How do you work fragmented?

[Andrew Russell]

At the moment my free time is highly fragmented. I've got work and uni dividing my week up into little pieces.

Normally I can only really do great work when I know I'll have at least a couple of days clear to really get into it. But, these days, while I want to spend time working on my own projects (generally of a programming/artsy persuasion), I usually find myself thinking:

"Well, I really can't do anything particularly great in a couple of hours - I'll do something else that's only marginally effective/relevant (or I'll outright procrastinate)."

and

"Well, I'm tired, and I really need time to 'reset'/get in the zone to do anything. But what's the point when I won't be in it for very long and just have to drop out of it again later/tomorrow."


Can anyone suggest any techniques for dealing with this? and for actually getting my awesome things done with such a scattered schedule?

And - is it even a reasonable thing to "deal with"? Should I, instead, try and defragment more or stop doing some irrelevant-but-necessary things altogether (neither of which are particularly "doable")?


Edit/Additional:

Another thing worth noting is that, when I do bother to start getting into big tasks in these little spaces, I find myself fighting to stay in "the zone" and working on it - even when it means staying up late and being tired at work, or skipping classes and ending up having to do rush jobs on uni assignments. And on top of that I'll get very annoyed when I (usually) don't finish - and I'll have trouble starting work on it again (my guess is it's a case of "well, I got burned last time").

So this particular approach, like just not starting in the first place, isn't working for me either.

[Shamou]

Concentration of Power. Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all our resources on mastering a single area of our lives. Controlled focus is like a laser beam that can cut through anything that seems to be stopping you. – Anthony Robbins

The mind is a most powerful tool… however, one that does not come with a “User’s Manual.”

In order to optimize whatever time you have to devote to your project you must understand the “power of state..” (We are talking about mental state here…)

We can be in an energizing state… a empowering state… a creative state… a paralyzing state…. etc…

Now, each of these state has a specific body posture and a breathing pattern… and, if you assume the appropriate body posture… and breathing pattern, very soon you will be in the corresponding mental state…

Finally, you say that in whatever time that you have, you want to do work of “programming/artsy persuasion.” So, here is the program for you…

Close your eyes… take a few deep breath… then assume the posture and breathing pattern of Michelangelo (or whatever artist/creator that you love)… and, soon you will be in that state… and… be able to do the best and most creative work that you have ever done…

Best of luck to you…

.

[Andrew Russell]

Originally Posted by Shamou

Close your eyes… take a few deep breath… then assume the posture and breathing pattern of Michelangelo (or whatever artist/creator that you love)… and, soon you will be in that state… and… be able to do the best and most creative work that you have ever done…

To be honest, actually physically getting into the state is not such a problem for me.


The problem I experience manifests in three different ways:

- I get into the state, and then have to stop in the middle of it not too long after - which is extremely jarring. I also worry that it's not very effective to spend so much time and energy switching contexts.

- I get into the state, and stay there - to the detriment of work and uni (and my sleep, stress level and health when I have to work rushed and/or tired).

- I don't bother getting into the state in the first place, because I know one of the above things will happen. And so I agonise that I'm not being creatively productive.


Does anyone else experience this (or a similar) problem? How did you cope with it?

[Sunnybayes]

Yea, I'm currently experiencing the same thing Fragmented

I'm trying to figure this one out too. I mentioned in there trying to figure out how Steve did it by looking at a couple of his articles. I'll be free in a couple of days to really figure this one out... and I'll post if I find anything out inspiring.... maybe if someone else could give some inspiration. Its probably not that hard to figure out...

[RT Wolf]

I know what you mean. It takes psychic (psyche, not talk-to-the-dead kind) energy to get engaged with a task and be in the zone for it. Have you tried changing your posture when you know that you should be getting out of the state, to help transition a bit easier?

You might try breaking whatever you're doing into smaller chunks, so that the chunks fit in the time you have available, giving you a natural end, if you haven't tried this already. I'm also going to be experiencing this problem soon, so I'd love to keep reading about other people's methods of handling it.

[Sunnybayes]

Hey RT Wolf, I remeber you posted something about psychic energy somewhere else. I wouldn't guess that you just made that up from nowhere.... where did you read about that idea? I'm interested.

[RT Wolf]

Getting Things Done and Getting Things Done FAST (recording of a live audio seminar). He talks about concepts from psych and social psych like cognitive dissonance and psychic ram and energy. GTD FAST is hard to find, if at all, cause its not made anymore.