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I have mild executive dysfunction that only seldomly interferes with my work. A strategy to defeating "Jim" as the article defines him, for me, is I often have

I have mild executive dysfunction that only seldomly interferes with my work. A strategy to defeating "Jim" as the article defines him, for me, is I often have trouble completing tasks if the goal/task is too broad. Going with agile methodology terms, if something is assigned to me that could be recategorized as as an epic with a bunch of sub-tasks or stories, it's very likely I procrastinate on that task, because I am not easily able to envision the series of steps to accomplish the larger goal. So, I keep notes and to-do lists. I try to break tasks into as small of sequential tasks as possible, and then go back and prune this list throughout the week/day/hour, depending on how urgent it is and how bad the procrastination is. Sometimes these tasks are extremely simple. As simple as "turn on your computer" sometimes. Completing them and checking it off gives that little dopamine burst and the confidence to continue the task. All you have to do is make sure that your smaller tasks are organized in a way that allow you to complete the larger goal (which admittedly isn't always easy).

Ancapistani 3y ago
I do this, but I honestly don't know if it helps or not; or, to be more specific, I don't know if my actually breaking down the task is what helps or if it's simply a means of coaxing myself into thinking about the task long enough to get "in flow". Outside of flow, doing anything else is easier than doing the task. Inside of flow, it's just as difficult to stop working on it as it was to start working on it in the first place. Either way, I write things down. I used paper notebooks for years before moving to a Markdown-formatted git repository that is automatically built into a static site when I push it to the remove. These days I've taken to using a reMarkable 2, an e-paper tablet. The fact that I enjoy using it adds to its utility, but I'm not yet sure if it's something I'm going to stick with long term.
sandymcmurray 3y ago
This is me as well. I don't naturally 'see' that a task is actually a bunch of smaller, easier tasks. It's easier not to start when you're not sure where to start.

Ancapistani 3y ago

I do this, but I honestly don't know if it helps or not; or, to be more specific, I don't know if my actually breaking down the task is what helps or if it's simply a means of coaxing myself into thinking about the task long enough to get "in flow". Outside of flow, doing anything else is easier than doing the task. Inside of flow, it's just as difficult to stop working on it as it was to start working on it in the first place. Either way, I write things down. I used paper notebooks for years before moving to a Markdown-formatted git repository that is automatically built into a static site when I push it to the remove. These days I've taken to using a reMarkable 2, an e-paper tablet. The fact that I enjoy using it adds to its utility, but I'm not yet sure if it's something I'm going to stick with long term.

sandymcmurray 3y ago

This is me as well. I don't naturally 'see' that a task is actually a bunch of smaller, easier tasks. It's easier not to start when you're not sure where to start.