561–570 of 634 posts
Author here. It’s my first article. I’m a bit nervous but excited to get your feedback. If you deal with procrastination too, I hope this method helps you like it helped me.
I would avoid massively increasing your exposure to receipts. They have endocrine disrupting chemicals and it's advised to not even handle them from retail stores let alone in higher quantities in your own home. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/receipt-paper-harmful/
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I love it. Using a thermal printer to print physical tasks you can crumple on completion and throw in a bin is absolute madlad goblin energy and I'm all for it. I think you've actually perfectly distilled the essence of "game-loop" and operant conditioning, and mapped it to the real world. I have been using a whiteboard for tasks, which is better than nothing, but the problem with that approach is the feedback is min…
Thank you for your comment. Seeing the tickets in the jar really helps you feel like you actually got something done. I cannot wait for you to try my app :)
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Yes, that is exactly why this method works. Because breaking tasks down into micro-tasks really does work. And the ticket printer helps remove as much friction as possible. That is what makes it a method that requires very little time and energy, and therefore something that can be sustained over the long term.
That matches my experience. “Write the report” will sit in my inbox forever. “Add 10 items to the outline for the report” will usually break the inertia and end up with me finishing the whole thing.
The part where I end up finishing the whole thing doesn't always happen, but breaking it down into chunks that I can power my way through even if I'm in the worst mood with the worst working conditions at least lets me accomplish a small thing and get a better sense of the task for the next time I try. Sometimes "Add 5 Items" actually turns into "Add 2 items and realize you only need 7 total items."
Some of my procrastination is "I haven't started the task because I can't completely visualize it, I can't completely visualize it because I haven't started the task."
Author here. It’s my first article. I’m a bit nervous but excited to get your feedback. If you deal with procrastination too, I hope this method helps you like it helped me.
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Genuine question: isn't this everyone? Don't we all find large tasks hard to start and so we procrastinate? Isn't it common general advice for all people to break things down into smaller steps so you can get going
Most symptoms of ADHD are things almost everybody experiences from time to time, some even regularly. What makes ADHD is combination of many symptoms cranked to 11. ADHD is the difference between having difficulties starting some tasks and being absolutely unable to start a mundane task until you curl yourself into a corner and cry. That being said, things that help people coping with ADHD can totally help people not…
> ADHD is the difference between having difficulties starting some tasks and being absolutely unable to start a mundane task until you curl yourself into a corner and cry.
Can't agree with this enough.
I'm currently suffering from absolutely crippling procrastination.
I'm a successful respected principal engineer with 25+ years industry experience but in the last couple of years my procrastination has got so so much worse. I've just got through my third PIP (Performance Improvement Plan) in the last 18 months. Thankfully my employer believes in me and continues to give me a chance, but they're not a charity and they've made it clear that I need to continue to perform or I'm gone.
For example, the last PIP I knew exactly what I had to do, it was agreed in advance and completely fair. I should have had no problem completing everything without having to work silly hours. I just needed to grind my way through it and apply my experience and expertise as and when needed (when to escalate, etc). Instead I sat on things for weeks and weeks until the fear and panic of not being able to provide for my family (I'm the sole earner in the house) started to really hit and give me the necessary motivation. It was an immensely stressful position I put myself in. (To be clear, the company is awesome, they're very supportive and they really want me to succeed.)
Taking any significant time off isn't an option. It's not burnout (been there, done that). I can't afford not to be working. We're stretched very thin already due to other medical problems amongst my immediate family but we can get by if I'm working. Changing companies isn't going to solve anything either; my current employer is not the problem. I am. Anywhere else would probably be far worse.
It is utterly crippling at times; and the majority of the time. I can sit at my desk for days and do 30 minutes of "work" each day. Then the deadlines hove into view and I'm doing a days worth of work in 30 minutes.
I'm awaiting an official ADHD diagnosis and expect to be diagnosed with Inattentive type. Hopefully medication will make things easier for me.
I should have gone down the diagnosis route many years ago but, guess what, procrastination.
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One comment: You're dopamine hacking. My belief is that eventually the process will stop rewarding you with dopamine, and you'll drop it. Games eventually stop rewarding you with dopamine, and your brain loses interest in them. Same goes for the jar. ADHD brain needs to keep changing the process, in order to keep the reward novel. What works today won't work in six weeks. (With me it was tearing the index card in hal…
> dopamine hacking Can we just not? Can we wean ourselves from the "addiction" instead?
Ps, I linked to your article in my newsletter this week. Hope it sends some visits!
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I realized after 40 years. I had a talk with a guy with ADHD about how drinking coffee makes us sleepy
The one thing that is often a dead giveaway is how many stimulants seem to have the opposite effect on people with ADHD. I have ADHD, amfetamines help me relax, caffeine causes me to fall a sleep, some anti-allergy medication can cause me to stay awake for 2 days straight. I read that in some countries doctors can prescribe mild sleeping pills for babies to help them stay calm during long flights. They always advice…
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I realized after 40 years. I had a talk with a guy with ADHD about how drinking coffee makes us sleepy
The one thing that is often a dead giveaway is how many stimulants seem to have the opposite effect on people with ADHD. I have ADHD, amfetamines help me relax, caffeine causes me to fall a sleep, some anti-allergy medication can cause me to stay awake for 2 days straight. I read that in some countries doctors can prescribe mild sleeping pills for babies to help them stay calm during long flights. They always advice…
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I realized after 40 years. I had a talk with a guy with ADHD about how drinking coffee makes us sleepy
The one thing that is often a dead giveaway is how many stimulants seem to have the opposite effect on people with ADHD. I have ADHD, amfetamines help me relax, caffeine causes me to fall a sleep, some anti-allergy medication can cause me to stay awake for 2 days straight. I read that in some countries doctors can prescribe mild sleeping pills for babies to help them stay calm during long flights. They always advice…
The best I can describe it is that I felt calmer in my mind, but overstimulated in my physical nervous system.