I've found that both "to date" and "to go" thinking impede my ability to get the task done. If I focus on what I have left "to go", the problem seems insurmountable, my stress level goes through the roof, and I never get started on what's left.<p>Instead, I've found that the only way to make progress on a serious long-term goal is to focus on "What can I do now?" It's completely present-oriented, neither past nor future. I forget about everything I've done and forget about everything I'm going to do, and think about only what I'm about to accomplish in the next couple hours.<p>I started a 20% project with the express purpose of training myself to finish large, far-off, independent goals with a minimum of stress, because all my previous projects have hit the wall of "This is too big, I can't ever finish this on my own". When I started, I set the rule for myself: I wouldn't be bound by deadlines or obsess over the "right" way to do things, I'd only care that every time I had some free time, I'd make a little progress on it. It seems to have worked so far, as it's been a lot more fun on a project that's been intrinsically more boring than many past projects.
My problem with this type of argument/technique is they constantly identify a completion state.<p>Stop thinking about completion, and start thinking about milestones (waypoints, checkpoints, revisions, whatever). A popular startup mantra is release early and often; another popular startup technique is to release unfinished.<p>I say we need to stop thinking about what's been done, and also stop thinking about what needs to be accomplished before we are finished. Think about what needs to be completed for the next checkpoint.<p>In the ever-popular race metaphor: Put your right foot in front of your left, then put your left foot in front of your right. Congratulations, you made it one step further. Tell everyone what you accomplished, then take the next step.<p>Using this concept, the hard part becomes determining what exactly constitutes a step. This is no small task, but it seems easier to deal with than constant concern about 'finishing'.
Read the abstract of the paper; it's a much clearer summary than this article, which ignores the second control condition of "surety of commitment." <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/94/2/183/" rel="nofollow">http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/94/2/183/</a>
"To-go thinking" actually causes me to procrastinate... Because I have plenty of time left.<p>Instead, I find that getting it 'working' with the minimum features, then adding more and more provides that sense of accomplishment while motivating me to continue making it better.<p>A lot of people will say 'Of course!' but once upon a time I didn't work like that. I would plan it all from the start and you couldn't do ANYTHING with it until it was almost completely done.<p>Now, I just plan broadly enough to make sure I'm not preventing any needed feature, and then work on making it work as quickly as possible.
Does this validate negative self talk that most people say you shouldn't do? Let's say someone (<i>cough me </i>cough) has a lot of weight to lose. I could approach it as either "I've eaten pretty well this week, I can keep doing it" or "Jeez, I'm still a fatty, I need to keep losing weight".<p>Nearly everyone would say to focus on the first type of statement and not the second, but this article seems to contradict that. I'm sure the amount of magnitude of the negativity would play a role as well.
Really interesting that it's not that the future looks too daunting, it's that past progress is so satisfying? Not what I would have thought intuitively.
The tough part with startups is you often don't even know what "to go" is. Even if you have an idea about what you think it is, you still need to constantly re-evaluate.
I break the goal into doable tasks and challenge myself
towards the accomplishment of each task. Each task has a
timeline so I can pace myself. I then know when in the future
I an going to be complete so I really don't worry about it, I
can enjoy the coding.
The final task always seems to be testing, I hate testing.
I've done my share of endurance athletics and as an alternative to the 'how far approach' instead focused on the moment. I usually use phrases such as relax, long and smooth, etc... and knew the distance would take care of itself.
There is a great book by Brain Tracy: EAT THAT FROG. I found that book quite interesting and if one gets serious, he could easily implement what he talks about