I think when I talk about something I am working on, it's the short-term, feel-good dopamine hit at play? I'll ramble on giving a passionate description of my plan, and for a while I will feel inspired and motivated; they'll listen in and tell me how cool it is, and that feels good. But reciting my dreams doesn't help me progress towards achieving them...
I've switched to playing my cards close, because if I want to showcase something, I want it to at least be finished. Or at the very least a sizeable chunk, useable or able to be demonstrated.
My mind is flooded with ideas, but it's taking action on them that's important.
I understand the point of telling people so that you would be accountable, but the truth is no one really ever follows up or cares for a progress update. Though, that could say more about the people I keep in my circle than anything. So knowing there is no true accountability at play (They haven't seen anything yet, after-all), I end up procrastinating my ideas into the ground.
I found it a good idea to have a person or a few people who will hold you accountable actively by asking you how’s that plan going on, and maybe even doing a proper retrospective every few weeks.
I can totally see how it can help people, don't get me wrong - I've seen it work and logically it should; I've just not had any luck with it, but it could just be me.
It could be the environment I'm in, I'm not surrounded with other devs or anyone very close, so my idea-spewing ends up with people who might not understand most of what I'm trying to convey.
That aside, great post and article, so thanks for sharing! :)
I really resonate with 4, 6 ( Sometimes we just have to treat ourselves ) and lately found 8 to be a very important step. I try to 'reset' my work environment be it for web dev, game dev, or something physical, so at the end of a session code gets pushed up to the repo, folders sorted and applications closed, with a revised TODO or note in place for the next time I visit the task. I find it avoids clutter and noise - allowing me to easily dive into a project next time without distraction.
1 is a great point too, and something I want to adopt into tackling procrastination. I do something similar to fight anxiety - and it helps.
Have you tried to find something like an accountability buddy?
(accountability buddy—a person who has similar goals or interests, and you’d be both happy to see each other succeed, and you’d meet with that person to discuss each other’s progress on your long-term goals periodically)
I haven't to be honest (nor has it crossed my mind) I normally avoid exploring such things due to ... well, anxiety XD But as I work through that and try to grow as a person (and developer) it certainly makes sense.
There's actually research to back this. Researchers found that the brain equates telling people with actually doing the thing, thus killing the motivation to actually do it.
Interesting, I will have to look into it deeper at some point; But yeah killing motivation sounds about right. I'll be impassioned whilst talking about it, then a day later just not feel like making any progress on project x or pushing it off to another day (rinse and repeat)
I have the same feeling about talking about my ambitions -- that it can drain the drive of action. And it's nice to save that satisfaction of showing others (rather than telling them) as its own sort of reward. But I do have one close friend in particular with whom I share.. well, everything.. and when I tell them about a commitment, it feels somewhat sacred that I follow through with it. And they hold me accountable in a casual way that I usually find tolerable.
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I've also found this, I'm not sure why.
I think when I talk about something I am working on, it's the short-term, feel-good dopamine hit at play? I'll ramble on giving a passionate description of my plan, and for a while I will feel inspired and motivated; they'll listen in and tell me how cool it is, and that feels good. But reciting my dreams doesn't help me progress towards achieving them...
I've switched to playing my cards close, because if I want to showcase something, I want it to at least be finished. Or at the very least a sizeable chunk, useable or able to be demonstrated.
My mind is flooded with ideas, but it's taking action on them that's important.
I understand the point of telling people so that you would be accountable, but the truth is no one really ever follows up or cares for a progress update. Though, that could say more about the people I keep in my circle than anything. So knowing there is no true accountability at play (They haven't seen anything yet, after-all), I end up procrastinating my ideas into the ground.
I found it a good idea to have a person or a few people who will hold you accountable actively by asking you how’s that plan going on, and maybe even doing a proper retrospective every few weeks.
I can totally see how it can help people, don't get me wrong - I've seen it work and logically it should; I've just not had any luck with it, but it could just be me.
It could be the environment I'm in, I'm not surrounded with other devs or anyone very close, so my idea-spewing ends up with people who might not understand most of what I'm trying to convey.
That aside, great post and article, so thanks for sharing! :)
I really resonate with 4, 6 ( Sometimes we just have to treat ourselves ) and lately found 8 to be a very important step. I try to 'reset' my work environment be it for web dev, game dev, or something physical, so at the end of a session code gets pushed up to the repo, folders sorted and applications closed, with a revised TODO or note in place for the next time I visit the task. I find it avoids clutter and noise - allowing me to easily dive into a project next time without distraction.
1 is a great point too, and something I want to adopt into tackling procrastination. I do something similar to fight anxiety - and it helps.
Have you tried to find something like an accountability buddy?
(accountability buddy—a person who has similar goals or interests, and you’d be both happy to see each other succeed, and you’d meet with that person to discuss each other’s progress on your long-term goals periodically)
I haven't to be honest (nor has it crossed my mind) I normally avoid exploring such things due to ... well, anxiety XD But as I work through that and try to grow as a person (and developer) it certainly makes sense.
Thanks for the idea, I will try it
There's actually research to back this. Researchers found that the brain equates telling people with actually doing the thing, thus killing the motivation to actually do it.
Interesting, I will have to look into it deeper at some point; But yeah killing motivation sounds about right. I'll be impassioned whilst talking about it, then a day later just not feel like making any progress on project x or pushing it off to another day (rinse and repeat)
Thank you -- nice article -- helpful points!
I have the same feeling about talking about my ambitions -- that it can drain the drive of action. And it's nice to save that satisfaction of showing others (rather than telling them) as its own sort of reward. But I do have one close friend in particular with whom I share.. well, everything.. and when I tell them about a commitment, it feels somewhat sacred that I follow through with it. And they hold me accountable in a casual way that I usually find tolerable.