Procrastination should be solved by lighting fires, not filling buckets

One thing might be fun to make (a little beyond me at the moment) is an app where you upload some Rspec (or other testing solution) test that will run every X hours, and you CANNOT shut it off. If the test fails it sends to your mobile phone and email address the test results. The only way to get the messaging to stop is to get the test to pass.

Thoughts?

I don't think you need an app for this at all.

What I've started doing is just printing a calendar and writing down whatever I've accomplished that day - sort of a reverse to-do list.

Looking at whatever I did yesterday reminds me of how I felt after finishing those tasks, and looking at blank spots does make me feel guilty (but not quite as overwhelmed as looking at a long to-do list).

I have the same experience as you and the author. Chrome extensions with timers such as StayFocusd have not worked for me. I just disable it or use firefox or something.

What if the user had to enter a predetermined answer to the question prompt in order to continue? By making the user actually type something that they themselves chose the prompt becomes more powerful.

>Then again, you could structure things so that workers are at the top of the corporate hierarchy, and have hiring/firing power over people they get to manage them... but not even co-ops tend to do this, and I'm not sure why.

I... have wanted to do this. I have not, in part because I can't afford someone with middle-management experience, and in part because I don't have the middle-management experience required to tell if someone is good at middle-management.

We've had many discussions about this within the company. My buddy suggested a 'babysitter' while my dad suggested a 'mom'

But yeah, that's the thing... middle-management can be effective as 'chair kickers' - Hey, Luke, get back to work. but... I think that middle management generally gets in the way when it comes to decision making... and there's no way I'm letting a non-technical hire (or fire) technical people.

Now, other people have said that what you are proposing is common in the business world; they are called secretaries. But... I think that's a different dynamic. As the other comment said, "more like an olympic coach" - I don't want someone to make me more comfortable... I want someone to push me. I mean, especially when I hire people who aren't good friends already? there's a problem. They don't want to say bad things to me about my behavior. They'll criticize other employees, but not me. I mean, I'm sure it's a problem that can be overcome.

Of course, I know other people who just don't need external guidance. There really isn't any need for middle management with those folks... they just do it. For those people? Management is largely unnecessary. Unfortunately, I seem to be in the majority here; I get a lot more done under a manager, usually; though personality-wise, like many technical people, I chafe but hard when someone I see as less technically capable than myself tells me what to do. It's a problem I need to solve... or I need to start working for other people again. You can only coast on the strengths of your hires for so long (especially if you can't pay enough to /keep/ those hires for that long.)

Actually, thinking about this, I think I might actually institute a 'person X is middle manager for day Y on department Z' policy with people I have now, where X isn't a particularly senior person.

Problem is that he'll be numb to those prompts after a week (been there, etc.).

Try meditation. It works.