How to minimize procrastination • Hacker News Board

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#81

Post by icc97 » Sat, Nov 14, 2015, 9:50 PM UTC

jcrites wrote: post #29

The Pomodoro Technique, which is mentioned on the page, has been helpful to me when I need to concentrate on solo work privately. I'd recommend it. It's an effective technique, and the only one I've discovered that's been significantly helpful. To summarize: When you start on a task, set a timer for 25 minutes. Work exclusively on that task for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break and repeat. That unit is "a pomodo…

I created a Pomodoro Timer [1] to procrastinate instead of doing actual work. It has the novelty of giving you Lock Stock film quotes every 25 mins.

[1]: http://pom.ianchanning.com

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#82

Post by icc97 » Sat, Nov 14, 2015, 9:56 PM UTC

tdkl wrote: post #75

Somehow related, I've been looking to block certain websites on iOS for a while now and a free content blocker called "Refine" can do it easily.[1] You can enable just the custom list if you're already using a different content blocker. This might be an idea to implement something like Stayfocusd, where you could define a list of sites to be blocked between a time period or certain days (if this is possible). [1] htt…

I'm a leechblock user on FF.

I still procrastinate even when I've got my use of reddit, twitter and facebook down to basically nothing.

Just HN is enough to kill off most of the productive work time, so if you spend time on the other sites I just don't see how a functional work life is possible.

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#83

Post by icc97 » Sat, Nov 14, 2015, 9:58 PM UTC

tdkl wrote: post #42

kmnc wrote: post #30

What do you do when procrastination becomes more serious and develops into life avoidance? (You procrastinate on everything, regardless of how you frame a task, regardless of the difficulty of it). In the extreme case procrastination isn't a obstacle to task competition but a learned habit of avoidance. It becomes an addiction in the same way that gambling, drugs, etc do. How do you beat an addiction whose very natur…

Discipline is habit, habits are like muscles, you need to use them regularly to keep them.

> Habits are the key to consistency. Not discipline. [1]

[1]: http://zenhabits.net/discipline/

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#84

Post by icc97 » Sat, Nov 14, 2015, 10:05 PM UTC

zomg wrote: post #19

i procrastinate so much, i read the first section then clicked the "save to pocket" icon from the chrome toolbar. i'll get to reading it. eventually...

I do wonder if bookmarking apps are one of the underlying causes of 'link hunting' i.e. the journey you go on every time you click a HN link.

You bookmark a page cause you don't want to lose it, but then you want to read more pages to bookmark those because you're worried that if you don't bookmark them you'll never find them again.

I'm going to bin my pinboard add-on for a week and see if that helps.

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#85

Post by icc97 » Sat, Nov 14, 2015, 10:18 PM UTC

zensavona wrote: post #47

kmnc wrote: post #30

What do you do when procrastination becomes more serious and develops into life avoidance? (You procrastinate on everything, regardless of how you frame a task, regardless of the difficulty of it). In the extreme case procrastination isn't a obstacle to task competition but a learned habit of avoidance. It becomes an addiction in the same way that gambling, drugs, etc do. How do you beat an addiction whose very natur…

I actually was at that stage a couple of years ago - I couldn't get anything done, which made me feel bad and depressed, which made me not get anything done. I couldn't even start doing something in a meaningful way. It's such a bizarre thing to think back on that I can't even fully empathise with my former self.. This is what made me realise what was going on and rectify the situation, it all just "clicked". I had b…

Is this what people talk about when we're all sat in the Dark Playground?

Re: How to minimize procrastination

#86

Post by stewbrew » Sun, Nov 15, 2015, 7:46 AM UTC

I personally don't get why people talk that much about procrastination just to avoid the question: Am I using my time on things I'm actually interested in or do I just go on because I get paid too much to jump ship.