4 ms·

Jesus when i read this Article I see me... I love to start new Projects but i never finish them(only when i must because i customer is kicking my ass)... I alwa

by lampe3 13y ago

Jesus when i read this Article I see me... I love to start new Projects but i never finish them(only when i must because i customer is kicking my ass)... I always have a lot of motivation... but when i sit down and must read or do something i lose focus very often and maybe work on it for 30 minutes or 1 hour and then i start to watch some stupid youtube videos... To this day i dont know how to focus... I got depression last year because... i dont know everything was not going the way i wanted but i dont changed anything... today i feel better but i still cant get things done... i was reading books/blogs/etc about how to organize/focus/motivate but nothing every really worked for me... not money/fame/etc helped to motivate... maybe someone can help or share tips... and if you want dick around you can but i want answer or comment you...

Heliosmaster 13y ago
same for me, more or less.
- lampe3 13y ago
  I hope that maybe some other comments will help you !
shubb 13y ago
I had a major problem with this back at college. I'd read articles about how to study, or focus, instead of focusing and studying. The problem, clear in hindsight, was that actually hitting the books revealed how little I knew. Which is natural when you are studying a new subject, but filled me with fear because, well, exams. It wasn't a happy time in my life. Maybe it's the same for you now. But that meant that rather than have the self belief to brush off initial defeat and study more, I found myself drawn towards distractions. Better to not know how bad you are than to work to improve it. The sites you make are never going to be as good as the ones you imagine. Doing that animation, or adding this feature, is going to turn out to be harder than you first thought, and you are going to compromise. If your self esteem is tied up in your work, or how good you are as a programmer, and you are like I was, then that means 'you are a bad person'. Better to read another blog than accept it. Now I'm in a happier place, it's good enough to do my best. If I exceed expectations, I feel happy, but if I blow through a deadline, I'm confident that the next programmer would have too. Not happy about it, but confident. So if you are like me, I'd suggest fixing my self belief and negative thinking yielded more than better time management. Hope this helps.
- lampe3 13y ago
  thank you! I will try to change my mindset How do you did that? i mean how to not think negative about something?
  - shubb 13y ago
    What worked for me might not be the things that work for you. For me the following were useful: -I worked with a 'life coach', and I guess we did something like CBT. I'd be a bit embarrassed to tell my friends but it was very useful. -Working at a company, as an employee, I slowly got the trust and respect of my colleagues. Not having co-workers must be one of the hardest parts of freelancing. Even if I'm not happy with my performance on a task, I know my boss knows I'm usually effective, and that does help me remember that too. Maybe if you worked in a group with other freelancers instead of alone, it would be easier? -I got into a very good relationship. That means that my work is only part of what I care about, so if it's going badly, then it's not all of me. More generally, if you are struggling a bit, there are probably things in your life that would legitimately cause anyone stress. Maybe you are taking on full stack projects, but are only comfortable with (front)(back) end work. Maybe your under pressure from your family to make money. Maybe you are having trouble learning the business side of things, while coding at the same time. Either way, if you can work out what those are, and avoid them, it'll give you more energy to deal with everything else. Sometimes though, you need make a big change, sacrifice something. I didn't carry on in academia after the masters where I struggled, and went back to programming instead. It seemed like I was giving up on my future at the time, but it's very easy to come up with a new vision of your future. It's much harder to struggle towards one from a bad place. Could it be worth being an employee for a bit, then going back to freelancing when you are more confident? Or going back to school for a bit (there is always funding)? Those would be pretty radical - you've built a business, and you'd lose a lot of it by putting it on pause. But in HN terms, if what you are doing isn't working for you, pivot till it does...?
cell303 13y ago
same here
- lampe3 13y ago
  I hope that maybe some other comments will help you !
simonbarker87 13y ago
A way I have found to get round this is to set small, achievable milestones, it sounds like you are getting caught up in the "enormity of it all" - when we started our company the aim was "to enter competition X", then "get £5,000 in grant funding", then "3d print a prototype", then "build a test rig to test prototype", then "raise some investment", then "get a professionally designed product", the "set up 1 trial with potential customer", then "launch to public" etc. By breaking it down into small steps and focussing on the next achievable goal (we actually went even more granular than this but you get the idea) you don't get swamped, and if it all ends and you fail to hit a mile stone then hey, at least we hit 5 out of 6 or 10 out of 11 milestones (depending on when/if you fail). We're still going 2 years later using the same process and it works really well
- heidar 13y ago
  Solid advice. Split the problem into many smaller problems and start working. One thing to keep in mind though, TODO lists can give an illusion of progress and accomplishment[1]. That is assuming you split up the problem and create a TODO list out of it which seems like a reasonable thing to do. I remember a discussion on HN about procrastination quite some time ago and there was a comment which made me think a lot. The commenter basically said that he procrastinates by writing code, because that is what he loves to do. If you are procrastinating writing code by doing something else, perhaps you simply do not enjoy writing code and need to explore the world for whatever it is that you love doing? I am still not sure myself, I enjoy writing code but there are other jobs which I think I would enjoy more. [1] http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/10/todont.html http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/10/todont.html
- zhemao 13y ago
  This. Every time I've started a project and then abandoned it shortly afterwards, it was because the goal was too complex and I didn't break it up into small-enough pieces. Every time I've succeeded at a large project, it was because I was able to set small, testable intermediate targets. That small shot of dopamine you get when some small thing works does wonders for your motivation to keep at it.
- lampe3 13y ago
jackmaney 13y ago
To make a very, very long story short, I've clawed my way into my second (and current) career from a very dark bout of depression. One thing that has helped me focus is the right combination of medications (after talking to a doctor, of course).
- lampe3 13y ago
  oh i hope you are now cured! but i dont think that medications can help and that its not that bad(i hope)
matwood 13y ago
ZeeFrank sums it up well in Brain Crack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDHb3vC9OmE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDHb3vC9OmE Additionally, focus comes from discipline. Discipline is forcing yourself to do something even when it's not what you might want to do at that moment. How to become and stay disciplined is often very personal. Some people focus on the long goal, others on the minutia going from task to task, and still others focus on time (Pomodoro) or lists (GTD).
- lampe3 13y ago
  thank you nice video! i have discipline. last year i lost about 30 kilo because i wanted so!
encoderer 13y ago
I'm not a doctor. But I've been seeing a very talented therapist (in SF if anybody would like a referral). Working with him is like that refreshing feeling of working alongside an entirely competent teammate. It's wonderful. Channeling him -- from things he's told me about myself -- I think he's say "What you're describing is a case, maybe a mild case, of ADD." I've always rejected that comment when he made it, sure it was some failing of myself and my own "discipline." But you know what, there's nothing nobile about being hard on yourself and trying to enforce "discipline" through intolerance of your longtime behaviors. Accept yourself, that a part of you wants to play and not work, accept that there's nothing inherently wrong about that. You're NOT a lazy person I'm sure. You're not a bad person. You're not doing anything bad. But if you feel your life would be better if you changed these behaviors, then try that out. There are doctors (especially if you're lucky enough to live in a large city) that treat ADD without stimulants. But it's also possible the medication is exactly what you need. I'm a skeptic of remedies in pill form but also you can't argue with results. For me, a big part was bad time management skills going back 20 years to grade school. So i sat down each morning and again after lunch and blocked out my next 4 hours in 30-minute increments. And I followed it. And I got a Chrome extension that began tracking time spent not working so I could acknowledge that it was happening with real hard numbers. Over time, I got better at being productive. I started blocking time into hours. Then 2 hour blocks. I still do that on busy days. 2 hour blocks. It works well for me. There's too many moral judgments passed about these things. You're a good person even if you manage time poorly. I promise.
- lampe3 13y ago
  thank you! maybe you are right. i will try it for some weeks. can you name the extension for chrome?

by lampe3 13y ago

Heliosmaster 13y ago

same for me, more or less.

lampe3 13y ago
I hope that maybe some other comments will help you !

shubb 13y ago

I had a major problem with this back at college. I'd read articles about how to study, or focus, instead of focusing and studying. The problem, clear in hindsight, was that actually hitting the books revealed how little I knew. Which is natural when you are studying a new subject, but filled me with fear because, well, exams. It wasn't a happy time in my life. Maybe it's the same for you now. But that meant that rather than have the self belief to brush off initial defeat and study more, I found myself drawn towards distractions. Better to not know how bad you are than to work to improve it. The sites you make are never going to be as good as the ones you imagine. Doing that animation, or adding this feature, is going to turn out to be harder than you first thought, and you are going to compromise. If your self esteem is tied up in your work, or how good you are as a programmer, and you are like I was, then that means 'you are a bad person'. Better to read another blog than accept it. Now I'm in a happier place, it's good enough to do my best. If I exceed expectations, I feel happy, but if I blow through a deadline, I'm confident that the next programmer would have too. Not happy about it, but confident. So if you are like me, I'd suggest fixing my self belief and negative thinking yielded more than better time management. Hope this helps.

lampe3 13y ago
thank you! I will try to change my mindset How do you did that? i mean how to not think negative about something?
- shubb 13y ago
  What worked for me might not be the things that work for you. For me the following were useful: -I worked with a 'life coach', and I guess we did something like CBT. I'd be a bit embarrassed to tell my friends but it was very useful. -Working at a company, as an employee, I slowly got the trust and respect of my colleagues. Not having co-workers must be one of the hardest parts of freelancing. Even if I'm not happy with my performance on a task, I know my boss knows I'm usually effective, and that does help me remember that too. Maybe if you worked in a group with other freelancers instead of alone, it would be easier? -I got into a very good relationship. That means that my work is only part of what I care about, so if it's going badly, then it's not all of me. More generally, if you are struggling a bit, there are probably things in your life that would legitimately cause anyone stress. Maybe you are taking on full stack projects, but are only comfortable with (front)(back) end work. Maybe your under pressure from your family to make money. Maybe you are having trouble learning the business side of things, while coding at the same time. Either way, if you can work out what those are, and avoid them, it'll give you more energy to deal with everything else. Sometimes though, you need make a big change, sacrifice something. I didn't carry on in academia after the masters where I struggled, and went back to programming instead. It seemed like I was giving up on my future at the time, but it's very easy to come up with a new vision of your future. It's much harder to struggle towards one from a bad place. Could it be worth being an employee for a bit, then going back to freelancing when you are more confident? Or going back to school for a bit (there is always funding)? Those would be pretty radical - you've built a business, and you'd lose a lot of it by putting it on pause. But in HN terms, if what you are doing isn't working for you, pivot till it does...?

cell303 13y ago

same here

lampe3 13y ago
I hope that maybe some other comments will help you !

simonbarker87 13y ago

A way I have found to get round this is to set small, achievable milestones, it sounds like you are getting caught up in the "enormity of it all" - when we started our company the aim was "to enter competition X", then "get £5,000 in grant funding", then "3d print a prototype", then "build a test rig to test prototype", then "raise some investment", then "get a professionally designed product", the "set up 1 trial with potential customer", then "launch to public" etc. By breaking it down into small steps and focussing on the next achievable goal (we actually went even more granular than this but you get the idea) you don't get swamped, and if it all ends and you fail to hit a mile stone then hey, at least we hit 5 out of 6 or 10 out of 11 milestones (depending on when/if you fail). We're still going 2 years later using the same process and it works really well

heidar 13y ago
Solid advice. Split the problem into many smaller problems and start working. One thing to keep in mind though, TODO lists can give an illusion of progress and accomplishment[1]. That is assuming you split up the problem and create a TODO list out of it which seems like a reasonable thing to do. I remember a discussion on HN about procrastination quite some time ago and there was a comment which made me think a lot. The commenter basically said that he procrastinates by writing code, because that is what he loves to do. If you are procrastinating writing code by doing something else, perhaps you simply do not enjoy writing code and need to explore the world for whatever it is that you love doing? I am still not sure myself, I enjoy writing code but there are other jobs which I think I would enjoy more. [1] http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/10/todont.html http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/10/todont.html
zhemao 13y ago
This. Every time I've started a project and then abandoned it shortly afterwards, it was because the goal was too complex and I didn't break it up into small-enough pieces. Every time I've succeeded at a large project, it was because I was able to set small, testable intermediate targets. That small shot of dopamine you get when some small thing works does wonders for your motivation to keep at it.
lampe3 13y ago

jackmaney 13y ago

To make a very, very long story short, I've clawed my way into my second (and current) career from a very dark bout of depression. One thing that has helped me focus is the right combination of medications (after talking to a doctor, of course).

lampe3 13y ago
oh i hope you are now cured! but i dont think that medications can help and that its not that bad(i hope)

matwood 13y ago

ZeeFrank sums it up well in Brain Crack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDHb3vC9OmE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDHb3vC9OmE Additionally, focus comes from discipline. Discipline is forcing yourself to do something even when it's not what you might want to do at that moment. How to become and stay disciplined is often very personal. Some people focus on the long goal, others on the minutia going from task to task, and still others focus on time (Pomodoro) or lists (GTD).

lampe3 13y ago
thank you nice video! i have discipline. last year i lost about 30 kilo because i wanted so!

encoderer 13y ago

I'm not a doctor. But I've been seeing a very talented therapist (in SF if anybody would like a referral). Working with him is like that refreshing feeling of working alongside an entirely competent teammate. It's wonderful. Channeling him -- from things he's told me about myself -- I think he's say "What you're describing is a case, maybe a mild case, of ADD." I've always rejected that comment when he made it, sure it was some failing of myself and my own "discipline." But you know what, there's nothing nobile about being hard on yourself and trying to enforce "discipline" through intolerance of your longtime behaviors. Accept yourself, that a part of you wants to play and not work, accept that there's nothing inherently wrong about that. You're NOT a lazy person I'm sure. You're not a bad person. You're not doing anything bad. But if you feel your life would be better if you changed these behaviors, then try that out. There are doctors (especially if you're lucky enough to live in a large city) that treat ADD without stimulants. But it's also possible the medication is exactly what you need. I'm a skeptic of remedies in pill form but also you can't argue with results. For me, a big part was bad time management skills going back 20 years to grade school. So i sat down each morning and again after lunch and blocked out my next 4 hours in 30-minute increments. And I followed it. And I got a Chrome extension that began tracking time spent not working so I could acknowledge that it was happening with real hard numbers. Over time, I got better at being productive. I started blocking time into hours. Then 2 hour blocks. I still do that on busy days. 2 hour blocks. It works well for me. There's too many moral judgments passed about these things. You're a good person even if you manage time poorly. I promise.

lampe3 13y ago
thank you! maybe you are right. i will try it for some weeks. can you name the extension for chrome?