4 ms·

Consistency and discipline over motivation

104 points by dwltz 12y ago

ryanthejuggler 12y ago
Suffering from HNDoS; read it at http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://blog.donnywals.com/consistency-and-discipline-over-motivation/&strip=1 http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://... Also links to http://impossiblehq.com/get-disciplined-not-motivated http://impossiblehq.com/get-disciplined-not-motivated and http://thereallimegreenandloki.tumblr.com/post/101385465984/fuck-motivation-its-a-fickle-and-and-unreliable http://thereallimegreenandloki.tumblr.com/post/101385465984/...
- dwltz 12y ago
  Thanks for putting up the cache link :) it's actually an outage on directVPS' end so I hope they resolve this fast
- dferlemann 12y ago
  I think I am being HNDoS'ed... I need to get back to work really... really!
andrewstuart2 12y ago
One thing I've personally noticed is that being disciplined can quickly create or renew motivation. Getting something finished even though I don't want to do it feels great. That alone is often enough to jump start that positive feedback loop and get me moving rapidly again.
- unoti 12y ago
  Me too. This is also called "fake it till you make it". It sounds like empty b.s. But there is a lot to it. The book Stop Worrying and Start Living suggests that when your mood is bad, force yourself to smile and pretend outwardly that everything is good. I've found this really helps, even though it sounds dumb. Also along the same lines is Picasso's famous quote: inspiration comes, but it has to find us working.
  - louhike 12y ago
    You made a typo, it should be "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living".
    - unoti 12y ago
      Fixed, thanks, that's a funny one!
  - a_c_s 12y ago
    When this works it is great. Always nice to have this "life hack" available. However, it doesn't always work for people with depression, and unfortunately when it fails it can make things worse rather than better.
beaumartinez 12y ago
Great read. One of my favourite quotes is "motivation follows action". Often times I've found myself loath to do something, but once I start "revving up" (at work, it might be starting with something simple like a small refactor; at home, it could be committing to simply washing one plate of the stack I have remaining) I find I gain the motivation to keep going.
- dwltz 12y ago
  I agree, waiting to get motivated can be really frustrating and it can fuel a sense of guilt because you know you should be doing something. Just starting do it triggers a rewarding feeling and spawns that precious feeling of motivation i guess.
deleted 12y ago
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0xdeadbeefbabe 12y ago
> When I look at more senior developers I notice that many of them have a workflow similar to this. Could it also be that they are good at getting you to notice this? I think pretense is valued above consistency and discipline.
- kleer001 12y ago
  > I think pretense is valued above consistency and discipline. And what has led you to that thought?
  - 0xdeadbeefbabe 12y ago
    Because the OP seems to suggest you overcome lack of motivation by pretending you have motivation, but he calls this discipline and consistency. Also, the comments about fake it till you make it support that interpretation. I've also gone to meetings.
    - kstenerud 12y ago
      It's not about pretending you have motivation; it's about using discipline and consistency (having a routine) to get you through the periods where your motivation wanes. Motivation comes and goes; discipline is as eternal as you will it to be.
      - kleer001 12y ago
        And discipline is a bit tricky to boot-strap. I think that's the part that's being argued about here. Or maybe not.
    - kleer001 12y ago
      I'm afraid you and I have different definitions of discipline and consistency.
deleted 12y ago
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khorwitz 12y ago
From the article: "When I look at more senior developers I notice...[they] take multiple short breaks throughout the day and between those breaks they tend to be very focused on the tasks they have to complete. They don’t have their Slack open all the time and they work on a single thing at a time. And they are consistent about that." For help focusing on a single thing at a time, check out http://focusr.co http://focusr.co
davidshepherd7 12y ago
I started taking fixed breaks every hour to (try to) reduce my rsi pains and it does seem help my productivty. I used to check reddit/hn/feedly whenever I got really frustrated with something but now I usually power through it because I know I'll get a break soon anyway.
heiro 12y ago
I agree that motivation needs to be trained. But be careful with "being tough with yourself". People tends to fail ah the beginning and then blame themselves so much that they give up...

104 points by dwltz 12y ago

Suffering from HNDoS; read it at http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://blog.donnywals.com/consistency-and-discipline-over-motivation/&strip=1 http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://... Also links to http://impossiblehq.com/get-disciplined-not-motivated http://impossiblehq.com/get-disciplined-not-motivated and http://thereallimegreenandloki.tumblr.com/post/101385465984/fuck-motivation-its-a-fickle-and-and-unreliable http://thereallimegreenandloki.tumblr.com/post/101385465984/...

dwltz 12y ago
Thanks for putting up the cache link :) it's actually an outage on directVPS' end so I hope they resolve this fast
dferlemann 12y ago
I think I am being HNDoS'ed... I need to get back to work really... really!

andrewstuart2 12y ago

One thing I've personally noticed is that being disciplined can quickly create or renew motivation. Getting something finished even though I don't want to do it feels great. That alone is often enough to jump start that positive feedback loop and get me moving rapidly again.

unoti 12y ago
Me too. This is also called "fake it till you make it". It sounds like empty b.s. But there is a lot to it. The book Stop Worrying and Start Living suggests that when your mood is bad, force yourself to smile and pretend outwardly that everything is good. I've found this really helps, even though it sounds dumb. Also along the same lines is Picasso's famous quote: inspiration comes, but it has to find us working.
- louhike 12y ago
  You made a typo, it should be "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living".
  - unoti 12y ago
    Fixed, thanks, that's a funny one!
- a_c_s 12y ago
  When this works it is great. Always nice to have this "life hack" available. However, it doesn't always work for people with depression, and unfortunately when it fails it can make things worse rather than better.

beaumartinez 12y ago

Great read. One of my favourite quotes is "motivation follows action". Often times I've found myself loath to do something, but once I start "revving up" (at work, it might be starting with something simple like a small refactor; at home, it could be committing to simply washing one plate of the stack I have remaining) I find I gain the motivation to keep going.

dwltz 12y ago
I agree, waiting to get motivated can be really frustrating and it can fuel a sense of guilt because you know you should be doing something. Just starting do it triggers a rewarding feeling and spawns that precious feeling of motivation i guess.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

0xdeadbeefbabe 12y ago

> When I look at more senior developers I notice that many of them have a workflow similar to this. Could it also be that they are good at getting you to notice this? I think pretense is valued above consistency and discipline.

kleer001 12y ago
> I think pretense is valued above consistency and discipline. And what has led you to that thought?
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 12y ago
  Because the OP seems to suggest you overcome lack of motivation by pretending you have motivation, but he calls this discipline and consistency. Also, the comments about fake it till you make it support that interpretation. I've also gone to meetings.
  - kstenerud 12y ago
    It's not about pretending you have motivation; it's about using discipline and consistency (having a routine) to get you through the periods where your motivation wanes. Motivation comes and goes; discipline is as eternal as you will it to be.
    - kleer001 12y ago
      And discipline is a bit tricky to boot-strap. I think that's the part that's being argued about here. Or maybe not.
  - kleer001 12y ago
    I'm afraid you and I have different definitions of discipline and consistency.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

khorwitz 12y ago

From the article: "When I look at more senior developers I notice...[they] take multiple short breaks throughout the day and between those breaks they tend to be very focused on the tasks they have to complete. They don’t have their Slack open all the time and they work on a single thing at a time. And they are consistent about that." For help focusing on a single thing at a time, check out http://focusr.co http://focusr.co

davidshepherd7 12y ago

I started taking fixed breaks every hour to (try to) reduce my rsi pains and it does seem help my productivty. I used to check reddit/hn/feedly whenever I got really frustrated with something but now I usually power through it because I know I'll get a break soon anyway.

heiro 12y ago

I agree that motivation needs to be trained. But be careful with "being tough with yourself". People tends to fail ah the beginning and then blame themselves so much that they give up...