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"People who need constant positive feedback to keep moving forward don't get very far in real situations" As to this statement... I'm a person that strives whe
by sangaya 17y ago
"People who need constant positive feedback to keep moving forward don't get very far in real situations"
As to this statement... I'm a person that strives when receiving constant positive feedback. My way of addressing this, since the real world doesn't often provide it, is to provide it for myself. For instance, I had to read 2 chapters in my Number Theory book today. I told myself that after each chapter I would let myself read HN for 15 minutes. Now there is positive reinforcement.
Another trick that helps me stay focused is to make lists. I find joy in the simple act of crossing an item off a list.
So to finish a project break it down into simple concrete tasks, and come up with some sort of simple reward for each task finished. Make sure though that your definition of success is actually achievable and dependent on factors you control. After this, get to it, and finish that project!
- gfodor 17y agoYes, I agree and have found that the projects I manage to finish are often the ones that have measurable, visible progress and positive feedback (either from the computer or from people.) There's a reason TDD and agile are approaches programmers generally enjoy more, and it's because you get positive feedback early. The success of these techniques are only partially due to their inherent ability to adapt to change: it's also the fact that the people using them are inherently happier because they get this re-enforcement they are going down the right path and making progress.