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wjw · 08-10-2007, 02:05 AM

Hi everyone,

I've been a lurker, not a poster; this is the first thread I've started.

I'm finding in my work at the moment (software-related) that no matter what system I follow to prioritize my tasks, no matter how carefully I break down to-do lists into smaller and smaller items, when it comes down to it I still prefer to read blogs and play online games.

I know there's something compulsive about this behaviour but I find it very hard to stop.

I also know the textbook ways of getting round this but none of them seem to work. Every mini-task I undertake, particularly if it involves talking to someone else, holds out the terrifying possibility that I'll have to do yet another thing. There seems to be no end. I don't feel like ticking tasks off will actually reduce the pressure on me; there are so many tasks and no way to be sure I'm doing any of them right, and each one done less than perfectly just creates more and more. And if I actually finish them I have to work out what to do next, which is even more terrifying.

This difficulty in motivating myself to do small tasks also affects the macro-level solutions. I find it hard to write down goals because, given how difficult I find it to do ten minutes work, I don't see how I can have any faith that I'll ever achieve those goals. Everything that I might use to inspire myself I also find a way to undermine.

I get exercise, and I do a lot of the right things. But I still read blogs for an hour in the morning when I should be clearing the decks and getting to work. How can I change this?

As I write this the Google ad is for "leadership skills". How does anyone get the confidence to want to be a leader? It's alien to me.

08-10-2007, 02:05 AM	#1 (permalink)
wjw Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Dublin, Ireland Posts: 6	Motivation Hi everyone, I've been a lurker, not a poster; this is the first thread I've started. I'm finding in my work at the moment (software-related) that no matter what system I follow to prioritize my tasks, no matter how carefully I break down to-do lists into smaller and smaller items, when it comes down to it I still prefer to read blogs and play online games. I know there's something compulsive about this behaviour but I find it very hard to stop. I also know the textbook ways of getting round this but none of them seem to work. Every mini-task I undertake, particularly if it involves talking to someone else, holds out the terrifying possibility that I'll have to do yet another thing. There seems to be no end. I don't feel like ticking tasks off will actually reduce the pressure on me; there are so many tasks and no way to be sure I'm doing any of them right, and each one done less than perfectly just creates more and more. And if I actually finish them I have to work out what to do next, which is even more terrifying. This difficulty in motivating myself to do small tasks also affects the macro-level solutions. I find it hard to write down goals because, given how difficult I find it to do ten minutes work, I don't see how I can have any faith that I'll ever achieve those goals. Everything that I might use to inspire myself I also find a way to undermine. I get exercise, and I do a lot of the right things. But I still read blogs for an hour in the morning when I should be clearing the decks and getting to work. How can I change this? As I write this the Google ad is for "leadership skills". How does anyone get the confidence to want to be a leader? It's alien to me.