
Working hurts less than procrastinating, we fear the twinge of starting - ab9
http://lesswrong.com/lw/3kv/working_hurts_less_than_procrastinating_we_fear/
======
te_platt
And all this time I just thought I was lazy.

Actually, this article made think about what the relationship is between being
lazy and being a procrastinator. Once I get going I enjoy working and it feels
so good to get things done. Still, I have the hardest time getting started. So
what are the best methods to get going? It seems avoiding HN may be one of
them.

~~~
keeptrying
A really easy way is to tell yourself that you'll write only one line of code.
Go ahead and do that. Or that you'll do just one pushup or only one line of
your blog... It works wonders.

~~~
tomjen3
My mind just tells me "one line of code doesn't matter, so you can skip it",
which gets me nowhere.

~~~
jcapote
Learn a more expressive language! ;)

~~~
eru
Or just dispense with newlines.

------
csomar
_Success and happiness cause you to regain willpower_

I discovered this a while ago and found a good hack for it. I created a fake
index, and within this index, I listed companies. Each company means
something: progress in work, proficiency in English, learning, reading, self-
improvement...

The day opens at 10 A.M, when I wake up. The trade begins. If I work or make
money, the index rise (one of the company indexes or more). If I
procrastinate, I lower the index. This makes me uncomfortable, because I'm
looking to grow the index and not actually lower it. So, I get back to work to
get the index up or reduce loses.

Sometimes I'm very productive; I don't even check it out. I don't rise it a
lot after that. But other times, I procrastinate a lot, so I return back to
the index and drop it dramatically. I feel like I'm obliged to safe the
situation, so I work to reduce the loses.

This also keeps me with all my goals, as I care about the global index and
also companies indexes.

hint: You need to make this index a part of your life. That's necessary if you
want that it _forces_ you to work.

~~~
jpulgarin
Did you write an app to do this? Sharing it would be awesome...

~~~
csomar
No, I'm using an Excel Sheet. I'm considering an App. and a system to save the
data online, once I get a smartphone and some free time ;)

------
edw519
The best hack I ever learned to avoid the "pain of getting started" problem:

Never finish.

I always leave something easy, even trivial, undone when I knock off each day.
So no matter what else I'm doing the next day, it's easy to change a format,
add another data element, or change a few variable names. Then once I get
going, it's much easier to keep going.

Things that don't work well with this method: debugging a nasty problem,
reworking architecture, scaling, or major additions. Those are best left for
later in the day.

~~~
Qz
Hemingway had the same advice for writers: Never stop writing at the end of a
chapter.

~~~
electromagnetic
I've personally stopped using chapters, I found them to be rather detrimental
to the process. When I feel I need them I insert them into the logical places
via hindsight rather than using them to make arbitrary boundaries inside my
work as I work.

------
schm00
I learned a long time ago that I could cure the pain of procrastination by
opening an editor and typing

    
    
      int main(int argc, char **argv) {
    

I still do this... just opening the appropriate program -- emacs, MS Word,
whatever -- and typing a line that looks like it might actually be useful is
enough to get me started doing real work, even when I have no idea how to
complete the project (which was what was stopping me from starting in the
first place).

~~~
quizbiz
Can you explain more about how you got to that point of realizing what helps
you get started?

~~~
schm00
I don't recall precisely. I suspect I asked myself something along the lines
of "What is the smallest, simplest concrete step that I can take that will
move me toward my goal?" If the answer is typing "emacs", that's so easy that
it's hard to resist doing it right away. Having tried the little mental
exercise once or twice, the positive feedback I got made me want to do it over
and over again.

The trick of writing /something/ down, no matter how trivial or wrong, is that
now you've got something to work with.

If it's the declaration of main(), the next step is staring you in the face:
what's the first thing I need to do in main()? Process arguments? Cool, I know
how to write that code. What are the arguments? I don't know, how is the
program going to be used? And like magic, now we're designing the interface to
the system; that is, we're actually doing the real work.

If it's a piece of writing, write an opening sentence. Anything will do. If
it's terribly wrong, how can we make it better? If it's roughly right, what's
the next logical thought? And the next? And the next? Now, how can we cleanly
end this paragraph and lead into the next one...

------
angrycoder
After a day of procrastinating, you usually feel like shit. You are worried
and stressed because now you have even more work to do. So by taking the day
to 'relax', you have actually worsened your mental state.

After a day of working, assuming it was a productive day where you actually
solved problems, you usually feel pretty damn good.

------
wisty
Perhaps meditation is a good cure for this type of procrastination? It
shouldn't take any effort to close your eyes for a few seconds, and "meditate"
to regain your focus. Then, it's easier to decide what to do next.

~~~
praptak
I have found out that meditation does even more for me. I started noticing the
little seductive impulses ("Hey buddy, it won't hurt to browse HN for five
minutes!") without automatically following through on them.

The little moment after noticing the impulse is where I can wait for it to
subside instead of yielding to it.

------
taiyab
The funny thing is, this isn't just a problem in the developer community, it's
across all creative fields (OK, it's not funny, you know what I mean :P).

I've always found that just starting with something very small to get into it
always helps tons. I know it's a simple point, but it really does work
wonders. Once you start, you'll just naturally progress and want to continue
for a while longer.

------
codyguy
Interesting observation. I've observed many times it's just about opening the
appropriate file/IDE and the rest takes care of itself.

~~~
gaustin
I have to close my web browser, too. I don't need any enforcement (like host
file blocks), just a clean workspace.

------
Jabbles
A very interesting perspective. Now hurry up with HPMOR!

------
nazgulnarsil
it's easier to pull yourself across activation costs than it is to push
yourself across them.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpS_cJP5nzs>

------
mannicken
I found that having certain rituals, like ingestion of certain substances
(caffeine for programming, e.g.) or listening to certain music, or visiting
certain forums before doing an activity pretty much removed procrastination
from my life. With substances, I found (by accident) that placebo works just
as well.

Of course, now I have to battle different drug addictions but that's a
completely different story :)

------
Jach
"Action precedes motivation."

Ludum Dare ( <http://www.ludumdare.com> ) is a great way to free yourself from
some procrastination chains for a weekend. I typically start with a menu
screen if I haven't gotten into the mood, since it's easy, it should be
necessary, and it lets me digest my planned game some before I start on the
main bits.

------
ntoshev
I think there is more than this: e.g. it's easier to procrastinate when you're
tired and this theory doesn't account for it.

I wonder if RescueTime data contain really important insights on productivity.
They should try to mine them, probably Netflix-prize style would work well.

------
tom_ilsinszki
I also fear, that I start working on a problem, give it my best and still
fail. It's easier to explain why I failed if I've procrastinated.

I don't think that the pain of context switching explains procrastination
fully...

------
sn
I'm considering making a morning playlist of songs that get me motivated for
when I wake up.

