So the tasks are: making a choice to sit down and work, and then deciding what to start working on next.
I think that, rather than consciously forcing yourself to do these things it’s better to replace the explicit decision process with a habitual process that you can more easily begin, and which results in producing the same outcomes.
To do my PhD writing I take my laptop down to a local coffeeshop and sit there for one to two hours of solid writing. It’s become habit. I go to the coffeeshop, I write. My body/brain knows that’s what I do there, so there’s nothing to fight.
If I try to write when I’m at home, it’s much harder. (It also helps that I don’t have internet access while I’m at the coffeeshop). Now, instead of making a conscious decision to “start writing” I make a conscious decision to “go to the coffeeshop”. Much easier.
To choose what to write about next, I don’t sit there and think, “hmmm, what should I write about next? what are my options?”. I just start writing. Essentially whatever I’m thinking I write down. I’ll have a lot what what I’ve written last time and write down whatever comes to mind as I’m reading it. What to do next soon suggests itself.
If it doesn’t, I just continue to think on paper (or in the text editor), and I always find I end up working on something sutiable. I don’t have to explicitly make the effort to think “what should I do next?”. I just start writing (which is a lot easier to do), and it soon works itself out.
There is some initial effort to build the habit but I don’t think this is any harder than motivating yourself in the first place, and you only have to pay the cost a fixed number of times.
Committing to a small, preliminary action is often very helpful to me. When I have to write something, I tell myself, “I’m going to open Word. That’s all. I don’t have to write if I don’t feel like writing after I open Word.” The act of starting the program gets me into the appropriate mood most of the time.
You are absolutely right that what it takes is just making a habit. The beginning is the hardest part. I actually created a small piece of software for myself to do just that: start working on something.
It’s called iFocus http://www.ifocusonwork.com/ and I posted it online for everyone to use. You can make it force you to work on a specific application for a fixed period of time. You can also use it to track how you spend your computer time, and set goals for how much you can use certain things (email, chat, games etc.). Basically a tool for people who want to get something done or for those who are mindful of how they spend their computer time.
Might I suggest you edit your previous post to make it clear that you are talking about your own site and that you limit further posts promoting it. One post is fine given the software is relevant to topics discussed here, two is raising spammer warning flags.
So the tasks are: making a choice to sit down and work, and then deciding what to start working on next.
I think that, rather than consciously forcing yourself to do these things it’s better to replace the explicit decision process with a habitual process that you can more easily begin, and which results in producing the same outcomes.
To do my PhD writing I take my laptop down to a local coffeeshop and sit there for one to two hours of solid writing. It’s become habit. I go to the coffeeshop, I write. My body/brain knows that’s what I do there, so there’s nothing to fight.
If I try to write when I’m at home, it’s much harder. (It also helps that I don’t have internet access while I’m at the coffeeshop). Now, instead of making a conscious decision to “start writing” I make a conscious decision to “go to the coffeeshop”. Much easier.
To choose what to write about next, I don’t sit there and think, “hmmm, what should I write about next? what are my options?”. I just start writing. Essentially whatever I’m thinking I write down. I’ll have a lot what what I’ve written last time and write down whatever comes to mind as I’m reading it. What to do next soon suggests itself.
If it doesn’t, I just continue to think on paper (or in the text editor), and I always find I end up working on something sutiable. I don’t have to explicitly make the effort to think “what should I do next?”. I just start writing (which is a lot easier to do), and it soon works itself out.
There is some initial effort to build the habit but I don’t think this is any harder than motivating yourself in the first place, and you only have to pay the cost a fixed number of times.
Committing to a small, preliminary action is often very helpful to me. When I have to write something, I tell myself, “I’m going to open Word. That’s all. I don’t have to write if I don’t feel like writing after I open Word.” The act of starting the program gets me into the appropriate mood most of the time.
You are absolutely right that what it takes is just making a habit. The beginning is the hardest part. I actually created a small piece of software for myself to do just that: start working on something. It’s called iFocus http://www.ifocusonwork.com/ and I posted it online for everyone to use. You can make it force you to work on a specific application for a fixed period of time. You can also use it to track how you spend your computer time, and set goals for how much you can use certain things (email, chat, games etc.). Basically a tool for people who want to get something done or for those who are mindful of how they spend their computer time.
Might I suggest you edit your previous post to make it clear that you are talking about your own site and that you limit further posts promoting it. One post is fine given the software is relevant to topics discussed here, two is raising spammer warning flags.