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How to Make Yourself Work When You Just Don’t Want To

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Re: How to Make Yourself Work When You Just Don’t Want To

#51

Post by tzs »

chaz wrote: post #6

I have found the Pomodoro Technique ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique ) to be helpful. I can't do it for a whole day, but a short sprint to grind through something is a near, achievable goal. For extended, head-banging frustrations, it's helpful to step away, think about it without the distraction of the screen, and coming back at it with fresh eyes. The time AFK is not to be underestimated: http://ww…

It's interesting to note that the Pomodoro breaks, at least if you use the 25 minute interval most commonly recommended, fit in well with this recommendation from the Cornell Human Factors and Ergonomics Research Group [1]:

   Sit to do computer work. Sit using a height-adjustable,
   downward titling keyboard tray for the best work posture,
   then every 20 minutes stand for 2 minutes AND MOVE. The absolute
   time isn’t critical but about every 20-30 minutes take a posture
   break and move for a couple of minutes.  Simply standing is
   insufficient. Movement is important to get blood circulation
   through the muscles. And movement is FREE! Research shows that
   you don’t need to do vigorous exercise (e.g. jumping jacks)
   to get the benefits, just walking around is sufficient.
[1] http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/CUESitStand.html

Re: How to Make Yourself Work When You Just Don’t Want To

#52

Post by scotty79 »

chaz wrote: post #6

I have found the Pomodoro Technique ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique ) to be helpful. I can't do it for a whole day, but a short sprint to grind through something is a near, achievable goal. For extended, head-banging frustrations, it's helpful to step away, think about it without the distraction of the screen, and coming back at it with fresh eyes. The time AFK is not to be underestimated: http://ww…

Pommodoro Technique is so effective that instead of avoiding starting work I began to avoid starting pomodoro timer.

Re: How to Make Yourself Work When You Just Don’t Want To

#53

Post by NoahTheDuke »

desigooner wrote: post #37
chaz wrote: post #6

I have found the Pomodoro Technique ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique ) to be helpful. I can't do it for a whole day, but a short sprint to grind through something is a near, achievable goal. For extended, head-banging frustrations, it's helpful to step away, think about it without the distraction of the screen, and coming back at it with fresh eyes. The time AFK is not to be underestimated: http://ww…

Shameless plug for a site I created once: http://tomato-timer.com

I use that nearly every day. Thanks so much!

Re: How to Make Yourself Work When You Just Don’t Want To

#54

Post by marcosdumay »

bnegreve wrote: post #17
arjie wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because of the idea of ultimate goals vs. proximate goals. Greedy algorithms are poor ways of finding happiness. I know that I find work fulfilling. However, I don't like starting work. If I took your advice, my life would be far less pleasant (and not only materially).

That's how it should be, but I suspect that in most cases, people work simply because they are supposed to. E.g. (quoting the article) > If it is 2pm, then I will stop what I’m doing and start work on the report Bob asked for. What's the long term goal here? Being in good terms with Bob? Keeping your job? Are those the goals that you should care about?

> Are those the goals that you should care about?

Yep.

At the very least, you want to abandon your current job on your own terms, not by being fired. But keep in mind that even great jobs (including owning your business here) have boring tasks that must be fulfilled.

Re: How to Make Yourself Work When You Just Don’t Want To

#55

Post by nickthemagicman »

visakanv wrote: post #30
enscr wrote: post #28

All these sound interesting to read but none are really practical when it comes to implementing. To a large part, when things have to happen, somehow circumstances contrive you to accomplish it. These 'techniques' are rarely ground breaking for the true-to-the-spirit procrastinator. What works without fail is peer pressure or a stinging comment. Disclaimer : Personal experience, may not be generalizable.

I was watching Trainspotting with my wife the other day and it both amused and troubled at how the drug addicts' behavior reminded me of how I typically procrastinate. People vastly underestimate how elaborate, nuanced and complex the procrastinator mind can be.

Made me laugh but it's so true.

Re: How to Make Yourself Work When You Just Don’t Want To

#56

Post by super-serial »

edw519 wrote: post #43

What's next? "How to Make Yourself Have Sex When You Just Don't Want To" "How to Make Yourself Eat Krispy Kremes When You Just Don't Want To" "How to Make Yourself Love You Children When You Just Don't Want To" Here's a dirty little secret: You should have an emotional attachment to your work similar to the emotional attachment you have to having sex, eating Krispy Kremes, loving your children, or whatever else is yo…

That's the reason I've started 10 projects and finished 0 in the last year. I did awesome for the first few weeks starting a project, but then I don't "feel like" finishing.

Since I'm releasing nothing... I decided to take on smaller and smaller projects. Instead of making a mobile app, I'm now making a small plugin to release on CodeCanyon.net. I put all the CSS for the demo and the actual plugin in the same file to begin with, and now I don't "feel like" separating the demo's CSS in a separate file because it's frustrating and boring. I'd rather code new things than mess with this stupid CSS on a project that probably won't sell, that took way longer than it should have.

But this time I said I'm not doing any other project until I've finished this one. And now I've done absolutely nothing for 2 weeks(except my part-time job), and procrastinated by watching TV shows and studying Japanese.

As someone who always changes their opinion on "what should I really be working on" - I think I need something more than "asking the right questions." I'm still not sure what that is, but I'm hoping that one day I will find it.

Re: How to Make Yourself Work When You Just Don’t Want To

#57

Post by toddmorey »

chaz wrote: post #6

I have found the Pomodoro Technique ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique ) to be helpful. I can't do it for a whole day, but a short sprint to grind through something is a near, achievable goal. For extended, head-banging frustrations, it's helpful to step away, think about it without the distraction of the screen, and coming back at it with fresh eyes. The time AFK is not to be underestimated: http://ww…

The magic of this technique is that mechanically and reliably takes impossible tasks and makes them actionable. All that's required, you tell yourself, is 20 freaking minutes. I can do that. Anyone can do that.

What I usually find is that after the first session, I'm engaged enough to keep going. My emotions have caught up, my determination sets in, and now the desire and confidence to complete the task are strong enough that I rarely need to do more pomodoro sessions.

Re: How to Make Yourself Work When You Just Don’t Want To

#58

Post by matwood »

edw519 wrote: post #43

What's next? "How to Make Yourself Have Sex When You Just Don't Want To" "How to Make Yourself Eat Krispy Kremes When You Just Don't Want To" "How to Make Yourself Love You Children When You Just Don't Want To" Here's a dirty little secret: You should have an emotional attachment to your work similar to the emotional attachment you have to having sex, eating Krispy Kremes, loving your children, or whatever else is yo…

The problem with your line of thought is no matter how much you love something there are going to be parts you hate. There is a reason it is called work. I love creating software, but I certainly did not love it when I spent a day debugging a tx deadlock in our test harness last week. Did I want to fix it instead of working on something else? Not really, but I did it anyway because it is my job.

Re: How to Make Yourself Work When You Just Don’t Want To

#59

Post by jafaku »

ozim wrote: post #18
a3voices wrote: post #2

Why would you want to force yourself? Life isn't about how much work you can do. If you feel like working, then work. If you don't, then don't work.

I don't know but all this looks like Reptilian conspiration telling young people if they don't feel like working they should not. You should party hard YOLO and that kind of stuff, then comes reality and depression, creating miserable adults who are lonely and have unrealistic expectations of life.

It looks exactly the opposite for me. People realizing work is slavery, and that they were only given a little freedom to prevent revolts, and the Reptilians are giving us techniques to continue working no matter what. They tell us if we can't go on it's because we are depressed or whatever, and we need to take some pills to make that feeling go away.

Re: How to Make Yourself Work When You Just Don’t Want To

#60

Post by acoustic »

read wrote: post #42
nathell wrote: post #38

There are problems with all three techniques. The problem with adopting a prevention focus is that it doesn't work. Or, rather, it might work when the fear of failure is the only fear at stake, but -- at least for me -- it seldom is. For example, one might have thoughts like "I really need to be doing this, otherwise it might be too late ... hang on, it already might be too late ... I really should check ... but what…

Some of what you say doesn't contradict the author. You might also have an incomplete understanding of some others. (1) A prevention and a promotion focus are two types of focus people have a disposition to. You can't adopt a prevention focus if you are promotion inclined. Maybe you, personally, work better with tasks requiring a promotion focus. (2) The technique you mention does not contradict the author. I agree w…

Regarding your last point, the Harvard goals study doesn't actually exist: http://sidsavara.com/personal-productivity/fact-or-fiction-t...
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