
Ask HN: I can't seem to finish anything. Can I get some advice? - jwdunne
I struggle a lot with procrastination. I&#x27;m not even sure if its that, laziness, a lack of discipline or all three.<p>From the age of 13, I distinctly remember not bring able to finish software&#x2F;game projects, not out of difficulty but something I can barely describe. I just hit a block. If I try and force my way past it, I go at a snails pace and have no where near as much energy as when first starting the project. This is true even if its a trivial project longer than a couple of days.<p>This is true for almost everything in my life. Ill stick to a healthy eating regime for a couple if weeks, I&#x27;ll exercise daily for 5 days and books and projects remain some percentage completed. The only things I can seem to finish are ones I can do in one sitting.<p>What&#x27;s interesting to note is that this problem is more subtle. It is not as intense.<p>I was wondering if anyone has any advice? I do believe this problem is seriously getting in the way if my life.
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joeld42
I struggled with this for years. I solved this problem with one simple rule. I
don't allow myself to talk about what I am planning, or doing, but only what I
have done. It doesn't have to be a whole project finished, it could just be a
part of it. So I could not say, "I'm working on this awesome RPG it's going to
have blah blah", but I could say, "Last night I got this really cool feature
working in my RPG map generator". etc..

That doesn't work for everyone, I know some people that are motivated by
telling people what they are working on so they feel like there's pressure on
them. But that's just what worked for me.

The other thing that helps me is to set artificial deadlines with "cooling
off" periods. So I plan a demo or a release for, say, the end of next month
with the self-impose rule that no matter how much, or how little I've
completed, or even if I miss the deadline entirely, the day after the deadline
I will set the project aside for six months.

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tjr
You might consider practicing finishing. Select a book (preferably not a huge
one) and read the whole thing. Then read another one. Then start and finish a
small project. If you are presently able to finish something that is doable in
one sitting, then expand to two sittings. Or whatever.

I'm a random stranger on the internet, and this might not help you at all. But
it seems to help me.

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lincolnq
Read The Motivation Hacker by Nick Winter. $2.99. I will personally guarantee
you'll get a ton of value out of it. If you don't, I'll paypal you the cost of
the book, just email me.

[http://www.amazon.com/The-Motivation-Hacker-
ebook/dp/B00C8N4...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Motivation-Hacker-
ebook/dp/B00C8N4FNK)

~~~
JauniusPinelis
Thank you for this link - really great book. On nook it costs only 2 pounds.
This helps me get stuff done - recommended.

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gexla
What happens if you don't finish the project? Nothing?

If I don't finish a project I'm working on, I don't eat. Well, I'm not that
bad off, but my projects do put the bread on the table.

Maybe that's a good test. I find I have a hard time finishing projects which
are probably just a waste of my time. Then at some point I realize the project
is a waste of my time and trash it. Now I try to guard my time more carefully.
We only have so much time on this planet, we need to be careful where we spend
it.

I think it's too easy for developers to waste time on some shiny new object or
taking the time to build something for the sake of building something. They
have some itch they want to scratch but ultimately it's not providing value to
anyone. Instead, we need to think of our skills as just a tool to provide real
value. For example, a developer starting a business will first think about
code (should I build it in Rails!?) when that person should really be thinking
about the market first (is anyone going to pay for this thing?.)

Scratching an itch or coding nothing important is okay for sharpening the saw,
or putting in some "garage" time. My Dad spent years building cars in our
garage after work. He never finished any of them, but I don't think that was
important. I think more important was the process and the outlet. He provided
value to customers at work, but then after work was his time to lose himself
in his shop. If he finished a project, then he wouldn't have anything else to
do!

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sebkomianos
Just do it.

No, really. I think that most of the people that say "I can't seem to finish
this", "I don't have enough time for this", etc etc have fallen into a trap
because we are the first to experience this such interconnected reality that
gives us the chance to read about, study, tinker with a lot of information.

The solution I have found to this (not checked over years but working fine
these last few weeks) is that I just make my mind and I just do what I decide.
Do I say "I'll implement this feature this morning"? There is no facebook,
twitter, email or anything else until I implement it. Do I say "I want to
check what's happening in the world"? I set a goal for what I am currently
working on - a goal that is short-term manageable, like "don't code the whole
user profile for my app but at least write the skeleton" \- and then I check
what's happening in the world. Do I say "I'd like to study some physics"? I
study physics. Do I want to procrastinate? I do so.

No guilt. No chasing myself. No pretending to do work. Just doing it.

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dholowiski
This is not a conclusion I would jump to easily or quickly, but I have/had
similar problems, and ended up being diagnosed with ADHD. I take medication
now, and it makes a huuuuge difference with 'procrastination' and problems
finishing things (and many other things too)

That being said, you describe this as a 'subtle' problem - in my case it was
intense, and causing huge life problems for me.

I can't diagnose you no matter how much information you give me, but it might
not be a bad idea to talk to a psychiatrist or a (properly qualified!)
psychologist? You could also do some research on techniques for coping with
ADHD - most of the techniques are common-sense, good practice, and if you
don't have ADHD they'll be even more effective than they are for someone who
does have ADHD.

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gesman
When you were little you did something and was punished for that. It hurted.
As a self-preservation instinct you setup an inner belief that says: "if
you'll finish this - you will get hurt. You better stop now". Your creativity
drives your actions. Your old erratic belief triggers the self-sabotaging
fear.

You have to face your fear. Setup small, innocent project and complete it.
Feel the fear arising in you while you close to completion. Do it. Just a tiny
little project. Pat yourself on the back. Then do something like that again.
Small. Simple. Rinse and repeat. The fear with melt and evaporate, self-
destructed by the results of your actions that reinforces your inner power.

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gscott
At one point I would set up some sort of reward for myself for finishing or
hitting some milestone in a project. Normally my reward was eating fast food
you might want to choose something else something you want to do but don't do
often.

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sharemywin
Probably because you don't have enough reason to finish it. If you had users
clamoring for you to finish the project or a boss then you would probably
finish. I would suggest doing something similar to agile. If you know you
can't work on something more than a couple of days set a 3 day sprint only add
features you think you can finish and add the rest to the backlog. complete
your sprint. if you feel your upto another sprint start another one. Also,
find others you can work with that depend on you(customers, teammates rtc.).
Most people work harder for others that depend on them than for themselves.

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GABaracus
This has really helped me. Seth Godin's excellent "Ship It" Journal:

[http://sethgodin.typepad.com/files/theshipitjournal.pdf](http://sethgodin.typepad.com/files/theshipitjournal.pdf)

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beat
We all struggle with this problem, to a greater or lesser degree. One solution
is to keep your work in manageable chunks. Another is to develop a habit of
completion. Another is using a task management system religiously. Another is
to have structure imposed on you externally (the day job is a classic way to
do that).

I often say "Finished is better than perfect, always." It's a reminder to me
as well as to the people I try to help with it.

One of the biggest struggles is with multitasking. Don't do that, if you can
avoid it. Work on one thing at a time. The Pomodoro technique helps in keeping
focus, I think.

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horyd
I find I suffer from a similar problem. For me I figure the reasoning is based
in learning potential; at the beginning of a project or piece of software you
have the most to learn. As the project continues you begin to do more and
learn less, and since I enjoy learning new things a lot I find myself less
motivated to continue and more enthused to start something else (which also
will not get finished).

It's a vicious cycle of incomplete work and hyper-learning, but I'm mostly
okay with that.

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xauronx
I would practice failing at things. It took a ton of pushing from a friend/co-
founder to actually release a recent project. If I were on my own I would have
never "finished" it. It wasn't done. People would mock me. People would find
problems with it. People might even get angry because it wasn't perfect.
Eventually, we released it and it felt good (even if it isn't the best product
in the world, and I have plans for many improvements).

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maheshs
1\. Don't tell anybody because it will give you a sense of achievement and you
will loose your motivation.

2\. Do one thing at a time, like next 20 days for x project/habit/task.

3\. Do't just plan it will give you sense of relief that you have done enough
instead identify risks like what I'll do if I spent time on Facebook instead
of doing x task and take action for the same.

4\. Choose small task

5\. Do it daily even for 10 min.

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oskall
I just wrote an article on the topic. It's my first blog post so excuse if the
quality of writing is average, I hope the message is useful regardless:
[http://tinyurl.com/nyvp32j](http://tinyurl.com/nyvp32j)

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dylanhassinger
See Pat Flynn's concept of "finish small batches to completion"

and

Jerry Seinfeld's "don't break the chain" calendar

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joeldidit
Pramiracetam every other day. Brainwave Entrainment (search for Neuro-
Programmer 3) with affirmations.

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ahoyhere
The most important thing to realize is:

This isn't happening to you. You are doing it to yourself.

