
Ask HN: How do you concentrate when the task is demotivating? - 31337
Simply, how do you manage to finish tasks where you are required to, but unwilling to do so?
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davismwfl
Usually my methodology is to try and do the tasks I dislike first, using the
reward of doing stuff I am more excited about as the goal. That helps me push
through it the vast majority of the time. I also just tell myself to stop
being an idiot, just do it and be done (personally this is my way of pushing
myself sometimes). No matter what, the more time spent in thought and
internally complaining about a task means you will make it worse and it gets
harder and harder to do, just execute and be done.

When I mentor people that is usually my advice, suck it up, do it and be done.
And stop spending mental energy complaining or building it up to be something
more then need be.

I am not criticizing you or anyone, we all have these tasks, just sharing my
own thoughts/methods on how I deal with it.

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31337
I like your approach on pointing complaining/exaggerating as an extra mental
energy. I have lived my life believing that time is not money. Time is more
expensive than money. I can’t motivate myself when the rate of time/money
exchange isn’t good. Some of my friends think that I have a narcissistic
tendency. But I really just value time more than money. That is what bothering
me to be exact.

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NKosmatos
Well, mainly two things: perseverance and/or obligation. If it’s work related
you need to finish your tasks otherwise you risk loosing your job. If it’s
something personal you either have to push your self and do it or it will go
to the drawer of unfinished projects. Try breaking big tasks into smaller
ones, allocate a fixed time where you’ll work an a specific (small) task, mute
distractions (email, social networks...), mix boring tasks with something else
interesting so that the traction/inertia of the good one will also push the
bad one ;-), have someone else motivate you or check your progress, try doing
these tasks while listening to music (if feasible).

~~~
31337
Perfectly written. Thanks.

To give a little insight of what is demotivating me, it is not the tasks that
are big, instead it is the tasks that are just small and not mentally
challenging. Simple but frequent and time consuming. It bothers me in a sense
that whenever I work on these I just feel like a car where the gearbox is on a
Neutral Mode. Not going further even though the engine is running.

~~~
gshdg
Automate them?

Give yourself a reward for doing them?

Gamify them? (Compete with yourself for how quickly you can complete them, for
instance.)

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pkage
I go by the 15 minute rule: I have to put in 15 minutes of work on it before I
can get distracted and do something else. Once I get going, it tends to be
pretty easy to keep going afterwards. If not, I give it some time and try it
again.

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31337
Gonna try it, and update the outcome

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throwayaw123312
I dream about ways I can get out of working, then wait until the very last
moment to piece it all together.

Every single time it seems less and less likely the latter happens. I look
through hiring threads and maybe dream that, at a different place, I would
enjoy building out features.

~~~
31337
But that is causing a distraction and dreaming of a better environment/better
work is only demotivating more in this situation, given that you are working
on a task which you are lacking motivation.

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memexy
If I can't concentrate on a task that means there is some source of friction
that I need to think about that I'm not addressing.

~~~
31337
As I stated in the other comment,

Why ? Because it is simple and time consuming. How do I make it attractive ?
Only if I can finish them without consuming time. How do I save time ?
Automating, orienting to the result, batch manage them to feel like a
challenge. What is the problem then ? When automating doesn’t work, when
results don’t appear, when managing bulk tasks(multitasking) ends up being
mentally tiresome instead of challenging, I get frustrated because they are
way too simple tasks and I can’t deliver. To simplify it; Imagine when you
can’t remember the name of a person but remember every other details of his
characteristics, it gets only more frustrating

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memexy
I'm not a therapist. So I recommend finding one and discussing the issue with
them instead. My original recommendation works for me but obviously it's not
gonna work for everyone.

~~~
31337
Thanks for your answer, and sorry if I sounded like a psycho lol

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memexy
You didn't sound like a psycho.

