Maxims

Lately I’ve read a lot of articles and spoken to a few people about productivity.  A few common themes keep popping up.

First, Go Directly To Work.

Don’t start your day by checking your email.  You get dragged into someone else’s priorities, or you allow yourself to indulge in lengthy personal conversations.  Instead, start your day by opening your most important task first.  And “a quick win in the morning sets the right tone for the rest of the day.” (Jonathan at Illuminated Mind)  This is a great habit to develop.

Just Start

Starting is often the hardest part of a task.  Just starting, without over-thinking things, moves you past the anxiety that you’re holding for that task, and gets you immersed in the project again.  Once you’ve started, things are clearer and less scary.  I am hearing this advice from a lot of different sources lately, and it’s good advice.

Resolving to finish something is a big scary goal.  Just resolve to start.  Then start.  Then keep starting – it gets easier – until it’s finished.

The Power of Focus

Forget multitasking.  Constant distractions and task-switching leads to shallow thinking and makes creativity impossible.  Spend as much of your day as possible on your #1 priority.  This doesn’t mean don’t take breaks – just don’t spread your energy around.  Make sure your breaks are actually rejuvenating.

Actively control distractions.  Change your environment if you have to.  Lock out access to Facebook and other highly-addictive entertainments.

Goals

I should have specific, clearly-defined, prioritized goals.  With deadlines.  And plans.  I don’t have these.  Why should I have these?

Visualize

Imagine yourself living by the habits that you most want to cultivate.  Don’t imagine yourself as rich and successful, that can lead to disappointment.    This is about how you live and work, day to day.  And remind yourself every day about your long-term goals, and how today’s tasks serve those goals.

“I try to spend the first few minutes of my day thinking about the life that I’m creating, the people that I’m serving and why I care about what I do. Keeping those things in the front of my mind helps me stay synced with my reason why.” (Jonathan at Illuminated Mind, again)

The Other Root Of The Problem

It’s not just procrastination. I’m also an internet addict, info-tainment junkie, whatever you want to call it. Even on weekends when I have nothing stressful to do, I’m drawn to the email, the Facebook, the blogs.

I’ve been focusing on my procrastinating tendencies, and I’ve been half-successful. At this point, my biggest barrier to success is my constant need for web-borne entertainment and screen-mediated social interactions.

Hypothesis: It’s not just procrastination. In order to make progress on my work habits, I need to address internet addiction.

Is “Internet Addiction” real?

Sick Day = Setback

I’ve been sick with a nasty cold for the past couple of days.  I say that I’m too sick to work, but I still spend the whole day at the computer: doing all the goof-off things that usualy creep into my work days, only without the work.  I feel like I’ve fallen off the wagon; I’m worried that I’m practicing a bad habit, and that I won’t be able to focus on work when I’m well again.

I could spend all day, every day, signing petitions, writing letters and spamming my friends about important issues.  It’s important, but all things in moderation, right?  Making a living is important too.  So, what will be my strategy when I’m “working” again?

• Use the timer for everything I do at my desk, starting right at the beginning of the day.
• Prioritize non-work tasks.  Activism will have to compete for my time with all of life’s other demands.
• If something really big and important comes up, that’s what evenings are for.

It’s too easy for me to put off work to do other “important” things – because I don’t like working!  If I have to balance those “important” things against other pleasurable pursuits (books, movies, games, getting to bed on time), then I think we’ll see some real prioritization.

-J

Don’t Change

Here’s an interesting idea.  Stop having more faith in your future self than you have in your present self.

• I’ll just eat this candy bar now, but then I’ll eat no more desserts this week.
• I don’t feel like working out.  I’ll go to the gym tomorrow.
• I’ll just read articles today, and I’ll get down to the real work tomorrow.

Stop believing that you’ll magically be a stronger person in the future.  The evidence is in: however you are behaving now is how you will go on behaving.  You have to BECOME a stronger person.  Start now.

Ask yourself: what I am about to do, am I willing to live the rest of my life like this?  Do I want the consequences of eating dessert after lunch every day, of always skipping the work-out, of alway goofing off?  Decide how you want to live your life, and live that way RIGHT NOW.  Your future self is saying: “You first.“

source: Kelly McGonigal via Daniel Pink: How to Make a New-Year’s Non-Resolution. (thanks Suzy )

Stop Being So Damn Productive

Couple of good articles on the power of focus, the nature of motivation, and the importance of regular breaks:

With mental tasks, productivity doesn’t increase linearly with time worked. Every hour spent working hard is a tax on the next hour you want to spend working hard. And so on until you can spend hours, even days, working without achieving.

Remember the quote “You speak a lot, but you don’t say much”? Same goes for working a lot.

http://lifehacker.com/5867102/stop-being-so-damn-productive

The Trick to Accomplishing More by Doing Less

Multitasking all day is not as productive as working in 90 minute stretches with 15-20 minute breaks (or even a nap) and a real lunch break.

http://lifehacker.com/5867995/the-secret-to-accomplishing-more-by-doing-less-take-breaks

How Rewards Can Make You Hate Something You Love

“Many people—including us—have argued that doing what you love and getting paid for it is the holy grail of life achievements, but in reality we tend to get discouraged when presented with the possibility that we’re only doing something for the money.”

http://lifehacker.com/5868585/how-rewards-can-make-you-hate-something-you-love

I would ascribe a different interpretation to the observed phenomenon: that, when getting paid to do something, you have to do it.  You have to do it to a schedule, and you have to do it to somebody else’s satisfaction.  When the task is no longer enjoyable, you have to keep doing it to completion.  Whereas, when you do something purely for enjoyment, you only do it for as long as it is enjoyable to you.

Applications to motivation and procrastination.

-Johnny 0.

How To Work From Home Without Going Insane

Best how-to-work-from-home-without-going-insane article I’ve read so far:

How To Work From Home Without Going Insane

Procrastinators who work from home should especially read this one.

-J