Resistance to Being Productive

215 pointsby mobitarover 7 years ago

25 comments

larrikover 7 years ago

I was hoping for something more scientific or at least psychological, but alas.I would say these reasons don't line up with my observances at all.For instance, one of mine is "this project is so big, I don't know where to start". Once I find a piece that seems like something I can get done quickly and ease me in, things tend to go a lot easier.Another is "I have so many (different) things to do that I don't want to do any". Presumably this is not so different than the earlier one, and it's hard to get started without an obvious plan of attack that having only one or more tasks ahead of you brings with it.Lastly, as a lifelong procrastinator, I've noticed that waiting until the last minute to do something you need to do OFTEN results in never having to do it at all. You end up doing only things that really needed to get done.In the end, I don't really worry about it, or I hunt for tiny tasks to get my momentum going.As for the article's "I'm not sure how doing that work will take me to the next step" I guess? Maybe? But "I'm not sure what I would do after I finish that work (what the next step is)" I don't believe has every been a factor a single time in my life.

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jblowover 7 years ago

There is something much deeper happening.As you become successful in your field (or wherever), and further internalize the habits that are necessary to be successful, it's clear that many of these things are easy to do, it's just that people don't want to do them.In other words ... it's obvious that many people don't want to be successful, and if they were to introspect deeply, they would see this clearly. In fact what they want is to be somewhere comfortable in the middle of the herd, not having to do too much work.Most people want to be comfortable, not 'successful' in a way that requires ambition. But many people are brainwashed enough by the rhetoric of success that they don't realize it's not what they want.There's also something I haven't figured out yet. Every time I give advice, I get a number of responses from people with self-defeating attitudes, explaining how this advice can't possibly apply to them because blah blah blah. These people build up belief structures that are obviously intended to keep them mired in their current situation, smelling of low self-esteem and defeatism. "Obviously" it's better not to be stuck in these belief structures, yet people will defend them vigorously, and in some cases fiercely. I don't yet fully understand why, except maybe that if someone believes there is a solution to their problem, then it must be their fault that they haven't solved it, and/or that there will be a clear failure that is their fault if they attempt to solve it.

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baxtrover 7 years ago

In the last years, I have noticed that I don’t start things because it’s much easier to hang out online like on this site. For example, I have told myself to read books. But everytime I have the time to do that, I start hanging out online. There, I still read a lot, but it’s much more fragmented and I kinda feel “drained” afterwards. I feel a lot more energized after reading a book, but somehow it’s not enough to get me started. Shame

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bitLover 7 years ago

Hmm, as a life-long high-performer I am thinking maybe slackers are right; meeting or accelerating deadlines never resulted in bonuses/appreciation, always resulted in more and more work; when it came to promotions slackers were fast tracked and work horses were kept where they were. Frankly, empirically it doesn't make any sense to exceed average team velocity unless you work on your own stuff. Being "too good" often brings resentment, fear and super nasty backstabbing from those that underperform, so why bother if rewards are out of place?

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pipio21over 7 years ago

In my experience as engineer(personal responsibility), manager(group responsibility) and entrepreneur(company responsibility), the main reason for procrastinating is always fear and anxiety.Tim ferris simplifies it well: <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_ferriss_why_you_should_define_your_fears_instead_of_your_goals" rel="nofollow">https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_ferriss_why_you_should_define_...</a>The adventure to master your personal fears, and the fears of your groups, your family, your coworkers never ends.

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gukovover 7 years ago

>it usually comes down to three reasons why I don’t feel like doing the work I should clearly be doingI've spent a lot of time thinking about this and eventually came to a conclusion: it comes down to one thing. Simply, your brain doesn't feel like doing something because that something can't compete with a source of easily attainable dopamine. Brain candy. It comes in different forms: actual candy (simple carbs), visual candy (facebook, instagram), intellectual candy (HN). Turn off that source or at least make it bland and black and white (eg. you can make your phone's screen B&W) and your brain will find actual work exciting (ie. dopamine-inducing) again.PS. Reading and watching videos about beating procrastination is a form of candy, too. Stop it.

Exo_Tartarusover 7 years ago

I notice that when I begin to procrastinate, I actually am thinking about the task intensely. So intensely that I believe I overwhelm myself and subconsciously decide to put off working on the task.When I silence my mind prior to starting work on a task I find I'm more easily able to actually start.

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wellpastover 7 years ago

> 1. I don’t care about the work > If you don’t care about the work, it’s going be a long and agonizing journey to completing this task and its descendant tasks in the future.I'm sure there are some good life hacks to trick you into liking this or that work that you by default dislike.I have a corollary problem to this #1. Not that I dislike writing per se but I like coding so much more. I have to really fight away not coding to put more time into writing. This may be because I've been at coding for a long time, so I am good at it, therefore the dopamine comes easier. There's probably some theory here that goes like once you're good at a thing, it's harder to get good at some other thing. When my noviceness/incompetence at writing frustrates me, instead of pushing through it's easy to go feel better about myself doing something (programming) that I have some good capacity for. Thinking out loud...

eeZah7Uxover 7 years ago

In some modern cultures people expect from themselves to be always productive and happy regardless of the task at hand.Yet - point one "I could not summon a single fuck to give" is presented honestly.What if it's actually a sign of health to be disinterested in writing yet another $thing in order to pay rent?

gallerdudeover 7 years ago

I find that I jump ship to new projects too easily. It's tricky to find the discipline to stick with what you already have.

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aizattoover 7 years ago

Some very shallow points, but this article looks like it only applies for the author.I think its great that everyone knows why they are hesitant to do things, and I see some great comments here.I've also been collecting my thoughts on why I'm "hesitant" as well.I've made a site to document my thought processes.<a href="https://www.deepthoughtapp.com/en/topics/hesitating/" rel="nofollow">https://www.deepthoughtapp.com/en/topics/hesitating/</a>I've also thought about other keywords such as "start" and "focus"<a href="https://www.deepthoughtapp.com/en/topics/starting/" rel="nofollow">https://www.deepthoughtapp.com/en/topics/starting/</a><a href="https://www.deepthoughtapp.com/en/topics/focus/" rel="nofollow">https://www.deepthoughtapp.com/en/topics/focus/</a>This process has really helped me better understand myself, and how I operate. I hope it can help others as well.Just to flip it around, maybe "lazy" would be interesting as well.<a href="https://www.deepthoughtapp.com/en/topics/laziness/" rel="nofollow">https://www.deepthoughtapp.com/en/topics/laziness/</a>

franklin_cobbover 7 years ago

For me, I have a hard time starting mundane tasks that I think are going to run for days or weeks. It's hard enough for me to muster up enough motivation to start today. The prospect of having to do that day after day or month after month is depressing. I've found this is much less an issue it teams that do Kanban or Scrum well.

itamarstover 7 years ago

The author is confusing productivity with doing work. If you overcome all these things and work all day, non-stop... you may be still be unproductive because you're doing things inefficiently, or doing unnecessary work.The key to productivity is achieving the same results with less work, which basically means learning how to avoid unnecessary effort. The unachievable ideal of maximum productivity would finishing everything immediately and with no effort.(<a href="https://codewithoutrules.com/2017/10/04/technical-skills-productive/" rel="nofollow">https://codewithoutrules.com/2017/10/04/technical-skills-pro...</a> has a list of ways you can be unproductive even while being not tired, fully focused, undistracted, and not procrastinating.)

josephjrobisonover 7 years ago

Anyone know the answer or have good recommendations for this thought:As a freelance (marketing but could be anything) consultant, I have 4 hours of client work to do a day, and 4 hours of side project work. The client work has to be done, but is less exciting or long term since I'm working for other people. The side project work requires self-motivation because no one is holding me to it, but has more upside in the long term, and I like working on it.Is it better to do:A) Get all client work done from 8am-12pm, then side project from 1pm-5pm -or- B) Side project from 8am-12pm, client work 1pm-5pm. -or- C) Some other method like Monday - Wed client work only, Thurs-Fri side project onlyI had started with version A, but then throughout the day I look for an escape from client work so I go on Hacker News and read blog posts.I'm thinking version B is better so I can pump out the stuff I like first, and get the ball rolling. Then the less brain-intensive client work I'll have a shorter window to finish, so I have to focus and get it done.Right now, my client work expands to fill the whole day by having fragmented focus, and I can't get to side project work ever.

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Mzover 7 years ago

My reasons:1) I just seriously don't have the energy because of my medical condition. I suspect this broadly applies to many people: They don't have the energy for some reason, then they or others call them lazy or a procrastinator, things I was called my whole life until I finally got the right diagnosis.2) Trying to accomplish stuff has been so much drama in the past that I want to try to find a path forward that doesn't essentially explode in my face. Having things explode in my face always felt like 2 steps forward, 27 steps back. It wasn't productive. It was counterproductive.3) Having figured out some of the things I want to do and how to (mostly) avoid terrible explosions, I still have only the most slender concept of how to make that actually fly. I am working on fleshing out those plans. Sorting that out strikes me as the difference between the Wright Brothers launching their first test flight and hurling myself off a cliff willy nilly like a lemming.

MobiusHorizonsover 7 years ago

This fits my own experience exactly!I personally am sometimes able to push through boring long tasks that I don't care about simply by using some form of timer or pomodoro. I just set a goal to have accomplished before the deadline of the timer. rinse/repeat

sudostephover 7 years ago

Interesting list, but as someone who has seriously struggled with productivity at many points in my life due to ADHD, I cannot relate at all.> 1. I don't care about the workThis was a problem in school, but not in my career. I built my career around problem domains that interested me, and often times the work I'm struggling to get going with is work that I chose for myself and prioritized accordingly. Also, I have a financial interest in the company I work for, so that's another reason I care about the work.> 2. I'm not sure how doing that work will take me to the next stepI guess I'm not a "future-minded being", because this has never crossed my mind. I think about next steps when I'm planning or strategizing, I don't do either of those things when I'm trying to execute.> 3. I'm not sure what I would do after I finish that work (what the next step is)Same thing as the second one, I'm really not thinking about the future most of the time. In fact, I have the opposite problem. Once I've fully defined the problem domain, designed everything and done the challenging work, the really obvious next steps which will let me get it out (cleaning things up, writing good messaging and docs, tests, deploys) are just tedious noise. I'd always prefer to build a new system to automate boring things than do them, which can be a good or bad thing depending on time constraints.I read somewhere that for people without ADHD, Importance, Rewards, and Consequences are the big motivators. However, for ADHD folks, the only things that matter when getting stuff done are: Interest, Novelty, Challenge, Urgency.That's been 100% the case for me. When I'm stuck with tedious things, I NEED solid and close deadlines that I am accountable to (to create urgency). Another thing I do is find novel to-do systems to organize it all and follow. I use Bullet Journals, GTD, Sticky Notes, Pomodoro Timers, etc. I can't actually stick to any of those for more than a few weeks, but jumping between and finding new systems keeps me engaged enough to make progress.

anigbrowlover 7 years ago

A much bigger reason for me is that I don't know if/how I'm going to make any money out of it. The things I personally want are aesthetic or social capital, and for a variety of reasons (which I'd rather not articulate in public) acquiring money capital of any kind if tremendously difficult for me and so 95% of my ideas go unrealized for lack of resources. I'm also terrible at asking people for help, and especially at asking people to donate time or attention because I resent unsolicited demands on mine and don't want to impose them on others.

PeOeover 7 years ago

For me personally the third reason isn't really the problem. It's more "I'm overwhelmed by the task" or something similar. I think most people have problems with actual task setting. Like in the means of "how do I tackle this task best? What steps do I take?". Here´s an article about that: <a href="https://blog.zenkit.com/7-mistakes-to-avoid-when-tackling-your-to-do-list-acbddbedabf7" rel="nofollow">https://blog.zenkit.com/7-mistakes-to-avoid-when-tackling-yo...</a>

_jnover 7 years ago

Completely unrelated to article content—I very much hope that standardnotes’ publishing feature becomes a real medium competitor. They’ve made a great product so far and I’d love to see it take off.

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emodendroketover 7 years ago

I mean, there are a whole bunch of other reasons that aren't on here. Sick of your workplace. Unhappy with some personal events going on in your life. Haven't slept enough. And so on.

curioussavageover 7 years ago

My wife read some great advice recently. The five minute rule. If you are inclined to procrastinate just do five minutes of work and then take a break.I have found getting started to be the hardest part. Once I have a project started my brain starts working on it and it’s much easier to go back to it

agumonkeyover 7 years ago

Some tweet gave me this:<a href="https://journal.thriveglobal.com/heres-the-strategy-elite-athletes-follow-to-perform-at-the-highest-level-5300e1519e30" rel="nofollow">https://journal.thriveglobal.com/heres-the-strategy-elite-at...</a>interesting view too, worth two reads

snthdover 7 years ago

I found <a href="https://bookofhook.blogspot.com/2012/09/productivity-vs-uncertainty-apathy.html" rel="nofollow">https://bookofhook.blogspot.com/2012/09/productivity-vs-unce...</a> useful.

PatientTradesover 7 years ago

The author forgot the most obvious one: I'm too tired to do the work. Its hard to get daily tasks done when you are mentally and physically exhausted.

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