Ask HN: How to submerge myself in work

[kiraken]

I want to begin this thread by acknowledging that i know that this question has probably been posted a thousand times, and there are a million "selfhelp" book about it out there, but i'm here more for your personnel experience!

I'm a freelance fullstack web developer and designer, and work has been great lately, i even have to turn down jobs sometime because i'm booked for the next month or so, but the thing is, i waste a lot of time watching videos on youtube and just mindlessly browsing social networks! I know that i can do so much more and be so much better, i want to start writing, i want to boost my social presence, i want to find the time to actually code a portfolio for myself, i code and design websites for people, yet i can't find the time to do it for myself, i want to code and sell themes as a side revenue, start my own small online business, since some of the contracts i took for startups are actually pretty huge now, i have more than a couple of web apps that i created and are worth more than a few millions right now. So all in all, i have too much that i want to do, yet i do none of it, i barely push myself to finish my actual work, and spend the rest of my day, reading books, hanging out and browsing social medias. How can i be one of those people that don't have to stay up for 2-3 days before the deadline to finish the work, and i want to be a part of the community, post free code snippets and do everything else i want to. I certainly don't lack passion, so what am i missing HN?

[fightfortheuser]

You and me both!

This is common to many of us and until you really decide on what you want out of life, you'll keep on doing the same old thing, and hoping for different results. In some places they call that insanity. And almost all of us do it.

Yet here's some practical steps to get you to do what you want (apart from the awesome list jwdunne posted).

-Built a bucket list, and use those as the loadstar for your life. If your goals don't help you reach your bucket list items then those are usually bad goals.

-Use scheduling to choose ahead of time. Think of a schedule like a budget for your time. You get to decide beforehand what you are going to do, which helps you do it.

-Edit your /etc/hosts file and block out youtube, facebook, reddit, etc... for a whole month. This will help you break your social media addiction.

-read up on the Pomodoro technique and do it. Honestly it's amazing.

-Move your body more. You aren't designed to sit/stand for hours doing the same thing in the same pose.

-Walk/exercise every day. This will help you stay at your computer when you need to stay.

-Decide that you are stronger than your weakness. Man is buffeted when he thinks himself the creature of outside conditions. You have the power to change your life.

-And if you keep messing up, take time to figure out what is going wrong. Try something new, and sooner or later you'll find a way that works for you.

[stevenwu]

Anytime I find myself thinking like this, I use this reminder: the only thing separating myself from being one of those people is actually doing it (whatever "it" is). It's psychological: until you internally want to write (picking one example from your list of wants) more than you want to read or browse social media, you will keep doing the same thing you've been doing.

Think about it this way: in your case, you have it easy, in that you have the skills to be doing what it is you want to do. I have plenty of non technical friends that want to make an app, but at the moment they're not capable. You're equipped to achieve your goals, so harness that internal motivation and act on it. Write instead of reading. Be a social media presence instead of following social media.

>> Honestly i think i'll only be contempt when i cut off everything non work related from my life to be more productive

FWIW I've had those thoughts, and it was a factor in my decision to leave home where I was comfortable with great friends. IME I am more productive as a whole because a big chunk of social time has gone into work time but I feel like I do less work per hour, if that makes sense. Everyone is different and I think you owe it to yourself to find that out (either you end up truly content or you realize what is important in your life, both of which are great destinations to find yourself in)

[kiraken → stevenwu]

Thanks a lot Steven, that was really helpful! And you're absolutely right

[Ezhik]

You have to try to force yourself to work, that's the one solution I have. No self-help thing, no piece of advice has helped me.

If you can work outside of home, try that. I find myself doing better sitting in a library than at home.

That said, there is nothing in the world that will immediately make you work (well, not without bad bad bad consequences). It will be a long process of slowly starting to get better. You will not feel it, most likely, and will keep feeling bad about your productivity no matter how well you do.

If it's really bad, consider seeing a doctor.

[kiraken → Ezhik]

Yeah i get that, i'm remarkably better then i used to be, but i still feel that its not enough. Honestly i think i'll only be contempt when i cut off everything non work related from my life to be more productive

[Ezhik → kiraken]

I feel like that too sometimes, but i think that line of thinking wouldn't really lead anywhere good.

[jwdunne]

I have ADHD so I especially struggle with this in all areas of my life. Recently, I compiled some notes on how to have a productive day and how to follow through on projects. I've typed them up for you:

How to have a productive day:

- make a plan for the day, break each task into small units (5 minute tasks work well for me)

- set a timer for each task. If timer not done, do another task.

- record actual time spent next to each task

- use music to maintain a constant rhythm. Dance music with no lyrics and its inherently fast tempo works well.

- decide on rewards after each chunk of work. I'm a smoker so I say I'll have a fag after such and such is done.

- use a schedule to block out time in your day in daily view. iCal or Google Calendar works well for this.

- turn off all distractions. Email and social media is a no no unless you need specific info. It's best to collect this before starting.

- be consistent. Habitual work requires less work than inconsistent, irregular work over time.

How to complete all projects I start:

- have a long-term plan

- break down the plan into the smallest chunks possible (for use with the above)

- be consistent, as above.

- focus only on what is important. Split your tasks into an important/urgent (or opposite) quadrants.

- don't let yourself go down the rabbit hole of researching the best way to do something for hours. If you know how, do it and then perhaps criticise. Get it done first.

- by extension, don't aim for complete perfection - especially on details that are not important

- keep your projects within a reasonable number. Consider projects using the same important/urgent matrix.

- again to drum it in: prioritise what is most important

- don't start a new project if you have a handful of new projects. As an exception, consider projects that can help you complete current important projects.

- have a partner or close friend hold you accountable

- aim to spend at least some time per day on your top 5 most important projects

- if you don't have a top 5, decide them via 'tournament'. Take 2 important projects, ask yourself honestly: "which one is most important?". Put a strike next to the winner as a point. Do this for all important a until you have a clear top 5 (or 6 if you must).

- set deadlines. Everywhere. Big, small and some as big as your head. Have deadlines down to the minute.

- make use of the productivity notes above to supercharge your day to day and maintain momentum

[kiraken → jwdunne]

Thanks a lot for the list mate! It'll definitely be a huge help!