Re:Ask HN: How do you guys deal with laziness?
by scott-smith_us on Monday March 23, 2020 @02:34PM
(#22667134)
I struggle with the same problem.
One trick I've learned is to keep a separate list of "low-barrier" tasks for those times when I just can't get started on something important. I get a big emotional boost from getting things done. Once I've completed one or two of those, I'm sufficiently revved up to start on a top-of-my-priority-list task.
By "low barrier", I mean simple, stand-alone tasks that don't require lots of thinking. A good example might be re-shelving a stack of books or sorting through a small box of hardware. These tend to be very low priority tasks, but it's especially satisfying if they're things that have been on your physical/mental to-do list for a long time.
One trick I've learned is to keep a separate list of "low-barrier" tasks for those times when I just can't get started on something important. I get a big emotional boost from getting things done. Once I've completed one or two of those, I'm sufficiently revved up to start on a top-of-my-priority-list task.
By "low barrier", I mean simple, stand-alone tasks that don't require lots of thinking. A good example might be re-shelving a stack of books or sorting through a small box of hardware. These tend to be very low priority tasks, but it's especially satisfying if they're things that have been on your physical/mental to-do list for a long time.