhaps a genetic factor. He just doesn’t seem to have the same discipline as me. The only thing I see that works for him is to have external pressure.

What I’m saying is - if you’re a super procrastinator like my friend, maybe all the tricks in the world won’t help you to be motivated without a real and pressing deadline. Compare yourself in those situations to your every day, see if there’s some insight there.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#320

Post by stevewodil »

InvisibleUp wrote: post #202

Procrastination is a tricky beast. I'm not going to discount advice like this, because it is helpful. But it is only one piece of the puzzle. There's a stark difference between "I don't quite feel like starting this yet, so I'll put it off for a little bit" and "I absolutely want nothing more than to start this but I can't force myself to", between laziness and a genuine inability to begin. Not to give medical advice…

Awesome article, I definitely relate to a lot of the things mentioned. Wondering if I have ADHD as well. I was always smart enough to make it through school without applying much effort, so perhaps it went undiagnosed..
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