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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

#331

Post by adenverd »

prawn wrote: post #67
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 '…

Came here to suggest Streaks, I've been using it for a few months now. My favorite features are:

- Streaks that track Apple Health data. Really nice job with the integration. I use this for tracking daily calorie, macronutrient, and workout goals.

- "X times per week" streaks. I take rest days from working out, so it's nice to have an abstraction that doesn't treat them as failures or breaking the streak.

I guess I should go give you guys a good app store review now. Thanks for making this!

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#332

Post by closeparen »

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…

Reminds me of an idea from Ira Glass's lecture circuit: as you learn a craft, you develop the taste to recognize that your own work is crap long before you get good enough to satisfy your own standards. You just have to push through and trust that it eventually ends.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#333

Post by sinsterizme »

Mirioron wrote: post #146
keiferski wrote: post #87

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…

What you're thinking of is delayed gratification. An eagle doesn't have to force itself to go hunt, because physiological processes tell it that it needs to hunt. It's the same reason you don't have to psych yourself up to go have lunch - your body desires lunch. Humans have evolved to sometimes delay their gratification. That is, we don't hunt and eat our catch immediately, but instead we hunt and preserve the food…

I think what he's talking about is different than delayed gratification, although they might coincide together frequently.

For example, consider animals that bury their food. This is an example of a delayed gratification process that happens naturally.

Also consider the act of striving for monetary wealth. This is an example which I don't think is tied to delayed gratification, but rather of seeking fulfillment within our current social system.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#335

Post by SlowMo22 »

Hi, I'm wondering what reasoning for getting banned for describing this as a "1st world problem." Not only down-voted but my comment completely disappeared (not only faded out but gone from the page.) Isn't that a violent reaction to a very ordinary exercise in free speech?

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#336

Post by whiddershins »

SlowMo22 wrote: post #335

Hi, I'm wondering what reasoning for getting banned for describing this as a "1st world problem." Not only down-voted but my comment completely disappeared (not only faded out but gone from the page.) Isn't that a violent reaction to a very ordinary exercise in free speech?

I wasn’t there for that but you aren’t gone, you are on the second page. You might not have showdead enabled? Or not realized you are on the second page?

People likely downvoted you because they didn’t feel the comment contributed to the discussion. They may also have felt it was dismissive or likely to cause acrimony.

I think it’s best not to take this stuff personally. It’s take a lot of effort to maintain a high level of discussion on Hacker News, and people try to help out by downvoting comments that seem to need downvoting.

I’ve had comments downvoted and even flagged. I felt upset at first, but then I just decided to view my communication skills as a work in progress.

It’s not a big deal, in the end.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#337

Post by asiachick »

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 wish that worked for me. I get up, don't feel like exercising. Do it anyway, 5-6 mins in say "fuck this" and stop.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#338

Post by etcher »

LeftHandPath wrote: post #253
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…

It’s so amazing how making it easy to get started is basically priming your brain to complete the task. I’ve gotten fit by hanging up a chin-up bar on a spare door frame. When I had a trainer, I was always amazed at what I could accomplish - even on days when I swore I felt dead in the morning - just by getting there and starting. I’ve gotten good at coding by keeping my IDEs of choice in the taskbar and working on s…

> The lower you set the barrier to entry, for a given activity, the better a chance you give yourself to actually complete that activity later.

Indeed, same reason why some people sleep with their gym shorts on so they are already dressed for exercise in the morning.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#339

Post by etcher »

rconti wrote: post #276
heinrichhartman wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I read a book called 80/20 running, that pointed out that most of us run most of our runs too fast. It made a huge difference in my training, to run at (say) 60% of my pace most of the time instead of 90% as most of us do. I felt better, I enjoyed it more, it created less anxiety to start a run, I recovered faster, and I could log more miles per week.

I feel when you push yourself too hard it will make you look less forward to your next workout. Best to end on a good/interesting note similar to how TV episodes do - making you want to come back for more.

Re: Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

#340

Post by [deleted] »

bemmu wrote: post #127
agumonkey wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I toyed with this feeling. Not to repeat the dopamine theory we see everywhere.. but it feels that most of the web really ends up in the low hanging easy pleasure of our brain, and any moment of struggle will tickle that reflex. And when you ignore/fight it for a second... You (at least I) can sense blood pressure change in my brain and then the thinking side of my head goes back into rhythm again. Thinking is a plea…

Can relate to that ”moment of struggle”. Thinking about stopping the use of any dev tools that don’t have instant feedback, as having to wait a few seconds for something (currently deploying to google app engine mostly) makes me instantly alt-tab to reddit.

[deleted]
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