Comments on: 10 best tricks of fooling myself to work

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 13:17:00 +0000

So… you’re selling a $99 piece of software but one of the components is writing a list on plain paper?

By: Christinne

Christinne — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 02:10:58 +0000

Set a deadline for the small tasks. Then you will feel the pressure, for those who like to work under pressure.

By: JiriNovotny

JiriNovotny — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 10:13:00 +0000

You are welcome Nadeem. I’m glad you’ve found the tips helpful!

By: Nadeem

Nadeem — Sat, 30 Nov 2013 23:25:00 +0000

Hey sir, thats really awsome, i had read a bunch of tips like rewarding yourself, listen to music during work and that kind of stuff but nothing ever worked, but you just gave me tips of my life. I really appreciate your work. Will remember you in prayers.
Thanks

By: Mattias Opitz

Mattias Opitz — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:39:00 +0000

You Sir, are awsome. Thank you so much. Shocked to realize how hard it is to work by yourself (always been a hardworking guy, but always amongst other coworkers/students).

Will try your methods the following months, and then i will comment again about how the effect was.

Again thanks.

By: Danku

Danku — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 11:14:00 +0000

YES! This is EXACTLY what I needed. Holy flying fuck, this article just made me shit rainbows. Thank you, Mr. Sir.

By: Outsmarting Yourself for Success – Dextronet.com Blog

Outsmarting Yourself for Success – Dextronet.com Blog — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 07:32:49 +0000

[...] knowing this is rather easy: It doesn’t matter how epic or big your project is, you can just break it down into smaller tasks. A few hours of thinking/writing, tops, and you have a very detailed action [...]

By: Paulo

Paulo — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:50:30 +0000

Same here. Give me an hour and I will finish everything, but if you don’t, don’t expect much…

By: Jiri Novotny

Jiri Novotny — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:22:22 +0000

Smartphones are computers anyway. You need to turn the screen on and stuff ;-)

By: Pengujack9

Pengujack9 — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:05:59 +0000

Lots of software offer the ability of existing outside of your computer, by existing on your smartphone! Hah hah!

By: Jiri Novotny

Jiri Novotny — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:42:15 +0000

Are you ready to fool yourself into working in 2012? – http://www.dextronet.com/blog/2012/01/seriously-stop-sabotaging-your-2012-goals/

By: Seriously, Stop Sabotaging Your 2012 Goals – Dextronet.com Blog

Seriously, Stop Sabotaging Your 2012 Goals – Dextronet.com Blog — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 10:04:57 +0000

[...] even if you use tricks to fool yourself into working, there is no guarantee you will keep doing that consistently. Year is a long time, and there are a [...]

By: Jiri Novotny

Jiri Novotny — Wed, 11 May 2011 11:15:49 +0000

I’ve written another similar post – “10 quick fixes of motivation”:

http://www.dextronet.com/blog/2011/05/10-quick-fixes-of-motivation/

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Wed, 11 May 2011 00:59:51 +0000

Many times the things I dont want to do are “cleaning” oriented. So I load up the iPod with some interesting podcasts (I like RadioLab, This American Life and Freakonomics) and then I’m lost in the earbuds while scrubbing away.

By: 10 quick fixes of motivation « Motivation

10 quick fixes of motivation « Motivation — Tue, 10 May 2011 16:01:24 +0000

[...] hard it is, you can always grind on. You may crawl like the tiniest worm, but crawl. Do the tiniest baby micro-step towards your goal, but freaking do it! And do it [...]

By: Robin

Robin — Sat, 07 May 2011 16:30:32 +0000

Great tips. Thanks!

Mine is to use the excellent Pomodoro Technique http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/ on tasks I don’t want to do. It’s very effective to tell yourself “just 25mins of focus”.

Also I auto hide my taskbar and remove all pinned icons.

By: Audie

Audie — Mon, 02 May 2011 22:11:48 +0000

Setting a timer.
I hate cleaning but you will be amazed how much you can get done when you only have half an hour to do it.

Of course I’m the kind of person that without deadlines nothing gets done too…

By: Jiri Novotny

Jiri Novotny — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:25:29 +0000

If you liked this post, you will love my new post “Achieving Golas Like a Mad Klingon”: http://www.dextronet.com/blog/2011/04/achieving-goals-like-a-mad-klingon/

By: Bjarte

Bjarte — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 18:13:38 +0000

I tend to work best when properly rested. A little bit of exercise (not too much!) doesn’t hurt either.

By: Colleen

Colleen — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:28:30 +0000

The ten-minute rule works great for me. My biggest productivity bug is actually cleanliness. I set a timer and HAVE to clean for ten minutes. Once I get started, even when the time is up, I want to keep going.

By: Sarah S. Chicken

Sarah S. Chicken — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:21:55 +0000

I set a timer for 15 minutes, thanks to Flylady. Invariably I will keep working after the timer beeps. I don’t get distracted because I’m racing the timer. Occasionally I will stop after the timer beeps, for a short rest (if I’m really wiped out) but then I get back to it as soon as possible.

By: 10 best tricks for fooling yourself to work

10 best tricks for fooling yourself to work — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:33:56 +0000

[...] read in our lives? Enough to know they are compulsively addictive, but not necessarily effective. This post from the creators of Swift To-Do List software, however, stands apart as truly entertaining and wise. You may not follow all of its tips, but one [...]

By: Valerie

Valerie — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:38:56 +0000

One trick is that I set a timer. I set it for 20 minutes. In that time, it’s work, no internet browsing or distractions of any kind. I find that 20 minutes is a realistic amount of time to get into a groove. Once it goes off, I am usually so focused that I just reset it for another 20 minutes and keep going. If I am tempted to go on Facebook or go get a snack, I wait until the timer goes off. Then I do whatever I want, then reset the clock and start again.
It seems so easy, but it is really effective.

By: Randlos

Randlos — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 09:39:47 +0000

A nice visual trick for me is an appropriate wallpaper. If you don’t, your subconscious will take note of it!

http://good-wallpapers.com/misc/6053

By: Randy

Randy — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:50:28 +0000

If I get stuck on a particular task, I switch to the next one. The solution to the first task almost always pops into my head before I finish the second task.

By: Hynek Zatloukal

Hynek Zatloukal — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:39:31 +0000

Exactly, an office is a great way to increase productivity — I am never going to learn working at home :)

By: Web Design Grande Prairie

Web Design Grande Prairie — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:12:31 +0000

I second that notion as well. It can’t be stressed how important it is to have a dedicated, focused place to work. I worked from home for years and once I finally moved into an office the business flourished. I think it is good for many reasons… One, it makes you more productive. You get more done, do a better job, and get things done faster. That means better service and more word of mouth. Two, the exposure of being in a real office (especially if you have presence on the road) is helpful. Three, it makes you accountable. This is huge. Now that you have real bills to pay for the business, it puts a fire under your butt to do a good job and make a profit. And fourth is credibility. People see that you’re serious about it and are less likely to worry about you just dissapearing. Moving to an office can be the single most important move your business can make!

By: Kim Smith

Kim Smith — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 13:42:34 +0000

I totally agree, Susan! Some days working at home can be so distracting with the household chores and “home-life” stuff that needs to be done that just getting out and working somewhere else can really help me to focus! And some days, when I’m really tired, the activity of strangers around me keeps me awake and alert. Working alone in your home office can be too quiet sometimes and I need that feeling of interaction around me, even if I’m not interacting with anyone.

I also agree that it helps to get into a different situation when you’re “stuck” or feeling the pressure of procrastination. It really does help you to make a fresh start!

By: D

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 12:40:33 +0000

That’s a clever question: How do you fool yourself into work?

Answer: By doing exactly what you just did. Simply fooling others to do it for you so you don’t have to do it yourself ie: listing only 9 tips so someone else can think of the 10th one for you.

I LIKE IT!!

By: skaz

skaz — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 12:30:26 +0000

Focus, focus. Where for art thou?

I decided eating at my computer lost its taste after losing a bit of corn chip inside my macbook keyboard. It was a delicate toothpick operation to get it out.

By: Samuel Mac

Samuel Mac — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 11:40:17 +0000

function changeVenue() {
var MyVenue=new Array();
MyVenue[1]=’first venue’;
MyVenue[2]=’another venue’;
MyVenue[3]=’a really really cool venue’;
MyVenue[4]=’a really really cool venue’;
MyVenue[5]=’a really really cool venue’;

var venueNumber=Math.floor(Math.random()*6)
location.href(MyVenue[venueNumber])
}

Algorthimth created!

By: Martin Lucas

Martin Lucas — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 10:21:30 +0000

Really like the first ‘trick’ mentioned – I’m definitely guilty of putting tasks that are too big on my to-do list, still working on the habit of breaking them down into smaller chunks.

By: Harry

Harry — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 10:21:26 +0000

Plus one on renting an office. It’s difficult to understand how detrimental working from home is until you start renting your own office space!

By: Darren

Darren — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 10:10:05 +0000

Definitely turning off social media would be one of them although if I had this morning I wouldn’t have found this great article! ohhh the paradox!

In my mind I have relabeled Facebook and Twitter as ‘Marketing sessions’

I often find completely changing locations is a good one or playing some motivational music that kills everything else in the room. I quite like the recent Tron soundtrack for this.

Having said all of that, I have probably had my best ideas when I have been procrastinating….the challenge is with getting the core stuff done too!

By: Ori

Ori — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:09:30 +0000

My trick no. 10:

If it’s very hard for you to start a certain task, compromise. After 25 minutes, if the task isn’t complete, rest 5 minutes doing anything you like, then continue the task. If it is finished, start another task with the same loop… After 115 minutes (work+rest sessions), rest 25 minutes.

This is from the Pomodoro Technique and helps you to stay productive at work. This technique to split the work and rest works especially well if you can get distracted easily.

By: Owen

Owen — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:46:28 +0000

I actually completely disagree with this trick. Changing venues often just trains your mind to think of this excuse not to complete something in the office: “Oh, this isn’t an office-worthy task; I’ll do it later at the Whole Foods.”

But i do agree that serious relaxation should be done outside the office, and for most intellectuals serious relaxation involves some sort of work– writing in a journal, reading a deep book, working on orthogonal computing problems. For these I recommend your public venue changing algorithm.

By: Jiri Novotny

Jiri Novotny — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 05:41:59 +0000

That’s interesting. Threat to slacking off at work perhaps! :)

By: Pothik

Pothik — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 05:26:31 +0000

Put youtube.com in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts and then tell me what happens. In my windows vista it is tracked as potential threat by “Microsoft security essentials” (MSE). The message is exactly – “Security Essentials detected a potential threat on your computer. Click Clean computer to remove this threat.” If I click the “Clean computer” button then the line with youtube.com is gone in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. Funny from MSE or conspiracy from youtube?

By: thomas

thomas — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:00:45 +0000

Ping pong works for me… a ten minute game with my work neighbours gives my conscious brain a rest, gets lots of oxygen into my bloodstream and inevitably involves a lot of laughs… afterwards anything is possible

By: Jiri Novotny

Jiri Novotny — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:55:26 +0000

42 is just a different way of saying “Back to work.” ;-)