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A little tangential, but I've found that I'm the most productive when tired. When I have energy, nothing I do seems good enough and I end up wasting a lot of ti
by smabie 6y ago
A little tangential, but I've found that I'm the most productive when tired. When I have energy, nothing I do seems good enough and I end up wasting a lot of time trying to make something better, whether it be a piece of code, a blog post, some ML analysis, etc.
When I'm tired, I don't have the mental capacity to go above and beyond, so I just concentrate on producing something, anything. Turns out it's much easier to modify something that is sort of crappy but exists than create something great out of thin air.
The take away is that if you can, just produce the crappiest, quickest thing you can first. Once you're done, seriously evaluate if it actually needs to be any better, because often this crappy solution isn't actually that crappy and perfectly sufficient (I'm looking at you, Unix). If you think it can be better or needs to be better, don't be afraid to throw the whole thing away and try and make a slightly less crappy version. Even if you redid the same thing 5 times and the result is only slightly better each time, it's often less effort than if you tried to create the final solution from scratch on the first try.
I don't know where this quote comes from, but I really like it and I think embodies this kind of philosophy and thinking: you don't understand a problem until you've solved it.
- cheez 6y agoSlightly related, but I'm more productive when my life is on the line :-)
- gottareply2020 6y agoFound the Sicilian...
- vicda 6y ago"If you want anything done, ask a busy man to do it." They don't have the time to fuss about perfection. They have to do the most with the least or not do it at all. I've always approached this thought from the perspective of "how much time can I spend" instead of energy levels. Thinking about it, it's likely a mixture of the two. Thanks for widening my perspective.
- stanislavb 6y agoSpot on.
- m463 6y ago> I just concentrate on producing something, anything You can also have a deadline. Productivity goes up as deadline approaches.
- User23 6y agoI once ran 2 miles in under 15 minutes while completely detrained (I did have past cross country and track experience) because that was how long I had until the last T left Copley station and I had no money for a cab. Fear is a powerful motivator.
- im3w1l-alt 6y agoThe higher performance is not free. Fear makes you accept a higher risk of injury.
- User23 6y agoIndeed. Cases where the golgi reflex[1] is suppressed are some of the most vivid examples. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golgi_tendon_reflex https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golgi_tendon_reflex
- tim58 6y agoIt sounds like you need to adjust your expectations of your own work. Being tired is terrible for your short term mental performance and your long term health. It also increases the chances you will be involved in an accident.
- colordrops 6y agoThis is good insight. You can take the next step and apply it consciously to your work when you are not tired.
- centv 6y agoThe best is the enemy of the good [1]. I constantly remind myself of that and I still fall for the trap. So I write down two questions, dubbed the procrastination questions: 1. What do you think you are supposed to do now? 2. What kind of difficulty are you facing? And then it's easier to continue working. [1]: often attributed to Voltaire
- billti 6y agoI’ve found when I’m hung over or exhausted (e.g. kids were up all night), are the times when I can really plow through all the mundane todos that have been sitting around forever. It’s almost like my mind is happy to have a bunch of stuff lined up that takes minimal effort. When I’m “fresh” and energized, in the absence of another forcing function (e.g. deadline), the easy stuff is too boring, and the hard stuff results in analysis paralysis.
- Ductapemaster 6y agoI totally understand how this feels. I've always been a night owl, staying up in my teenage years until 3 or 4 in the morning working on a project. I can just think more linearly when my brain is tired. Pre-covid I was regularly doing an intense morning spin class before going to the office, so I was "tired" when I started my day, and my productivity was great. Not perfect, but much better. Since WFH/SIP I don't have the opportunity to do the same kind of intense cardio, so I've relegated myself to blocking my afternoons so all my meetings get scheduled in the morning. Even then, I still am not that productive in the afternoon, and sometimes resort to getting work done in the evenings when I feel I can take on a larger task.
- el_oni 6y agoIts nice to know im not alone in this. With lockdown and writing up my thesis, there is no forcing function other than myself. Its been hard to adjust to forcing myself to write and do the hard stuff.
- Waterfall 6y agoDo you have anxiety? It was what caused me to have the same issues
- topkai22 6y agoI completely get where you are coming from. In college I had to almost all my papers and projects late at night to take advantage of the “tired effect.” I’ve thankfully been able to move beyond that a little bit. A large part has been getting more confident in my work; or more precisely more confident that everyone else’s work is generally terrible as well and mine is just fine in comparison. One thing I’ve found incredibly useful is having developed people who I can give first drafts to. I can accept that I’m doing “sub-standard” work because they’ll tell me if it’s actually bad or not.* I’ve been surprised at how positive some responses have been to things I thought were terrible. Getting over that inner critic can be tough. Sometimes it helps to have a team. * My mom was the first person I’d this with- her “I have no idea what you are talking about, but it looks convincing to me” stamp of approval has always been amazingly encouraging. Thanks Mom!
- el_oni 6y agoI relied on "the fear". My levels of motivation were poor when i had weeks until my deadlines. But when they started closing in "the fear" would motivate me. I think that's why writing my PhD thesis is taking so long. The final deadline is december which means i have to self motivate the whole way, something that is alien to me after 10 years of "the fear"
- sidpatil 6y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_law
- 29athrowaway 6y agoPlease do not take this in the wrong way, but this sounds like adult ADHD.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- Lammy 6y ago> I end up wasting a lot of time trying to make something better, whether it be a piece of code, a blog post, some ML analysis, etc. Yeah I’m like that too except my doctor had a name for it
- Waterfall 6y agoVery good point. I would stay up late on Adderall and the first hours would be very chaotic. But if I took it even later when I was supposed to be sleeping, it would drag me, and I would be able to work. Later I found out it was an anxiety issue, but the they tend to rob me of long term memory