Ask HN: What to do when procrastinating from a complex task?
Hi all,
For the last few weeks I have been working on a complex, mathematically dense task at work. I've found myself avoiding some of the most difficult parts of the task and not able to cover as much ground as I'm typically accustomed to. Any advice about how to stay focused, or some good exercises to give myself some mental recharge time when I'm feeling exhausted?
10 comments
If you're having trouble staying focused, what helped me tremendously was to start maintaining what I call a 'distraction record' during the important tasks.
Now, it's not based on any scientific paper/literature. It's just a spreadsheet with the following columns:
'Time' , 'Important Task' , 'Distraction' , 'Time Since end of Last Distraction' , 'Distraction Duration'
Each time you stop doing the important task and do something else (like browsing hackernews or checking your IMs) enter a new record with the minimum distraction duration being a minute. After a while you'll really start paying attention to how much time you lose doing unimportant things just to avoid the discomfort of the important task and how it actually drags on the time you spent trying to finish what you started.
Now, it's not based on any scientific paper/literature. It's just a spreadsheet with the following columns:
'Time' , 'Important Task' , 'Distraction' , 'Time Since end of Last Distraction' , 'Distraction Duration'
Each time you stop doing the important task and do something else (like browsing hackernews or checking your IMs) enter a new record with the minimum distraction duration being a minute. After a while you'll really start paying attention to how much time you lose doing unimportant things just to avoid the discomfort of the important task and how it actually drags on the time you spent trying to finish what you started.
Thanks everyone, these are really helpful comments. I work the best in the mornings, so I'm adding a suggestion to my own post: Figure out when you work the best, and use that time to your advantage. Work with colleagues during your toughest times and motivate each other. Tackle administrative tasks when you're not at your best.
Now I'm going to take my own advice and get off HN.
Now I'm going to take my own advice and get off HN.
Try to break it into smaller pieces and take the "debt snowball" approach of killing off the smaller pieces first. Celebrate your wins.
Relax your mind for a while. Spend a couple of days doing something completely different and look at the problem again
This is scary, an hour ago I tweeted "I love code challenges but sometimes I find myself dithering around on twitter instead of attacking them, like a horse refusing a jump."
Is this about coding? I know that once I hit "run" and something breaks my juices will start to flow, so I figure out some way to hit "run" even if I know the code is not ready. Josh's divide and conquer idea would help with this.
Is this about coding? I know that once I hit "run" and something breaks my juices will start to flow, so I figure out some way to hit "run" even if I know the code is not ready. Josh's divide and conquer idea would help with this.
let me know if you find a working solution.
Hmm, well I don't ever do any intensive mathematics, or math at all really. But I have overcome many cerebrally intensive challenges with the below method.
Work on / build things that will aid you in solving the problem. This could be organizing code, organizing notes, (reorganizing equations??), building test pages. Anything that you can think of that is intellectually simple that will aid you later when you find your motivation.
Also, after an intense push for a number of hours, go outside and sit, have a coffee or beer or wine or whiskey coke for thirty minutes. Just relax, don't work. And let the most recent effort seep into your subconscious. I often find that my subconscious is better at solving these types of problems than I am.
Work on / build things that will aid you in solving the problem. This could be organizing code, organizing notes, (reorganizing equations??), building test pages. Anything that you can think of that is intellectually simple that will aid you later when you find your motivation.
Also, after an intense push for a number of hours, go outside and sit, have a coffee or beer or wine or whiskey coke for thirty minutes. Just relax, don't work. And let the most recent effort seep into your subconscious. I often find that my subconscious is better at solving these types of problems than I am.
Do something related but trivial to get yourself into it. Momentum is the key. You're at a stand still. Pick the easiest or most interesting part related to the project and start on that. Even if it doesn't really make sense to do that first. Anything to get the ball rolling. Once the ball is rolling I tend to tackle the scariest part first. Whatever I'm not sure how to solve yet.
Visualizing the end product can work very well too. Create a sketch or non-functional version of what you're building, just to see what the finished product will look like.
If I was creating Google I'd make a really dead simple app that let you enter a query and returned 10 crappy links. Just to make the work tangible. This lets your brain easily grab onto what success would look like (e.g. 10 highly relevant links vs 10 crappy links).
Visualizing the end product can work very well too. Create a sketch or non-functional version of what you're building, just to see what the finished product will look like.
If I was creating Google I'd make a really dead simple app that let you enter a query and returned 10 crappy links. Just to make the work tangible. This lets your brain easily grab onto what success would look like (e.g. 10 highly relevant links vs 10 crappy links).
This is a really good suggestion. I need to remember this when I'm in my poor-working moments.
Maybe not an advice but an idea: postponing is never making the task easier. Sometimes waiting too long can make it obsolete/useless. Waiting for mood or willingness can mean that you never do it. Force your self to do it no matter what, designate specific time for the task. Divide it into smaller steps and reward yourself after accomplishing each of it. This would not work for math, but could help with writing essays/articles- start with enumerating 10 issues, then write 10 ideas for each issue, then write a paragraph about each idea. And finally - if there is no deadline, there is no task. Time is a scarce resource, you have to deliver something before the due time, even if it's not perfect, even if it doesn't solve all the problems. Good luck!