

Ask HN: What to do when procrastinating from a complex task? - mydpy

Hi all, 
For the last few weeks I have been working on a complex, mathematically dense task at work. I&#x27;ve found myself avoiding some of the most difficult parts of the task and not able to cover as much ground as I&#x27;m typically accustomed to. Any advice about how to stay focused, or some good exercises to give myself some mental recharge time when I&#x27;m feeling exhausted?
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staunch
Do something related but trivial to get yourself into it. Momentum is the key.
You're at a stand still. Pick the easiest or most interesting part related to
the project and start on that. Even if it doesn't really make sense to do that
first. Anything to get the ball rolling. Once the ball is rolling I tend to
tackle the scariest part first. Whatever I'm not sure how to solve yet.

Visualizing the end product can work very well too. Create a sketch or non-
functional version of what you're building, just to see what the finished
product will look like.

If I was creating Google I'd make a really dead simple app that let you enter
a query and returned 10 crappy links. Just to make the work tangible. This
lets your brain easily grab onto what success would look like (e.g. 10 highly
relevant links vs 10 crappy links).

~~~
mydpy
This is a really good suggestion. I need to remember this when I'm in my poor-
working moments.

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dorfuss
Maybe not an advice but an idea: postponing is never making the task easier.
Sometimes waiting too long can make it obsolete/useless. Waiting for mood or
willingness can mean that you never do it. Force your self to do it no matter
what, designate specific time for the task. Divide it into smaller steps and
reward yourself after accomplishing each of it. This would not work for math,
but could help with writing essays/articles- start with enumerating 10 issues,
then write 10 ideas for each issue, then write a paragraph about each idea.
And finally - if there is no deadline, there is no task. Time is a scarce
resource, you have to deliver something before the due time, even if it's not
perfect, even if it doesn't solve all the problems. Good luck!

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kennethtilton
This is scary, an hour ago I tweeted "I love code challenges but sometimes I
find myself dithering around on twitter instead of attacking them, like a
horse refusing a jump."

Is this about coding? I know that once I hit "run" and something breaks my
juices will start to flow, so I figure out some way to hit "run" even if I
know the code is not ready. Josh's divide and conquer idea would help with
this.

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joshowens
Try to break it into smaller pieces and take the "debt snowball" approach of
killing off the smaller pieces first. Celebrate your wins.

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booop
If you're having trouble staying focused, what helped me tremendously was to
start maintaining what I call a 'distraction record' during the important
tasks.

Now, it's not based on any scientific paper/literature. It's just a
spreadsheet with the following columns:

'Time' , 'Important Task' , 'Distraction' , 'Time Since end of Last
Distraction' , 'Distraction Duration'

Each time you stop doing the important task and do something else (like
browsing hackernews or checking your IMs) enter a new record with the minimum
distraction duration being a minute. After a while you'll really start paying
attention to how much time you lose doing unimportant things just to avoid the
discomfort of the important task and how it actually drags on the time you
spent trying to finish what you started.

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Sakes
Hmm, well I don't ever do any intensive mathematics, or math at all really.
But I have overcome many cerebrally intensive challenges with the below
method.

Work on / build things that will aid you in solving the problem. This could be
organizing code, organizing notes, (reorganizing equations??), building test
pages. Anything that you can think of that is intellectually simple that will
aid you later when you find your motivation.

Also, after an intense push for a number of hours, go outside and sit, have a
coffee or beer or wine or whiskey coke for thirty minutes. Just relax, don't
work. And let the most recent effort seep into your subconscious. I often find
that my subconscious is better at solving these types of problems than I am.

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mydpy
Thanks everyone, these are really helpful comments. I work the best in the
mornings, so I'm adding a suggestion to my own post: Figure out when you work
the best, and use that time to your advantage. Work with colleagues during
your toughest times and motivate each other. Tackle administrative tasks when
you're not at your best.

Now I'm going to take my own advice and get off HN.

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tersiag
Relax your mind for a while. Spend a couple of days doing something completely
different and look at the problem again

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segmondy
let me know if you find a working solution.

