Procrastinating

[juliet]

So, I was thinking today about procrastination.

At work, this is a major problem for me. I do get stuff done, in the end; but I find it very difficult to motivate myself.

At home, in contrast, whilst I'm still a little given to the tendency to hit F5 repeatedly, I'm much more likely to crack on with my List of Stuff.

The differences, as far as I can see, go like this:

1. At home, I actually have more stuff to do than I have time for (or at least, about the right amount of stuff for the time). So procrastinating has an immediate effect, viz that I won't get everything done. This tends not to be the case at work, from the nature of my job.
2. This seems also to be related to the fact that at home, I'll have a that-day list rather than an in-general list (or rather, the in-general list lives in my head or elsewhere, not on the same page as the that-day list); and the that-day list fits the time available. (I'm more likely to procrastinate when I have something on the list that is a Big Thing e.g. certain sorts of college work).
3. At home, if I get all the things on the list done, I can go do something else fun. Or just sit around & read. At work, this is not the case; I'm stuck to the desk, basically.
4. At home, I'm more directly interested in what I'm doing: it's all stuff I'm choosing to do (well, for various readings of "choose"; I wouldn't exactly choose to do the washing-up, but I get a direct payoff from it, viz, not having to look at a pile of dirty dishes).

This seems to indicate a couple of possibilities for minimising my procrastination at work:

• (from 2. above) Construct a proper that-day list every morning, rather than just using the big list; and make it specific (this is something I halfway do already; I shall endeavour to get better at it).
• (from 3. above) Think of fun things that I can reward myself with at work. This is a bit difficult as some of the fun things (knitting/sewing, reading) are not necessarily things that one should be seen doing at one's desk. Suggestions welcome. (thoughts so far include playing with mixing software, writing (but that generates its own procrastination!), er...)
• (from 4. above) I maybe need to think about ways to get myself more invested in what I'm doing at work. I'm starting to feel a bit bored again...

Thoughts welcome - I know it's not just me that struggles with this one...

More generally, this is causing me to think a bit about the way in which I want to be managing my life longer-term. I don't think that a job which involves "being paid to be present" (which sysadminnery obviously does involve) is actually something that suits me well. Psychology does at least have the advantage that the patient-facing chunk of it fills time correctly (you have a set of appointments, with a short breathing-space in between each) i.e. work time involves having to actually work. At least, that is my current understanding (there's also the research stuff, yes). The downside is the extent to which there is any free time during work; this is pushing me again towards my wish to work part-time; but that could be a whole nother post of its own.

Comments

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

work time involves having to actually work

I might have said this before, but this is a big reason why I love teaching. I'm a bad multitasker and in situations where I'm being paid to be present and "look busy", I end up pissing about on the net an awful lot, and neither working nor playing wholeheartedly but feeling like each steals from and spoils the other. On the other hand, when I'm teaching a lesson I'm concentrating fully on it, so when I'm done I'm satisfied that I've done the job; and when I have a free hour I'm not officially at work and it doesn't matter if I'm slacking off so long as I get my marking done.

Then again, like you say, eight hours of lessons/patient-facing a day is bloody exhausting.

[envoy.livejournal.com]

Slice up your task food first. Give yourself little tiny bites you can get done quickly that will let you build up steam. Don't just put down a to-do, take a second and try to come up with one thing you could do in under 5 minutes that would move you closer to being done with that task.

[juliet]

[nods] I sort-of do this to some extent (& usually find that if I do the 5-min thing then I'm started & I'll prob do the next thing as well); I should try doing it a bit more.

[tkb.livejournal.com]

Have you looked at (or heard of) David Allen's "Getting Things Done"? 43folder has an handy collection of links to articles about the method, including an introduction.

I have adopted much of it since autumn 2006. Although I can't claim to be a paragon of the approach: I have found much of it useful. The key useful tools I have adopted are

• an easily-visible list of "next actions" (which are clear, physical actions: "decide about X" doesn't really count, while "Google for information about X" or "phone A about X" does)
• a physical tray (and an email folder) of "next action" items where I have already decided what the next action is, and just have to do it
• a separate physical tray (and my email INBOX) of items which I must still process - either deciding on action, filing, discarding

And one thing which he advises against is a daily "to-do" list (beyond the hard actions that have to be done that day, e.g. appointments). Instead, he advises having the list of Next Actions and identifying what one is best-placed to do in the current context (e.g. where you are, whether you're in a mood for detailed thought or mindless chores, etc.

There is some more to his approach, but not vast amounts - I'd describe it more as a framework than a life-dominating straitjacket); I've found it useful, so you may like to take a look.

The Guardian had a couple of items in autumn 2005: a feature and an interview with Allen.

[juliet]

Yeah, I've read GTD & found it useful-in-parts. The next actions thing is definitely useful; also the Writing Everything Down.

I see his point about not having the daily to-do list; but I do find that if I don't have a set of goals of some sort for the day, I'll look at the next actions & just fail to do *any* of them. Which is suboptimal.

[jvvw.livejournal.com]

I'm the opposite - I procrastinate at home but not at work. There are too many things that I enjoying doing at home which make me happy short-term but not long-term like playing computer games or reading, neither of which I'd want to give up entirely but which I probably do too much of. But I suspect there are jobs that would incline me more in the procrastination direction.

[sbp.livejournal.com]

I was going to think about procrastination but I think I'll do it at the weekend.

[(Anonymous)]

I wouldn't exactly choose to do the washing-up, but I get a direct payoff from it, viz, not having to look at a pile of dirty dishes

i thought the point was having clean dishes to use. if the dirty dishes piss you off why not chuck 'em in the bin?