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My natural (non)system is to work on whatever I feel like until bored. Then to work on whatever else I feel like until bored. Continue. It used to trouble me g
by pirateking 14y ago
My natural (non)system is to work on whatever I feel like until bored. Then to work on whatever else I feel like until bored. Continue.
It used to trouble me greatly, and I tried using Things, all sorts of custom text files, sticky notes, and many other devices to force myself into a predictable pattern of work. What I found though is that the natural system self corrects.
All the time spent on any project or interest is used to its maximum potential, as I am fully engaged, work at a brisk pace, and explore actively. At the cost of an unpredictable, slower schedule, I am able to extract very high quality output, across a wide variety of projects and interests. This combination of depth and breadth also sometimes allows connections to be made across fields, leading to possible value multipliers. And since the only constraint in the system is "until bored", it acts as an optimal Attention to Value Conversion Machine (AVCM).
- tommi 14y agoI like your non-system and I have been using the same. However, I want to have more influence to when I am bored and what bores me. What kind of methods you use to drive yourself towards something or is everything just ad-hoc what ever you feel like doing?
- pirateking 14y agoI guess the system is driven by dreams, or abstract long term goals. Most things I do help float me vaguely closer to them. Occasional detours turn out to be serendipitous more often than not, so I just go with them.
- dave1619 14y agoIt sounds like intuitively you know what's important in the long-run and what interests you. However, the challenge occurs when you face a short-term hurdle that is required for your long-term goal but that short-term hurdle is something that you're not interested in. What do you do then?
- pirateking 14y agoJust get it over with quickly, or procrastinate. Doesn't sound like a great solution, but the necessary and urgent stuff always gets done, and the stuff that gets procrastinated sometimes turns out to be not that important in retrospect. To be fair, this system is not ideal for deadlines or urgent projects - those usually require switching to a more rigid alternate system to ensure timely completion.
- ams6110 14y agoI mostly use this system. My problem is when I'm bored with everything, which is frequently these days. Then I find it difficult to get started (though once I do, I tend to be productive). In that mode I tend to be deadline driven.