Hello, all - I've popped in to seek some advice.
Background: I recently finished university. It has been a long time coming - and I never really enjoyed it or wanted to do it. For the past year or so I've put my business (as an indie game developer) on-hold while I finish off my degree. But I've also used it to justify avoiding other things - trying to be socially outgoing, trying to get up early, trying to maintain a productive environment. I figured it would all sort itself out (quickly and painlessly, too) when uni was over.
I think it's safe to say, now in hindsight, that this was a bad plan. Ironically - within days of my completion being confirmed - I heard a quote from some (not Steve) personal development guru (paraphrased here): "People erroneously think that, if they reach some goal or objective,
all of their problems will be solved".
The thing is - I have done these things to various extents in the past and done well. In particular - I could write software like a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ninja (I even did it while at university - although my last real programming assignment was a little over 2 months ago, now). But at the moment, I am still far below what I would consider my "baseline".
So, the particular problem I am dealing with at the moment: I am at my computer - I open up my development environment (or try to do anything productive, really) and then *bam* - I feel this... "feeling" - it's almost like being suddenly sleepy. I feel "urgh" and an urge to hit the close button and go and do something else (usually TV or video gaming). And, of course, nothing gets done. This has gone on for a week or two now. Almost nothing gets crossed off my todo list.
Before anyone says "procrastination" - I've checked the article (
Overcoming Procrastination by Steve Pavlina) and I've tried all of these things. The plan I have made for my project (a while before I finished uni) even specifically uses timeboxing and anti-perfectionism. But I still can't shake this urge to stop, the moment I try and start work.
My question now, is: What is wrong? What has changed? Why can't I work at my "baseline"? How do I get back to where I was a year ago?
Thank you,
- Andrew