The Daily Efficient Work Thread!

[Hsiang-Lin]

Hi everyone!

I feel motivated to start this thread so I can finally kick myself into high productivity without burning out after a few days.

The purpose of this thread will be for you to post up your daily goals in how many hours you'll work that day OR what projects/assignments you will accomplish that day. This will allow us to grind through those moments when we feel most de-motivated (and boy, are those moments killer!).

My productivity level I'm sure is waaaay behind some of yours. But the name of the game is improvement so I'm hoping I can really reach new heights of productivity and discipline with this method. So without further ado, let's begin!

12/4/06 Goal:
3 hours

Results to be posted tomorrow

[Cassie]

I need to write a 6-10 page research paper by next Monday. *groan* I guess my goal for tomorrow will be to start the sucker.

Great idea for a thread, btw!

[mattsonn]

Good post. I might try seeing if doing this helps at least keep me accountable for myself. But before I can log my daily hours of schoolwork today, I have to first do something

[Nikos Sokin]

Cool idea! Thanks! I give myself credit on time spent when I'm running (I figure any amout of calories burnt running is better than otherwise), but for things I procrastinate on, I'm capable of spending days of unproductive butt-time.... it's a wonder they still pay me a salary

OK, before tomorrow 9am, I will:

- finish drafting two sections of my report
- edit the rest of the report
- any remaining time will go to drafting the final section

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/4/06 Result: Completed

12/5/06 Goal: 3 hours

Phew! That was quite a change from my unproductive days. It's only 9:46 pm and I feel great! There were so many moments where I would have easily slid back into procrastination, but knowing I have to post up my result at the end of the day kept me going.

Thanks for hopping on board fellas! Wish you success in your daily goals as well. I'll be checking on ya See y'all tomorrow!

[Minsc]

Every day's goals:
-Two hours of work on a UI.

Could be more or less if I want it to(ex: took a break yesterday, logs show four hours of work on some weekends)..
It'd probably average out to two hours a day.

Lines of code in the thing: 2663 assuming there are 40 bytes/line
214 of those set a variable to a hard-coded value so they might not be counted as code lines.
There's a 350 line file with my old code that I used for testing but I'm writing a defaults system which should make it unneccesary(and it'll reduce the total number of lines).
Started on November 4th(so a month ago and 80-100 lines/day depending on what you consider code).

It's written in C++ with SDL.

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/5/06 Result: Completed

12/6/06 Goal: 3 hours

Wow, Minsc, that sounds complicated. I did some C++ in college, but it's basic stuff and I was constantly

Anyway, hope y'all achieved your goals! I completed mine, but the quality is still not up to par. I would dose in and out of concentration sometimes (too much food and quiet lol), but my goal is to maintain the time limit and amp up the quality (just like weightlifting!). Alright, see y'all tomorrow

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/6/06 Result: Completed

12/7/06 Goal: 3 hours

Some good improvement in concentration today. Tomorrow is another chance to experiment with this again. "Yeah buddy"

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/7/06 Result: Incomplete

12/8/06 Goal: 3 hours

Didn't make it yesterday. Was feeling in a slump, and feeling unmotivated. But will get back in the groove today.

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/8/06 Result: Completed

12/9/06 Goal: 3 hours

[icesar]

I'm the process of implementing a daily morning routine which includes:

- Participating in select forums (surprise!)
- Writing 2-3 blog entries
- Browsing my RSS Reader < 30 min
- Reading / returning email

[Mai-Liis]

i think it's a good thread
as i only plan to visit the PD forums once a week, i shall keep a daily efficient work diary and post the results here next saturday
the main reason for this post is to make sure i shall post the results, even if it's only to say that i completely failed at everything

but one of Erin's posts stirred something inside of me
if there is and ocean, i want to find it and play with you guys
and i wish to be worthy of you, i wish to be reliable

there are things i'd like to be able to spell out, but not tonight
cheers everyone

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/9/06 Result: Incomplete

12/10/06 Goal: 3 hours

Damn, didn't make it again. I got sick this morning and felt pretty crappy throughout the day. I did some work, but def. not 3 solid hours. I will need to do it tomorrow regardless since I have a final coming up.

Thanks for the inspiration about posting even if you fail, Mai-Liis. I will get back on the grind tomorrow!

[thef0x]

I'd like to take part of this thread.

12/10/06 Goal: 4 hours of solid work in at least 1 hour chunks

I have to have a really solid draft of a Literature paper on Tragedy done by tomorrow (3/7 pages done) -- 3 hours

and

I have to have a really solid draft of a Philosophy paper done by tomorrow (5/6-8 pages done) -- 1 hour

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/10/06 Result: Completed!

12/11/06 Goal: 3 hours

Yes! 3 solid hours today. Big improvement from before and I think I made significant progress in concentration and effectiveness today. I'll experiment with this some more and post up any worthy results if I find any.

Hey welcome, thef0x. Sounds like you got a hefty workload. Finals week for you as well? In that case best of luck to us both!

Alright, gonna get ready to blast another 3 hours session tomorrow. Au revoir

[trasig]

Hey ! I think this thread is a great substitute for "coaching" and that kind of positive pressure
Cause if you know you've written something to do here so that people can see it, it will feel bad to know that I didn't do it, hence it will be harder to keep procrastinate..

Well I'm in sales at the moment and my Daily commitment is to:

Work 5 hours each day selling alarms..
Work 2 hours each day on myself, my path in life etc...
11/12/06

Cya !
P.S. It's great to see you all keeping up with your commitment and doing the things that you said you would, putting an end to your own procrastination once and for all.. thanks for a really valuable thread

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/11/06 Result: Completed!

12/12/06 Goal: 3 hours

Hey, trasig, yeah that's the idea...peer pressure in a positive way! I cranked out the end of my goal tonight and if I didn't have this motivation to keep me going, I'm sure I would have caved in. This is kinda like weightlifting, training and gradually improving everyday. Good luck everyone!

[AdamKayce]

Hey Hsiang-Lin, are you 'time logging', like Steve talks about? I'm finding it vastly helpful for keeping my "productive time" ratios up...

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/12/06 Result: Completed!

12/13/06 Goal: 3 hours

AdamKayce, what's timelogging again?

I do remember reading about it in one of Steve's articles and I actually tried that for a bit, but found it didn't really work for me. I'm basically logging in 3 hours of academic work everyday. Of course, I'm focusing on improving my productivity within those 3 hours. For example, I can concentrate a lot better now and learn faster within those 3 hours than when I first started.

So so far this trial has been a success for me! If this is what Steve's timelogging is, then hey it worked for me! I still constantly think about my life purpose and higher priorities in life so as not to get sucked into blind academic learning. So my spiritual development has increased dramatically since learning about Steve's website, but my self-discipline has not. That's why I'm using this thread as a start to launch me forward.

[AdamKayce]

Right on - good for you.

Try the Do It Now article/post... he's got some great suggestions for how to really shift your self-discipline. And, keeping a time log (writing down everything you do, and the time you do it) has really lit a fire under my rear. I'm way more productive because of it. (Steve talks about it in the "Triple Your Productivity" article...)

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/13/06 Result: Completed!

12/14/06 Goal: 3 hours

I counted one hour for my final (which was 2 hours) so that's my tradeoff.

AdamKayce, thanks for that link. I read it before, but I know I definitely have not fully applied all the gold nuggets in the article. I think I'll gradually incorporate those habits into my daily routine.

To begin, I'm gonna start experimenting with the "single-handling" technique. That sounds really smart and effective. I've already done a bit of it like focusing on each of my exams at once. But I feel I can take it farther. I'll see how it goes.

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/14/06 Result: Completed!

12/15/06 Goal: 3 hours

Well, I'm done with today's goal, but I still have a lot of studying left to do for my final.

Tomorrow's my last final so I'm gonna use those 3 hours differently...maybe to get organized and figure out what I want to dedicate all this time during winter break to learn.

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/15/06 Result: Incomplete

12/16/06 Goal: 3 hours

Was too tired after my final to focus again. Will try to use the 3 hours to focus on something individually.

[Shuchetana]

Great thread! I hope I'm motivated to attack the following tasks tomorrow:

• Before work: do some light stretching, and make a fun blog entry
• After Work, Before Dinner: Do some light stretching, Sit down and study
• After Dinner: Clear the top of my Chest of Drawers

Quite modest goals, but I hope I do all that.
Also, I'll try to get up at 6am tomorrow.

Hsiang-Lin, why don't you describe your goals? That way, we'll know exactly what you aim to do, and the pressure to do it will be greater

[Mai-Liis]

the week has passed and i'm not much better off because of it
just found a good quote, Joel Chue posted it somewhere on the forums
"Do the thing and you will get the energy to do the thing." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
good luck everyone

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/16/06 Result: Incomplete

12/17/06 Goal:
1) Finish yesterday's checklist
2) Finish today's checklist
3) Work 1 hour on job search

Thanks for the tip, Shuchetana! And thanks for the quote, Mai-Liis That is the spirit of this thread. Do it and adjust as you go.

The past two days I didn't get as much accomplished as I wanted, but I am still in a productive and motivated mood so I'm not too worried. OK, time to tackle the requirements for today!

[Flame]

Great thread! Baby steps...

Goals 12/17/06:
1. Winterize: Apt, Car, and Me - 2 hours
2. Outline work plan & workout goals for the next 2 weeks - 20-30 min
3. Complete work tasks on my checklist - 2 hours (in 20 min. chunks)
4. Go to bed early; practice good "sleep hygiene"

Good luck, everyone!

[Yellow]

I've easy work yet I can find work that's much easier.

My plan:
2 hours of reading two different books
START cleaning my room. Getting through it is easy.

Easy stuff, shouldnt take me more than 4 hours.

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/17/06 Result: Complete

12/18/06 Goal: 3 hours
1) C++
2) Career
3) Academics

I opted to organize my work this way so I can have more flexibility. These are all major subjects I'm not very experienced in yet so I need the flexibility to explore and adapt to new situations and techniques.

So today I got some good work done, but I can't say too specifically in a few words how.

Welcome Yellow and Flame! Keep it up everyone. I certainly have a long way to go still on productivity and discipline, but I can tell I am doing better already than when I first started. Check back tomorrow!

[Hsiang-Lin]

12/18/06 Result: Completed!!!

12/19/06 Goal: 3 hours
1) C++
2) Career
3) Academics

Wow, I'm very proud of myself! I managed to log in 3 solid hours of all three areas today. I didn't count some of the career-related things I did since it was a lot of running around. This is prob. one of my most productive days in a long time. It feels great!

Tomorrow I aim to log in 3 solid hours again, tackling those 3 areas. Hurrah everyone!