6 ms·

Ask HN: How do you fight procrastination?

• jazzychad 17y ago
  I am my own boss, so there is no-one lording over me to make sure I am finishing things on-time, nor do I have "office hours"... I just work during the day until I feel that enough stuff got done. Sometimes that means I work for 6 hours, sometimes that means I work for 12 or more. I often fall victim to the distractions of the inernetz; email, twitter, HN, etc... That being said, I have found that the best way to stop procrastinating is to set goals with hard and fast deadlines. Nobody is going to accomplish those goals on-time except for me. If they are missed, I only have myself to blame. For me this is a great motivator to get things done during my waking hours. I have an extremely huge and looming deadline approaching in the next couple of weeks, and like patio11 said in a comment earlier today, I am efficient because I have to be [1]. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1189284 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1189284 [edit] found link to patio11's comment [edit2] I also use a "Legal Pad Computer" to manage my TODO list. Making sure the list doesn't overflow to more than one page is another good motivator. I wrote a more extensive post about the concept here: http://bootstrapd.me/?p=62 http://bootstrapd.me/?p=62
• Rust 17y ago
  I keep a short list of programming problems handy - small use cases that interest me. When I feel like I'm slipping away into FB or Twitter or whatever, I break out one of the problems and solve it. The secret, though, is to solve it from scratch each time. If you're really having trouble concentrating, do it in a new language (COBOL - seriously, this will keep you up at night). Some examples of my problem list: recursive function to show classified ads; FSM for reading old-style INI files; simplest possible chat protocol, either client or server I'm no psychologist, but I suspect that, once you get used to doing this kind of thing, it works a bit like self-hypnosis. Just create problems that you would find interesting.
  • rapind 17y ago
    This is a great idea... And has given me an idea for a fun project.
• nearestneighbor 17y ago
  I tried many different things, too many to remember, including GTD type of things, "don't break the chain", and many others. I think what's working best for me (and what may work for you depends on your personality type and what you do) is setting (preferably) one goal for a day in the morning, writing it down, and then working to accomplish it.
• froo 17y ago
  In the past I procrastinated a lot. The problem I found was that the sheer number of tasks to be done was immense and I would often be paralysed by the thought of it. So what I did was get a simple task management tool (I use RTM) and started off by just setting 2 tasks per day. It's only 2 tasks, anyone can accomplish 2 tasks in a day. Soon after I got accustomed to it, and I simply ramped it up, first 3 tasks, then 4... very easy. After I got used to the idea of accomplishing things often, then I worried about efficiency, but the secret is to just get started.
• timwiseman 17y ago
  I fail far too often, hence why I am posting here. Seriously, when I really need to concentrate, I try to place myself in environments where the temptations are minimized. Turn off the wifi if I don't actually need it and put on headphones with mild background music and focus on the work at hand. It is no cure, but it helps me.
• raghus 17y ago
  I'll tell you later
• patio11 17y ago
  I believe in my bones that most large tasks are just arbitrarily long collections of small tasks which are measurable, and since I know I can keep going for years as long as I get frequent small packets of success, I structure things to look like that. This is the WoWification of life for me: the thing about dragonslaying is that you're not spending 720 hours to be able to slay the dragon. You spent 30 minutes rescuing this one village and then 2 hours pillaging this one dungeon and then 5 minutes finding this one slipper and... whoa, you just killed a dragon. And then it turns out that killing the dragon was, itself, just one more small goal. Your business, or your other arbitrary goal with real meaning to it, is a lot like WoW. It has projects rather than raids, milestones rather than achievements, and A/B tests rather than quests, but you can break it down into arbitrarily fine units and conquer them one at a time. I don't completely WoWify my business just because I think it would be frighteningly successful at manipulating my monkey brain, to the exclusion of other things of importance to me. Other things that help me: having routines, social support via HN & etc (here we go with WoW again: sure, you could quit, but what would your guildmates say?), structuring my business such that almost all deadlines are flexible (I know that shouldn't work, but it does for me), and having a life away from the computer.
  • jazzychad 17y ago
    Yes! Often when faced with a few large tasks, I will create a new Google Tasks list and then successively "yak shave" them down to a few dozen smaller/quicker tasks. The list gets quite long, but being able to check off several items rather quickly is satisfying. Then it becomes, as you point out, a game to see how quickly I can blow away the list.
  • vog 17y ago
    Your analogy to WoW is a great idea! In fact, WoW appears to be very addicting, to an extent you usually don't want to have in a game. (Unless, of course, you are the one who sells the game.) However, for the work you consider to be important, this is exactly the kind of addiction you want. In that regard, we can learn a lot from WoW. I'm sure they have more "tricks" than just splitting big tasks into smaller ones. A study about that topic would be very interesting.
• RevRal 17y ago
  For me, it is all about tricking myself into getting the work done. Into creating systems to follow for various tasks. For example, the dishes. I hate doing them. And I don't mind a few days of accumulation of dirty dished. So, I don't beat myself up trying to wash them every day. It takes time to wash dishes. Time I could better spend doing something else. My solution. Wait until there are enough dishes to take a couple of hours to wash them, then I listen to an audio book while washing the dishes. I call this consolidating the work-load, which allots me time to listen to audio books. Saves water, too. I have a lot of systems for various things. It's kind of fun, refining these tricks.
  • Tichy 17y ago
    Or you could put "affording a bigger apartment with space for a dish washer" on your list of things for "why am I doing this again?".
    • RevRal 17y ago
      I have a dishwasher and I live in a house. . . . Great advice though.
• adityakothadiya 17y ago
  This is what I follow - 1. I create "Today's list". This is little different than "To-do" list. Today's list contains tasks that I want to finish today - with each task assigned some deadline. Tasks are quite detail tasks - which takes 1-2 hrs. Like breakdown to features, bugs, reading chapter, etc. 2. I don't sit for long in front of computer in one stretch. I drink lot of water, so generally have to take breaks quite often. During that break (from computer) I talk to myself 2 things - "1. You're doing good - push more. 2. Now the next thing I want to do is _______." 3. Keep the browser/chat window closed if it's not required. 4. Even if I start reading HN/Twitter - I don't read everything. I know my time limits, I know things I want to build, so I know I cannot spend lot of time in consuming information. So just browse headlines, don't click every link. If headline is compelling, or source is trusted, then click it. 5. Keep deadlines - have pressure, and tell your deadlines to someone - friend, wife, colleague. Be answerable to someone. This trick worked quite often for me.
• FreeRadical 17y ago
  I read somewhere the hardest part is starting tasks, so a combo of breaking tasks into bit size pieces and starting each piece is probably the best approach.
• deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
• aaronbrethorst 17y ago
  I don't spend my spare time posting 'Ask HN' questions. No, seriously: I have more important things to do, like figuring out how to pay my rent (and hopefully make 6-7 figures) without having to take a soul-crushing job at a gigantic company, again. Maybe you need a better job. Maybe you need a better reason to do the important things. Maybe the 'important things' really aren't, in which case you need to come up with a list of genuinely important things to do. Maybe you should see a therapist. I dunno; at least those people are theoretically well-qualified to talk about this stuff. Ask me about about beer, F/stops, Objective C or Ruby on Rails, and I'm your guy. The rest of it is a big mystery to me. Good luck, though.
  • swombat 17y ago
    I don't spend my spare time posting 'Ask HN' questions. You do spend your spare time answering them, though... interesting.
• Mongoose 17y ago
  I find the best method is to just jump in. Once you make a solid effort to dive into something, your drive to complete the task at hand will snowball as you get more work done. YMMV, especially with really difficult or irritating tasks. It's all about overcoming the barrier of entry, be it due to a lack of experience, interest, or value.
  • Jach 17y ago
    For me, the phrase "action precedes motivation" is relevant.
• kowen 17y ago
  I've found that pair programming for a bit can help me get past that initial resistance. It doesn't have to be anything special or official - just a shared screen with a friend over skype can be enough to get going.
  • ntoshev 17y ago
    REPL also helps me stay focused. Maybe for some people TDD does, but not for me.
    • rapind 17y ago
      I guess I'm a little old school, but the first thing I do is build some datasets. Either from the legacy app or via requirements if it's a greenfield. Seems boring but for me it's simple work and it gets the creative juices flowing. Then it becomes a problem / challenge which is of course interesting.
  • vog 17y ago
    More generally, working in a team helps a lot. It doesn't matter whether you are 2, 3 or 4 people. And it also doesn't matter whether you meet with a co-founder or a customer. It helps to meet in RL, but sometimes a plain phone call can be sufficient, too.
• thesnark 17y ago
  I think I got this idea from HN somewhere but I cannot remember: when you are running good, and the ideas are coming easily, stop before you get stuck. That way when you come back to something you know exactly what to do next and its easier to find the thread. Also, learning how to suffer through really painful exercise has improved my ability to focus at work.
• bemmu 17y ago
  Only thing that works for me is to do stuff I actually want to be doing. Right now staring at my declining Google Analytics stats is enough to inspire me to hack the code to reverse the trend.
• Eliezer 17y ago
  Recent related thread on LW, with reviews and aggregate scores for suggestions: http://lesswrong.com/lw/1sm/akrasia_tactics_review/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/1sm/akrasia_tactics_review/
• stuntgoat 17y ago
  org-mode for emacs is great. Prioritize your list of things to do. That way you only have 1 thing to do next. It may seem daunting to have a pile, but if you line everything up in a neat row, you can only see 1 thing to do until it is finished. A good way to eliminate things from your immediate workload is to only do things that will make your life more efficient. Some projects are fun but will not make it easier to get more things done later. If you have a unifying reason for completing a series of projects, that can help inspire you- especially, if it is a great reason. I think I read somewhere that Stravinsky said you have to force yourself to be inspired. . .
• dtran 17y ago
  I think its all about the right environment which puts you in the mindset to get things done. I've noticed that being in my dorm room is usu. not super productive, so my co-founder and I most work in group study rooms in our student union or coffee shop hop. Part of it is fewer distractions, but part of it is also just a nice change in scenery/environment. I think every company should have lots of rooms/other spaces for people to work besides their desk, including nearby coffee shops =)
• robinsmidsrod 17y ago
  I had the same problem myself. Yet again I would suggest to read the book Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy. This book teaches you a set of methods to improve your ability to get the right things done. It's available on O'Reilly Safari (where I read it) and from Amazon. http://my.safaribooksonline.com/9781576754221/ch00 http://my.safaribooksonline.com/9781576754221/ch00 http://www.amazon.com/That-Frog-Great-Ways-Procrastinating/dp/1583762027 http://www.amazon.com/That-Frog-Great-Ways-Procrastinating/d...
  • swah 17y ago
    Meta-comment: this Safari site advertises it has over _9000_ books and videos! How is that going to attract people?
• stretchwithme 17y ago
  In my experience, when I am working with others or for a customer, I have no problem taking the actions needed to deliver on my commitments to them. But when I am working on my own thing, setting my own goals, with little interaction, I tend to get easily distracted and start my things I don't finish. So from now on, unless I'm working on something I'm passionate about, I'll find the right team first, before even deciding what to work on.
• zackattack 17y ago
  Do things that you are actually interested in. Seriously. It makes life MUCH easier and it's easier to be productive. That being said, willpower is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. Practice willpower whenever you can.. for example, try not zipping up your jacket when it's cold. (I'm talking about mental-discomfort cold, not hypothermia-cold.) My friends are all amazed at my willpower at things like dieting, and the truth is I just build willpower by practicing on the little things. In conclusion, as Eckhart Tolle says, when used correctly, the mind is a powerful tool. Otherwise, your mind uses you.
• djm 17y ago
  I wrote about my efforts to avoid procrastination previously: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=809638 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=809638 Since then I've changed a few things. Here is what I am doing now: 1) Make a list of what I want to do tomorrow before going to bed. 2) Write down what I am doing during the day on a time sheet of one hour blocks. I was using 30 minute blocks initially but got sick of it. 3) Try and do hard stuff first (coding) and easier stuff after (everything else). I try and start work as soon as I get up as well. 4) Disconnect the internet. I physically unplug the cable. My current work allows me to mostly get away with this and I only go online about twice a week. Since my previous comment I'm now working for myself on my startup too. I've found a few additiuonal tricks to cope with being on my own: 5) Go outside every day. I have to make a conscious effort to do this or I end up staying inside sitting at my computer for a week at a time. I normally just go for a walk around the park, or sometimes arrange to meet a friend for a coffee etc. 6) Pretend I am only going to do four hours coding per day. If I sit down at the computer at 8.00AM thinking "I'll stop at noon and go for a bike ride" then I have much less difficulty in getting started. I almost always end up spending more time coding than this once I get started though, because I hate leaving something unfinished.
• bootload 17y ago
  "... I often find myself with piles of work to do and many projects to complete but yet distracted ..." Focus, discipline & strategy. You have to focus on getting your tasks done. Be disciplined in not being unintentionally distracted and plan a strategy to avoid or discourage distractions. - Focus by planing exactly what you need to achieve in a given time. - discipline your self by sticking at the required task - I plan thinking tasks in the morning, with short breaks. then in the afternoon more unstructured tasks. I also keep 2 browsers open for instance if I'm working. One for work, the other for distraction. Then avoid looking at the distraction browser. Keep posting, reading and non work activities to a minimum by scheduling time wasters for short periods.
• Luff 17y ago
  I try to identify and break hedonistic loops. Changing environment helps, even if it's such a simple act as shuffle the furniture at home around. Another way is to optimize away loops. The first example that pops ups is that I was at one point manually visiting >20 news-sites, webcomics and blogs, and when I'd reached the last one, I started checking if the other ones had updated while I was reading. RSS saved me from most of that. Now if I could only drop reddit and hackernews ;) Oh, and this is the home page firefox shows when I open it: http://phylab.mtu.edu/~nckelley/Focus/ http://phylab.mtu.edu/~nckelley/Focus/
• tome 17y ago
  This is my favourite productivity blog. http://www.doitfuckingnow.com/ http://www.doitfuckingnow.com/ I'm serious. Of course, it's partly a joke, but there is an extent to which we just have to get on with stuff we don't like. Asking for a method to fight procrastination is a symptom of the problem itself.
  • philcrissman 17y ago
    http://productiveblog.tumblr.com/ http://productiveblog.tumblr.com/
• scotty79 17y ago
  Pomodoro technique. You pick task that can be done in 25 minutes, you set up timer for 25 minutes and start working. You do your best to finish the task. When timer rings you set it up to 5 minutest and make a 5 minute break from computer. Take a walk to the bathroom, get coffee, do some push ups or sit ups, talk to your colleague who also uses same timer to regulate his work. 5 minute is long enough to rest and short enough to not forget what you were doing. 25 minutes is enough to get something done, and short enough to wait for 5 minute break. Just two rules, don't do anything except the task at hand during 25 minutes (you have no time for that!) and stop doing what you are doing when timer rings. I also use the break to plan what I'll be doing next 25 minutes. If I have task longer then 25 minutes then I break it into smaller parts. Trouble with that technique is that it becomes very hard to start first 25 minutes.
  • philcrissman 17y ago
    I've found that useful too, at times. http://www.focusboosterapp.com/ http://www.focusboosterapp.com/ is a nifty timer made just for this.
• Dylanfm 17y ago
  Please do read "How to Get Things Done" by Robert Benchley, written in 1949. It's such a gem: http://www.hackvan.com/pub/stig/etext/how-to-get-things-done-despite-procrastination.txt http://www.hackvan.com/pub/stig/etext/how-to-get-things-done... There was a simliar thread to this quite a while ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=187132 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=187132 . A comment by nickb (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=187277 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=187277) introduced me to structured procrastination: http://www.structuredprocrastination.com http://www.structuredprocrastination.com . There's some good content there.
  • mixmax 17y ago
    Offtopic, but did anyone ever find out what happened to nickb?
• xcombinator 17y ago
  It is a complex issue. I read and watched videos and went to a lot of seminars on psicology of productivity. "Read The Power of full engagement"(This is the best book you can read ever!!) and create rituals. I like investigating new technologies too, so I do it, with limits. I read HN each day but no comments(it drains too much). Emails and social media at the end of the day. I do manage my emotional states, and schedule resting time. I wrote down each day what I want to do(look at how many people here do the same, it works). Help other people without interest in mind. Don't "fight" procrastination. Improve productivity(don't focus on your bad, improve your strengths)
• daniel-cussen 17y ago
  I once looked high and low for habits to get me to stop procrastinating. Now I take Ritalin (I have a classic case of ADD, which you might also suffer) and it is willpower in pill form. I also drink a half-gallon of coke a day (dissolved glucose for the win) which is the mental fuel ritalin is not.
  • dwwoelfel 17y ago
    You're not doing your body, and by extension your mind, any favors by drinking 5 cokes every day. Here's a video titled Sugar: The Bitter Truth that explains why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
    • daniel-cussen 17y ago
      Thanks for that. I'll try to find a glucose-based drink now (if possible).
• Hates_ 17y ago
  Ask yourself constantly "What is the most important thing I could be doing right now?" and act on it. Forget GTD and read "How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life", by Alan Lakein.
• froo 17y ago
  Oh, quick plug for rescuetime. Go sign up for www.rescuetime.com That should definitely help you when you can really see where you're wasting your time with procrastination. It's definitely an eye opener.
• Murkin 17y ago
  Choose one thing each week that you know wastes your time.. and quit cold turkey. Delete your relevant accounts, remove from bookmarks, clear browser history and just stop using it. I find it gives me immediate results, got rid of lots of needless web-games, news-sites, blogs, TV-series and such. And yes, HN is in this category. If you logically think it's contribution of information and motivation is not worth the time. Cold turkey.
  • vog 17y ago
    Also, you'll have to remove distracting things regularly, at least once a month. Better every two weeks.
• scorpioxy 17y ago
  I don't try to fight it. I accept it. During the day job, I open up the all the tabs that I'd like to read(usually links from HN) and then start working. Whenever i want to take a 5 min break between coding tasks, i read 1 article and then close it. This also helps when a task is proving annoying to go through. That's the thing with the computing field, there are way more things to do and learn than you can finish in a lifetime. I still try to keep up as much as possible, but I stress over it less and less with age and wisdom.
• ggruschow 17y ago
  Solving your problem (procrastination) may require figuring out the root problem(s). People have already mentioned a lot of good solutions for a lot of problems, but trying to solve the wrong problem can make your's worse.. or at least frustrate you more. It may be you're too distracted, so eliminate the distractions. Not me - I get overly focused. It may be your task is so large and unclear that it seems pointless to even try, so first break the problem down into manageable chunks. Not me - I think I can do practically anything (but start :). It may be your work is too annoying to you, so you wear out your self-control "muscles". If so, find different work. This isn't usually my problem either -- I'm pretty much free to do whatever I want at work. It may be you subconsciously avoid heavy concentration. This is one of the symptoms of ADHD, so you may get lucky and be able to treat it with chemicals (see a doctor). This is my biggest problem. I don't have trouble doing "labor," but I amaze myself with the things I do to avoid thinking. I don't have a good, healthy solution yet, but I know a couple things that work for me: 1. Creating emergencies.. e.g. putting off a term paper until 6 hours before its due, or imagining you'll die of shame if you don't squash your bugs. My brain kicks right into gear when I have to do something. 2. Working closely with others keeps me engaged for other reasons. Pair programming is a good example of this, but not my preference. I'd love to hear others problems and solutions.
• jodrellblank 17y ago
  Re: procrastination/akrasia: I've never been fond of the idea that "different things work for different people".  As a predictive hypothesis, after all, this is only slightly more useful than saying "a wizard did it".  It says nothing about how (or why) different things work, and therefore gives you no basis to select which different things might work for which different people. http://lesswrong.com/lw/1tu/improving_the_akrasia_hypothesis/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/1tu/improving_the_akrasia_hypothesis...
• deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
• antirez 17y ago
  Trying to do what I really like, sleeping more, exercise. Procrastination is often a symptom not a disease: you are doing something you don't care enough, you are tired, or don't exercise enough. Also a fix can be stay away a few days form the PC having fun with friends or girlfriend and so forth. Also remember, to be productive 8x5 in our industry is a myth: not possible at all. If you are able to code even 30% of the time in a focused way it's already great.
  • keefe 17y ago
    Don't convince yourself it's not possible. I've done it and it was the norm at my last startup. For me, I can't do more than 60-70 hours a week, but certainly 30% is a low level of productivity.
    • sausagefeet 17y ago
      I think it depends on how you define productivity. I have had jobs where people (even the programmers) felt that if you weren't typing code you weren't working. In my latest job I luckily don't have managers harassing me at all and find I spend a lot of time just thinking about how the system we are building should work and not much time coding, but I push solutions out just as fast, with less fixing down the road.
      • abraham 17y ago
        If a groups definition of working is just writing code it seems likely they will hit a wall where they are no longer improving. They might know their languages APIs better but they lose out on much of the larger communities gained knowledge.
      • antirez 17y ago
        Exactly, most of the time should be spent thinking about how to make the system simpler, writing less code.
      • keefe 17y ago
        I'd define it as milestones per day. It's important to set small bite sized goals imho. Any programmer who has a boss thinking that !writing code -> !working needs to find a different job asap.
• wisty 17y ago
  SelfControl for Mac. It puts up a temporary firewall, so I can't read the news for a few hours. Other techniques - tell somebody else what you are doing. Tell them when you expect to get it done. Bragging is easy to do at the time, and puts pressure on you to get it done. Procrastination is all about future commitments vs present behavior. It's easy to make a commitment to yourself, but easy to break it. Make commitments that you can't break as easily. But make sure that they are "doable".
• gyardley 17y ago
  In my experience, simple technical solutions (like hosts file site blocking) force changes in behavior which end up strengthening your mental resolve - you'll create a habit which you'll then stick to, even with a clear hosts file. You are what you do, not what you think.
  • vajorie 17y ago
    thinking is a doing as well?
• aufreak3 17y ago
  Hmmm.. I'll see if I can answer this tomorrow :P Heheh .. more seriously sometimes I find my tendency to procrastinate is telling me exactly what I should be putting off. So instead of going "I have this stuff to do and I don't know where to start", I generally pick the easiest and most fun of that list and do it first, even if the "top priority" has to wait. Soon enough, my energy builds up and the pile is gone in a wink. I'm not saying I never procrastinate (that'd be a lie), but when I do, I try to pull myself into the above strategy. Usually works for me.
• cadalac 17y ago
  You have to see and fully understand the consequences of your procrastination, and the benefit of doing your work, in order to fight procrastination.
  • neilk 17y ago
    Interesting. Do you have any techniques for making the consequences more vivid?
• rubinelli 17y ago
  The most helpful book I've read about procrastination (and I've read many) is The Now Habit. It explains why people procrastinate, what they think when they procrastinate, why even simple tasks stress them out, how they can reduce this stress, why they feel they don't have a life, and specific chapters on how to deal with procrastinators. Just to cite one of its dozens of ideas, advice like "just buckle down" and "tough it out" is part of the problem, because it creates resistance. Your natural response is thinking "that's true, I just have to finish it", which is wrong for two reasons. First, if you "have to" do something, then it means you don't want to, so you fight yourself. You become your most severe taskmaster, you deny yourself guilt-free play time, you resent "having to" do that task even more, and procrastinate even more. Second, when you think about finishing a project, you make it look overwhelming. As others here said, the right approach is choosing a point, starting from it for a few minutes, and see where it takes you.
• phugoid 17y ago
  I find that I procrastinate the most in the early stages of a project. First, it takes time to decide what to do first. There's also the spoon effect. I just made that up. The first steps you take still leave you so far away from your goal. But as you progress, say to the half-way point, every action has a proportionately higher effect on your progress. That's because I'm always focused on what's left. That last spoonful takes care of 100% of what's left.
• jmonegro 17y ago
  Do one small part of something, and you'll soon start doing the others.
• tbrownaw 17y ago
  Just put off the procrastination until tomorrow, it's really not that fun anyhow. :) Seriously. Why are distractions enticing? Why is the stuff that needs doing scary/boring? Find a way to cast your work as an interesting problem to solve (like the WoW example upthread) and the distractions as just more of the same old boring stuff you always do. Also if you're really stuck try to procrastinate with an eye towards integrating whatever you learn with what you already know, particularly in areas that are tangentially related to the problem you're stuck on. It's like that study with the children not eating the marshmallows, willpower is really about convincing yourself "but why would I even want to do that" rather than purely mental resolve.
• tsally 17y ago
  My opinion is that procrastination is a symptom not a disease. The average life span in the US is 78 years, and you're really only at your peak for about 50 of them. Ever have a year just fly by? Well that was 1/50th of the total time you have. To fight procrastination you have to ruthlessly eliminate the things you don't want to do from your life.
• leif 17y ago
  This is sort of a technical solution, but as long as I'm working on something that doesn't need a browser for reference (so, C programming, where I can look up manpages), I just kill X and do my work on ttys. It helps you focus on only one thing at a time.
• Estragon 17y ago
  It really depends. You don't sound particularly excited by the "piles of work" and "many projects to complete." Why do you want to finish them? When you think about starting to work on them, what do you feel and think about?
• cianestro 17y ago
  Try not to rationalize your troubles; doing so will only make them bigger, that is to say there are no problems--only challenges. You cannot conceptualize your work away, work can only be worked away. Once you have followed this thread for a while you'll realize work is something infinite--to which there is no end. For this reason, I have accepted that there are no accomplishments in life and so I will never waste time patting myself on the back, nor will I become upset if I do not finish something on time. Like the great article about the "cult of busy" discussed, the more you glorify work the harder it will seem to do.
• jaytee_clone 17y ago
  The solution that worked for me the most: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeboxing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeboxing Plan out your schedule for the entire day (as detail as possible, i.e. when to have lunch and for how long) the day before and follow it. The key is to get into the habit of timeboxing. Forget about tricks. There's no easy way out. You have a bad habit of procrastination. It will take much effort to undo that.
• prole 17y ago
  It's all in the mind. Framing is essential. As you've worded it, "[I need to] buckle down and start working" sounds like the beginning a painful trek that anyone would try to avoid. Instead, thinking about the exact same thing as "[I] finally have the chance to play with this interesting problem" will do wonders for self-motivation. As others have mentioned, it's not something that changes overnight, and requires daily practice. Now, I can already hear the little voices whispering in a few of your heads "that's some optimistic bullshit, lying to yourself, etc." If you've read Self-Discipline in 10 Days, this nagging is said to come from a part of your subconscious dubbed "Hyde." Here's a brief description from the book: === BEGIN === This Jekyll/Hyde approach is one of the more important concepts to understand in your attempts to develop self- discipline. Time and time again, participants in my workshops, seminars, and courses have reaffirmed that this concept, understanding it and applying it, has been instrumental in their self-discipline successes. So, you will begin by learning about how your personal Hyde operates. Hyde believes: If I begin a structured, organized journey toward any chosen goal: - I'll become a slave to routine - I'll lose my freedom - I'll lose my sense of fun - I'll drown in a sea of responsibilities - I'll put too much pressure on myself We all have a rebellious side to our personalities that resists any form of structure. We bring this rebellious seed from our childhood. One of the first words a child learns to say emphatically is "NO." The child we once were still lives inside us, and every child battles authority. Hyde, the name we will call your inner childlike rebel, battles any form of authority, even if the authority is you. Hyde subconsciously says: "Nobody can tell me what to do, not even me." === END === I find that similar to the framing-work-tasks-as-WoW-quests mentioned above, if I can tell myself that my projects are fun (and it helps if they are, which is why I code as a hobby), I'll be eager to get cracking. That childish Hyde character is still out for a good time, and mine still enjoys solving puzzles if he thinks it'll be fun. A good litmus test is to try and explain what you're doing to a non-techie. If you want to energetically share the details of your project, you're doing something right! If you'd rather not discuss it because it's "boring" or "work"... well, it's obvious where your procrastination stems from.