

Productivity vs. Guilt and Self-Loathing - MarlonPro
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/ProductivityVsGuiltAndSelfLoathing.aspx

======
theallan
Somewhat ironic that I found this through HN where I so often feel that the
world is moving so much faster than I can possibly keep up. Some of the work
produced and shown here is just superb, and so often I get the feeling of:

 _Everyone seems to be getting stuff done, except you._

I so often think that productivity, guilt and self-loathing go hand-in-hand.
I've been wondering if entrepreneurs are particularly susceptible to to the
dips and highs that come from these three things locking together, or if
everyone feels that way?

~~~
JonLim
Everywhere in the world, people are getting stuff done.

Don't sweat it, just remember to go at your own pace, challenge yourself on a
daily basis, and be proud of your accomplishments. We all run at different
strides, don't judge yourself based on someone else's accomplishments.

I sound a little preachy, but hey, we all need the pep talk sometimes. :)

~~~
Jach
> Everywhere in the world, people are getting stuff done.

A person in a depressed state of mind would answer: " _Except_ me!" To
themselves though, since they're aware of that fact and it can only make them
feel worse. Why can't they just be productive? They're quite capable of
repeating the various motivational mantras out there; those are more likely to
just contribute negatively to the feedback cycle they're in.

------
spacemanaki
I definitely see where he's going with some of this stuff, but I strongly
disagree with this part, and I find it really off the mark:

    
    
      You know that pile of books that you'll never read that sitting
      next to the computer you are reading this blog post on? That pile
      is too tall. You'll never read all those. That pile of books is a
      monolith of guilt. It's a monument of sadness and failure. Pick
      the book or two that you can read this week and put the rest
      away.
    

"A monolith of guilt... a monument of sadness and failure"?! How pessimistic!
No, no, it's a pile of treasure! I love having a huge stack of books on my
desk, or overflowing from my bookshelves. Maybe he's talking about a different
kind of book, but almost none of the books I'm currently reading I'll be able
to finish in a week, not even if I devoted all my free time to a single one.
Here's my current stack:

Modern Compiler Impl in ML, Real World Haskell, Programming Haskell, Types and
Programming Languages, Software Foundations, chapters on parsing in EOPL1,
chapters on types in EOPL3, chapters on types in PLAI,

And that doesn't include some papers I've got printed out for the subway. I
just got a new book delivered today, bought practically on a whim (the Coq'Art
book), just because why not? Maybe I have some kind of attention deficit
problem, but I really find it valuable to read multiple takes on the same
topic (in this case, as you might infer, compilers and types), which means
working through a bunch of books concurrently.

I find it thrilling and exciting to have so much _more_ to read, so much more
to learn. The stack of books is a monument to wonder and knowledge, it's a
deep well to draw on and to be immersed in.

~~~
enraged_camel
I think his point is that if the unread books are right in front of you for
months at a time, they are a constant reminder that you mean to get around to
reading them, but never do.

Which is something I definitely agree with. I used to have books lying around
my room. Not only were they visual clutter, but I would get in the habit of
picking one up, flipping through the pages, and then getting distracted with
another book. Ever since I started keeping all my books in my bookshelf
though, I've been much better at focusing on just one and finishing it before
moving on to the next.

~~~
billjings
That is the entire point of having the books in a stack where you can see
them!

I love reading, but I intentionally take up books for leisure reading that I
know will be a challenge. Some longer or more difficult works are definitely
projects, projects that I need to consciously put work into.

Having the book sitting out there, visible, a physical reminder, is probably
my most powerful motivational tool for getting these books read. For me this
is the main reason I still buy and read physical books.

I guess it also helps that, for me, reading is something I get excited about.
It is how I unwind. Having a book in my library that I haven't read yet does
not make me feel guilty. Maybe the book makes me excited with anticipation,
maybe I feel apathetic towards it. But I don't feel anxious, because the world
will keep spinning just fine if I fail to read a book.

edit: I should amend to say that this is also a matter of taste. Having books
all over the place will definitely make you switch reading material sometime,
and will probably keep you from finishing some books. I'm of the school of
thought that says, fine. I'll fail to finish some books. Not the end of the
world. Sometimes a book just takes a couple of tries before it gets its teeth
into you.

~~~
shanselman
I'm not saying that one shouldn't have a lot of books. I've got a bookshelf
behind me that is TWO WALLS wide and 8 feet tall. I'm talking about the pile
of books on our desk that we lie to ourselves about. I called them Guilt
Piles.

For many people that pile of books that they aren't going to read this week
represents promises they've made to themselves that they didn't keep. I was
just saying, be honest and take a few books off your desk. Those books are on
my shelves and I'll read them when I'm ready for them.

~~~
billjings
All I can say is that I live in a state of radical disarray, and I often have
books just sitting around. I wouldn't ever call them guilt piles, because
leaving something unfinished causes me no real guilt, especially if I'm happy
with whatever I'm doing at the moment.

In my work life, I feel I need to fight that instinct. But not in my reading
life. That's part of what makes it a refuge for me.

------
ClintonWu
Comment I posted on this article:

Great post, Scott. Here are some things I do to build off your main points:

Stop Checking Email in the Morning - Batch email checking into something you
do two or three times per day at certain times.

Don't make Guilt Piles - If you do make them, keep them out of site and
accumulate them for a long plane ride, car trip, or vacation.

If it's important, Schedule It. - Again, I schedule my email and my browsing
.I actually roughly schedule my whole day. Happy to send to anyone just email
me at wu at skim dot me.

Let go of Psychic Weight - This is a hard one but the key to overcoming
digital overconsumption and information overload is to recognize you'll never
be able to get through it all.

Schedule Work Sprints - I have two one and a half to two hour slots of real
productivity per day. Sometimes I get to three.

Stop Beating Yourself Up - Constant struggle

I'm somewhat new to this productivity thing but got into it after recognizing
that my web browsing was becoming addictive and unproductive. It was producing
"the guilt and self-loathing" you mentioned if I couldn't keep up with it. It
ultimately led me to build Skim.Me. We're making your daily online browsing
routines more productive. Not just tools or a platform but really an entire
user experience that wants to move content consumption away from addictive
page views and time spent towards a disciplined approach to building better,
sustainable habits.

We automatically onboard you using our plugin, aggregate from your favorite
sites/apps (not just news & social) across devices, and help you browse in
timed batches through the day without showing you how many unread or unchecked
you have. Hope some people check it out when we launch (<http://skim.me>). v1
in three weeks.

~~~
overgryphon
" I have two one and a half to two hour slots of real productivity per day.
Sometimes I get to three."

I'm relieved I'm not the only one who only really gets 3-4 hours of productive
work on an average day.

~~~
cphang
You are more productive than most people, according this Quora's answer.
[http://www.quora.com/How-many-hours-do-most-people-
actually-...](http://www.quora.com/How-many-hours-do-most-people-actually-
work-in-a-day)

------
dredmorbius
See Spolsky's "Fire and Motion" for a far better take on this.

<http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000339.html>

------
junto
I feel guilty now. I've been reading HN for 2 hours.

~~~
junto
Actually, if I'm honest with myself, 3 hours.

~~~
keeptrying
Lol ... its okay. Time yourself and cut it down to 2.5 hours tommorrow.

Tiny steps are okay as long as you make a lot of them ...

------
chmike
I use HN reading as a reward when boring work is done. It works well.

------
DenisM
Another way to keep track of your time is to run a screen-recording software
through the day, and then do a review In the evening.

