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Ask HN: How do YOU get done what you know you "should" be doing?
I, and many people I know, have a problem enforcing higher-order volitions. I "want to want" to work on projects, but when it comes time to work on them, I always would rather read news or play a game. I know it would be better for me to just do the work, but for one reason or another I end up not doing it.
Therefore, I'm wondering what you guys do to force yourself to get work done. I realize there are things written about this, I'm just hoping you'll know something I haven't read yet.
- dabent 16y agoHave you read this? It might help. http://www.paulgraham.com/procrastination.html http://www.paulgraham.com/procrastination.html
- us 16y agoI'm not sure I know how to answer this honestly. I love working and doing what I'm doing. I much rather do what I do than go out, hit up the bar, hang out with friends, play games, or any of that stuff. It's kind of addicting to be honest. Borderline unhealthy.
- zoba 16y agoI would be surprised if there were not points in your life where you "had" to do things you didn't want to do. Surely there was some required course you weren't interested in doing the assignments for or something similar. I am also considering the possibility that mine is a case of burnout. I'm in graduate school and after classes and homework all day, it may just not be feasible... not sure.
- us 16y agoPreviously yes. There were many things in life I much rather not do. When I was in college, yes, there were courses I find rather unimportant and didn't find interest in going but went for the purpose of passing the course, etc... But I assume you're asking currently. Before, I did what I needed to do and didn't care about dedicating time to anything specific so finding motivation was never more than getting something done. Now, I work towards stuff I love doing so finding motivation isn't as hard.