Comments on: Getting Bored Vs. Getting Done

By: Billy Gray

Billy Gray — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:06:21 +0000

Right on, dude!

Oh — thanks for the NSDate plug, glad to see that other folks are finding it useful! If there’s anything that sucks about it, feel free to sound off.

By: Corey

Corey — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:21:38 +0000

@Billy

Nice post.

Although I code alone, I have increasingly been working with other independents, specifically graphic designers and marketers. It has really helped motivate me to work harder when my own motivation is lacking.

In the end, pushing out a product comes down to you finding motivation from wherever you can. Working within a focused group can be infectious.

By: Billy Gray

Billy Gray — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:09:44 +0000

My response is a little long-winded, so I put up a whole blog post:

http://www.zetetic.net/blog/2009/07/23/staying-motivated-and-creative/

Hooray, conversations! In short: co-working is the answer, for me.

Cheers,
Billy

By: Corey

Corey — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:43:28 +0000

@robert
That’s pretty interesting advice. It imagine walking away in the middle of inspiration would be hard, but I could see the benefits.

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:10:02 +0000

Set a time limit to work on your current task. Something like 40 minutes, and stick to it. At the end of the alloted time, stop. Go do something else for 15 or 20 minutes. Even if you’re “on a roll”, even if you’re not done. Then set a time on which you *have* to start the task again. Maybe its 15 minutes later, or maybe it’s the next day. Start the task even if you don’t feel like it.

This was counter to my instincts which would keep me working well past the end of the day, even into the middle of the night. And then once I had worked for a long time and maybe not finished the task to my satisfaction, I was reluctant to get back to it. And I wouldn’t start working on it until I felt “inspired”. Which could mean never.

But, after feeling burned out I looked around for advice, and found this little nugget in an advice article for PhD’s writing their dissertation. The reason it works for me is that if I quit in the middle of the task, I’m more eager to come back to it later. It prevents you from getting that tunnel vision that may lead you down the wrong path. It also gives me some distance, which often helps me figure solutions. And, while you’re away from your task you’re giving your brain the chance to work on the problem while you’re doing something else. This often happened to me when I’d have a hard problem in my physics class. I’d struggle with it all day and just couldn’t figure it out. I’d go to sleep and then I’d wake up a few hours later with the answer in my head.

By: links for 2009-07-12 | Alones world

links for 2009-07-12 | Alones world — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:31:15 +0000

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Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:48:35 +0000

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By: Corey

Corey — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:08:41 +0000

Good point, breaks are good! I probably should have mentioned that. Nothing quite helps like getting away.

By: pTracker

pTracker — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:14:50 +0000

Well, instead of taking a break to work on another project, you can:
Go outside, for multiple days is necessary.
Go to the beach.
Go visit someone.
Go ride your bike for an entire day (pedal-powered or gas powered, either will work).
Or whatever.

This is better than starting a new project, because there’s no risk of abandoning your current one. And when you come back, you’ll be full of fresh ideas for your project – which gets you to Getting Done.

Although, I liked the suggestion to build out a new feature in a blank project. That’s taking a “break” and making progress at the same time!

By: iPhoneKicks.com

iPhoneKicks.com — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:24:17 +0000

Getting Bored Vs. Getting Done…

You’ve been kicked (a good thing) – Trackback from iPhoneKicks.com – iPhone SDK links, community driven…