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Procrastination should be solved by lighting fires, not filling buckets

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Re: Procrastination should be solved by lighting fires, not filling buckets

#111
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly right, for me at least. Sometimes its easy to know what is required, and probably guess at how long it will take (15mins or 1 day), usually because you've seen other people do it this quick. But if you don't know how to do it, and even worse, don't know where to start to learn it (which book to read, which course to take, who to ask) you can end up sitting about doing nothing but getting frustrated. A…

> You know a task is easy (like creating an automated backup), but you can't just go and do it. Even worse is when the todo is to also make a decision . I need to automate backups to a new NAS. Do I install Linux? FreeBSD? FreeNAS? RedHat? Good old debian-stable? I should definitely explore all decision branches, in full detail, to make the best choice. open in new tab, open in new tab But I have no idea how long tha…

This is why it's important to have days where I'm okay with not getting anything moved to "complete".

Re: Procrastination should be solved by lighting fires, not filling buckets

#112

I just set up a bunch of IFTTT recipes to trigger when random stocks go up/down by 1% in a day, and then get it to push-notification me a question like "what are you doing right now?" I should only get one every couple of days they way I configured it (I think,) so perhaps requires more stocks. I wrote a different question onto each one, so I could easily get different reminders on the same day. If anyone else knows…

I have a Python script that runs on my home computer. It runs on a 1 minute chron job and randomly sends a text message (via Verizon's phonenumber@vzwtext.com address) to my phone to check what I'm working on. The difficulty is that this system (on Verizon's end) seems a bit unreliable. I've been thinking about putting together an iOS app to send random push notifications to check what I'm working on. Would there be interest from others in this?

I also have it set up so when I reply to the text message it logs it into a spreadsheet. My plan was to do some machine learning on my productivity. Haven't gotten around to that part yet though.

Re: Procrastination should be solved by lighting fires, not filling buckets

#113

I just set up a bunch of IFTTT recipes to trigger when random stocks go up/down by 1% in a day, and then get it to push-notification me a question like "what are you doing right now?" I should only get one every couple of days they way I configured it (I think,) so perhaps requires more stocks. I wrote a different question onto each one, so I could easily get different reminders on the same day. If anyone else knows…

I have a Python script that runs on my home computer. It runs on a 1 minute chron job and randomly sends a text message (via Verizon's phonenumber@vzwtext.com address) to my phone to check what I'm working on. The difficulty is that this system (on Verizon's end) seems a bit unreliable. I've been thinking about putting together an iOS app to send random push notifications to check what I'm working on. Would there be…

IFTTT can send texts, and also works with the Pushover[1] app (not free) which collates push notifications like this. You can also send it notifications yourself programmatically - check out their API to see if you can link it up to your python script.

You might want to check out iDoneThis[2], which send you an email at the end of the day asking what you did. (I used it for about a month and then gave up, and it's less random, but it does log your responses.)

[1] https://pushover.net/ (links to both iOS and Play stores.) [2] https://idonethis.com/

Re: Procrastination should be solved by lighting fires, not filling buckets

#114

I just set up a bunch of IFTTT recipes to trigger when random stocks go up/down by 1% in a day, and then get it to push-notification me a question like "what are you doing right now?" I should only get one every couple of days they way I configured it (I think,) so perhaps requires more stocks. I wrote a different question onto each one, so I could easily get different reminders on the same day. If anyone else knows…

That way you only get notifications during hours the market is open

which for me is 2pm-10pm, perfect time to bug me about what I'm doing right now!

Re: Procrastination should be solved by lighting fires, not filling buckets

#115

This is just a friendly reminder that if you would describe yourself as a procrastinator, it might be something more. If you've always been one, if you want to do things, but can never do it, it could be a sign. ADHD is a real problem, and has real solutions (and those solutions aren't all addictive). If you feel like you are always running behind, always trying to catch up. If anyone says you are a great developer,…

I'm always cautious around claims of ADHD. My experiences have been that attention span works largely like muscle. If you practice focus and force yourself to get better at it, you notice improvements over time. It has also been my observation that you can grow a tolerance to and dependence on ADHD medicine. I support the author's goal of finding some other solution that motivates him to practice his focus.

thanks! :)
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