Every time I have something nontrivial to do I pretty much follow the same process, regardless of my motivation
I am blocking any unnecessary "distractions" like my mobile phone or websites that are just consuming my time and are irrelevant to my job
I'm getting a distractions sheet, in order to note every random thought that comes to my mind in order to be "assured" I will tackle it later.
I'm putting my headphones on
The only two things that differ regarding my motivation that day are:
The duration of the "focused session I'm about to do. If I am completely demotivated, I am just setting the timer for 10 or 15 minutes. This is how I am “fooling” myself into working "just a little bit”. I have consistently noticed that after the first minutes the discomfort goes away. The key point here is to not stop after the X minutes have passed. On the contrary, continue for a reasonable amount of time like 45 minutes.
The kind of “Music” I am about to hear. This might be ambient music, like noisli, my favorite songs from Spotify, or binaural beats.
Yeah, binaural music helps me. So does switching into pomodoro mode and using the breaks to get up and get away. It helps to remind myself during the 25-minute "on" periods that I don't have to push through boredom all day - just for the next 25 minutes.
"Helps" is key. Sometimes it just doesn't.
I think at the heart of it that boredom is not caring. I never get bored doing home improvements. It's my home. I own it. I'm invested.
I am really grateful for my work because, for the most part, I own it. I don't get second-guessed or hemmed in by bureaucracy or committees.
Every time I have something nontrivial to do I pretty much follow the same process, regardless of my motivation
The only two things that differ regarding my motivation that day are:
Nice process!
Yeah, binaural music helps me. So does switching into pomodoro mode and using the breaks to get up and get away. It helps to remind myself during the 25-minute "on" periods that I don't have to push through boredom all day - just for the next 25 minutes.
"Helps" is key. Sometimes it just doesn't.
I think at the heart of it that boredom is not caring. I never get bored doing home improvements. It's my home. I own it. I'm invested.
I am really grateful for my work because, for the most part, I own it. I don't get second-guessed or hemmed in by bureaucracy or committees.
I really like the idea of the distractions sheet!