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The simplest productivity hack is finding passion. I never seen a windsurfer procrastinate. If you are truly enjoying your work and can't wait to do it, there i

The simplest productivity hack is finding passion. I never seen a windsurfer procrastinate. If you are truly enjoying your work and can't wait to do it, there is nothing going to stop you.

wry_discontent 7y ago
Unfortunately, that's not an easy thing to do. It's not practical for 90% of people. Being software developers, we're lucky, but even though I love what I do, I often hate doing it for other people.
- rgoulter 7y ago
  I liked the suggestion that the important difference between "for fun" and "for work" is reliability. https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9EyzaH3jzH3PyQtM5/the-costs-of-reliability https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9EyzaH3jzH3PyQtM5/the-costs-...
- 0xJRS 7y ago
  90%? You think 1 in 10 people out there are passionate about their job and love going to work on Monday?
  - neplus 7y ago
    Do you think more than 1 in 10 are excited to go to work on Monday or less?
billfruit 7y ago
Sometimes one can be in a situation of the Buridan's Ass, there are multiple things interesting and exciting, but one can't fully commit to any of them, and end up doing none of them.
CPLX 7y ago
Find someone who has to windsurf for a living and you'll find one who procrastinates.
- freediver 7y ago
  If you know one that procrastinates ask them if they still have passion for it?
- Reedx 7y ago
  If they are windsurfing for someone else, probably... But it doesn't seem like top pro athletes and olympians procrastinate. They are intrinsically driven.
  - quickthrower2 7y ago
    Some selection bias there. People who procrastinate at stuff don’t become olympians, I’d guess.
    - hinkley 7y ago
      Survivor bias for sure. Lots of parents would rather have a happy child than a gold medal. Once the kid is miserable it becomes a hobby.
  - suprfnk 7y ago
    > But it doesn't seem like top pro athletes and olympians procrastinate. I don't think you can become a top pro athlete or olympian if you're not the fraction of a fraction of the world's population with immense intrinsic motivation, passion, ambition, and drive -- so this seems like survivorship bias.
    - hinkley 7y ago
      And your coaches are the fraction of a fraction of the world’s hardest hard-asses. There’s a lot of external motivation there as well. That’s three people doing a tremendous amount of work to avoid one of them crying in the corner.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
lm28469 7y ago
For most people as soon as your passion becomes your money earning occupation it ceases to be a passion. "Follow your passion" requires a lot of willpower and very often more work than a salaried position, unless you lower your standards drastically.
kranner 7y ago
> If you are truly enjoying your work and can't wait to do it, there is nothing going to stop you. Clearly you don’t have an anxiety disorder.
stared 7y ago
The worst productivity advice I am hearing over and over. I ensure you that there are many passionate writers, graphic designers and... programmers, who procrastinate a lot. One of a big finding for me was that it is NOT nearly as much if I like something or not[1]. Is about knowing the next step and maintaining focus (especially with keeping the time "now" not "not now"). (However, I speak from ADHD perspective; maybe for non-ADHD people passion is sufficient.) [1] For a stark comparison: I procrastinate on open-ended side-projects I love (sometimes for years), but when there is some accounting issue I solve it ASAP.
generatorguy 7y ago
Windsurfers always sitting on the beach not windsurfing!!
captainbland 7y ago
That's more than likely because the moment you do start procrastinating as a professional wind surfer, like in any sport, you immediately get ousted by every hopeful who's willing to put in the hours to get access to an extremely limited pool of things that pay in that field.

The simplest productivity hack is finding passion. I never seen a windsurfer procrastinate. If you are truly enjoying your work and can't wait to do it, there is nothing going to stop you.

wry_discontent 7y ago

Unfortunately, that's not an easy thing to do. It's not practical for 90% of people. Being software developers, we're lucky, but even though I love what I do, I often hate doing it for other people.

rgoulter 7y ago
I liked the suggestion that the important difference between "for fun" and "for work" is reliability. https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9EyzaH3jzH3PyQtM5/the-costs-of-reliability https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9EyzaH3jzH3PyQtM5/the-costs-...
0xJRS 7y ago
90%? You think 1 in 10 people out there are passionate about their job and love going to work on Monday?
- neplus 7y ago
  Do you think more than 1 in 10 are excited to go to work on Monday or less?

billfruit 7y ago

Sometimes one can be in a situation of the Buridan's Ass, there are multiple things interesting and exciting, but one can't fully commit to any of them, and end up doing none of them.

CPLX 7y ago

Find someone who has to windsurf for a living and you'll find one who procrastinates.

freediver 7y ago
If you know one that procrastinates ask them if they still have passion for it?
Reedx 7y ago
If they are windsurfing for someone else, probably... But it doesn't seem like top pro athletes and olympians procrastinate. They are intrinsically driven.
- quickthrower2 7y ago
  Some selection bias there. People who procrastinate at stuff don’t become olympians, I’d guess.
  - hinkley 7y ago
    Survivor bias for sure. Lots of parents would rather have a happy child than a gold medal. Once the kid is miserable it becomes a hobby.
- suprfnk 7y ago
  > But it doesn't seem like top pro athletes and olympians procrastinate. I don't think you can become a top pro athlete or olympian if you're not the fraction of a fraction of the world's population with immense intrinsic motivation, passion, ambition, and drive -- so this seems like survivorship bias.
  - hinkley 7y ago
    And your coaches are the fraction of a fraction of the world’s hardest hard-asses. There’s a lot of external motivation there as well. That’s three people doing a tremendous amount of work to avoid one of them crying in the corner.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

lm28469 7y ago

For most people as soon as your passion becomes your money earning occupation it ceases to be a passion. "Follow your passion" requires a lot of willpower and very often more work than a salaried position, unless you lower your standards drastically.

kranner 7y ago

> If you are truly enjoying your work and can't wait to do it, there is nothing going to stop you. Clearly you don’t have an anxiety disorder.

stared 7y ago

The worst productivity advice I am hearing over and over. I ensure you that there are many passionate writers, graphic designers and... programmers, who procrastinate a lot. One of a big finding for me was that it is NOT nearly as much if I like something or not[1]. Is about knowing the next step and maintaining focus (especially with keeping the time "now" not "not now"). (However, I speak from ADHD perspective; maybe for non-ADHD people passion is sufficient.) [1] For a stark comparison: I procrastinate on open-ended side-projects I love (sometimes for years), but when there is some accounting issue I solve it ASAP.

generatorguy 7y ago

Windsurfers always sitting on the beach not windsurfing!!

captainbland 7y ago

That's more than likely because the moment you do start procrastinating as a professional wind surfer, like in any sport, you immediately get ousted by every hopeful who's willing to put in the hours to get access to an extremely limited pool of things that pay in that field.