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There is no easy fix for this. You need to be disciplined enough to keep working when you've done all the fun parts. The good news is that if you can get bette

by nudge 16y ago

There is no easy fix for this. You need to be disciplined enough to keep working when you've done all the fun parts. The good news is that if you can get better at being disciplined just by practising it, and the rewards are very high, because you become a finisher, and people like and value finishers. Also, the act of finishing is immensely enjoyable, and is therefore its own reward. With practice your mind will begin to be motivated by that reward, once the little rewards of the early parts of projects have gone.

kaitnieks 16y ago
The act of finishing should be enjoyable but what if it's not? Are there any tricks to make yourself be happy about the finish?
- nudge 16y ago
  I think exline's comment about todo lists is helpful - I find it psychologically satisfying to strike off the last item on a list. There's extrinsic rewards of the finish, like getting paid, having something to show on your portfolio (depends on the work, obviously), not getting fired, etc. I quite like getting things I don't enjoy finished because then they're gone, the mental energy devoted to them can be reallocated.
- photon_off 16y ago
  Yes. Sit down and imagine how you're going to feel when you are finished. Really try to make yourself believe that you're done. If these are features, imagine using the product with those features in place, and how much it adds to it. If it's design, think about how much better it's going to look when your through with it. If it's performance, think of how your product is now more capable of handling more requests or is faster and lighter-weight feeling. Whatever it is on the todo list, I'm sure there's a good reason it's there. Now that you've imagined how much these things on your todo list are going to improve whatever it is you're working on, and how awesome it's going to be when those things are in place, why not get to work?

by nudge 16y ago

kaitnieks 16y ago

The act of finishing should be enjoyable but what if it's not? Are there any tricks to make yourself be happy about the finish?

nudge 16y ago
I think exline's comment about todo lists is helpful - I find it psychologically satisfying to strike off the last item on a list. There's extrinsic rewards of the finish, like getting paid, having something to show on your portfolio (depends on the work, obviously), not getting fired, etc. I quite like getting things I don't enjoy finished because then they're gone, the mental energy devoted to them can be reallocated.
photon_off 16y ago
Yes. Sit down and imagine how you're going to feel when you are finished. Really try to make yourself believe that you're done. If these are features, imagine using the product with those features in place, and how much it adds to it. If it's design, think about how much better it's going to look when your through with it. If it's performance, think of how your product is now more capable of handling more requests or is faster and lighter-weight feeling. Whatever it is on the todo list, I'm sure there's a good reason it's there. Now that you've imagined how much these things on your todo list are going to improve whatever it is you're working on, and how awesome it's going to be when those things are in place, why not get to work?