
Could a randomness machine help you fight procrastination? - arnejenssen
https://excelerity.com/blog/arne/randomness-jar
======
UweSchmidt
I don't like convoluted schemes to make myself "productive". Hold a carrot on
a stick in one hand, a whip in the other and feel bad about myself? That's no
way to live.

I try to find better reasons why I do the things that I do - why isn't it
exciting right now? I try to check my emotions - is something bothering me so
I flee to Instagram? I actively try to enjoy small pauses to reflect on what I
just did, read or learned, how to generalize, memorize and improve it.

And I want to smell the flowers along the way, just like all humans have done
before us.

~~~
pavel_lishin
> _I try to check my emotions - is something bothering me so I flee to
> Instagram?_

What do you do when you _know_ what's bothering you, but it's not something
you can really fix?

I know why I'm stressed, but the dishes still need to be cleaned.

~~~
afarrell
Then I explicitly talk to myself about how I am choosing to endure the
discomfort.

If I have to go into a situation: "This is hard. This is scary. This is worth
it and I am stronger than I feel."

or

If I really have no power over it: "This is hard. This is scary. This too
shall pass and I am stronger than I feel." I find repeating the Litany against
Fear to help too.

\--------

Sometimes I choose to distract one half of my working memory. Doing the dishes
only requires visuo-spacial working memory, so I'll put on a non-mathematical
podcast or call a friend.

[https://www.simplypsychology.org/working%20memory.html?fbcli...](https://www.simplypsychology.org/working%20memory.html?fbclid=IwAR0ENwxL838Lz0GWERwFbw8jCMfNMC09qzMIjClCfDQ2F_m4OcR3FFY8KeM#pl)

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Jommi
My original assumption based on the title was that the author was going to use
a randomness machine to assign tasks to himself. Because usually
procrastination isn't about not wanting to do something, but just getting over
that initial hurdle.

~~~
robotbikes
I have done that at times, when nothing is particularly compelling but I have
a lot of potential things I could work on. I would come up with a list of 20
things and include possibly some fun activities that aren't necessarily
productive. Assign a number to each and roll a 20 sided die. It usually worked
pretty well, especially if a focused on actions that I could actually do or
next actions in GTD terminology. Maybe not the best productivity hack but a
good way to break an impasse of being overwhelmed by too many things to do.

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karaterobot
I'd like to see a followup after 6 months or so. Are you still using the
method, and is it still having a noticeable affect on your productivity and
well-being?

~~~
james_s_tayler
This. Always see so many "I've been doing X lately and I'm so productive!"

How long you been doing it?

"Oh, about 2 weeks"

I'm guilty of the same thing. We probably all are. But it makes me all this
stuff with a sceptical eye.

~~~
nefitty
I created a Notion doc (instead of in my huge Evernote notebook, and right
after abandoning workflowy and right before I discovered Roam...) to list out
all the productivity methods I’ve tried and ones I have yet to try. After
several hours, I had listed dozens and dozens of tactics I’ve tried with
specific examples of how I used them. I had not been faithful to any of them
for longer than six months.

This stresses me out. Is there something wrong with me? Do I have some problem
with my “internal authority”? Maybe bucking it so many times and so often is
contributing to its influence on me...

~~~
purplerabbit
There is nothing fundamentally wrong with you -- many of us are in the same
boat. It's a problem you can make progress on, not an inescapable curse.

When you're addicted to novelty, mechanical approaches like pomodoro or the
one described in this post aren't good long-term solutions. I would suggest
checking out more mindfulness-based approaches.

Here's my current recipe:

1\. Notice when I feel the pull of a distraction. 2\. Stop what I'm doing.
Literally stop everything for as long as I need to clear my mind. This usually
takes about 15 seconds, but sometimes it takes more like 10 minutes. This part
is really hard -- when I started doing it, I would feel guilty for "wasting
time", even though getting distracted often meant 20 minutes, an hour, or even
more completely wasted, and in the worst, most guilt-inducing way. 3\. Once my
mind is clear, ask myself this question: "What do I truly _want_ to do with
this moment of my life?" 4\. Do that thing.

If I want to cruise Reddit for half an hour, I'll cruise Reddit for half an
hour, and feel good about it. If I want to go back to my original task --
that's great. If I want to call up my dad and see how he's doing, or write a
nice note to my wife, that's even better.

Never do anything you don't want to do. It's the _guilt_ that's unhealthy and
addicting. Do what you _want_ to do -- and that doesn't have to look like
being a programmer/working prodigy all the time.

I regularly fail at this, but over the past year, I've gotten better. And I
promise you can, too.

Learn to be happy, and you'll be more productive :)

~~~
nefitty
Thank you for your thoughts! This is very insightful.

------
tgsovlerkhgsel
Slight offtopic: The web site's GDPR notice is worth a read. It caught my
attention by actually having an equally-sized decline button, which is sadly
so rare that it stands out. (TL;DR: They make clear that it's your choice and
that they use analytics with privacy-friendly settings to make the site better
for readers.)

And it's incredible what an effect such a small gesture of respect has. On any
other site I'd have CTRL-W'd such a long-winded explanation much earlier.

The TL;DR of the article - Adding randomized rewards to the Pomodoro technique
by randomizing what fun/distrating thing you'll do during your break, later
mixing in other "healthy" activities in with the "fun" stuff.

~~~
gurjeet
I intend to use that clear, concise language, normal sized fonts, button size,
button colors to correlate with effects of the action, and humility in my
future projects. Oh dear, I am thinking of copying all of it! I hope they
don't send lawyers after me :)

That all made me click the "Accept" button rather than "Decline" which I
usually do when given a choice.

Loved that the very first sentence gave the reader the choice to decline.
Perhaps that made me read the rest of it, or maybe I was already biased
(unlikely, but possible) based on the comment here I had read in its praise.

------
tomcooks
I use the same method to force myself to do exercises.

I do standing desk coding for 1 pomodoro, then exercises (alternating pushups,
squats, wall sits, mountain climbers, jumping jacks) during the 4 of the 5min
breaks. This way I can intermittently break a sweat and find time to exercise
during the day.

Much like
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QqoSyqckqA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QqoSyqckqA)
but spread across working hours.

------
Torwald
> " …here’s the method I am using at the moment with great success. You need a
> random-number generator to work it."

[http://markforster.squarespace.com/blog/2014/1/22/random-
tim...](http://markforster.squarespace.com/blog/2014/1/22/random-time-
management.html#comment20750649)

------
boffinism
I think he got distracted while typing 'Indesctractible' in the first
sentence, and procrastinated instead of proof reading...

~~~
arnejenssen
Thanks :)

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AlexCoventry
I need to make the breaks more structured than that. I find meditating during
the breaks is helpful to keep me on course, and also improves my attitude
during the work.

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TACIXAT
This sounds really cool. The other thing I would like is more sound effects on
real life goals. I play Overwatch, and I always say I wish the stuff I want to
be doing would make that sweet headshot ding.

Patch in a bell into AFL for everytime it finds a crash. Maybe even a generic
function I can throw at the end of main so when my code builds and runs I'll
get that audio stimulation.

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seesawtron
You should try Stretchly. Its a desktop application that forces you to work
with the Pomodoro routine. It can get really annoying when you are coding and
want to finish that last bit of code but otherwise I liked it.

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Scarblac
I don't know how effective this will be but you sound exactly like me, so I
have to try this.

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rantwasp
Randotron, stop the procrastination!

~~~
donquichotte
You s.o.a.b., I'm in.

~~~
rantwasp
I’m in, I’m out. Who’s kidneys are these?

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rzzzt
At first, I thought Nir Eyal is a partial anagram/pseudonym of Dan Ariely.

~~~
beagle3
Both are unmistakably Israeli names.

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XCSme
This could be an app.

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oh_sigh
What does it mean when I pull out "Muhammad hands you a salmon football
helmet" out of my machine?

------
bobblywobbles
No, I don't think it can (completely).

If you procrastinate, you lack discipline. No technology can change or give
you discipline. You have to work on it and you can't let yourself say no, it's
a mindset.

~~~
james_s_tayler
Side note: If you chronically procrastinate, and have your whole life, you
probably lack dopamine.

~~~
synaesthesisx
Which implies they likely have ADHD (or similar) and require medication,
right?

~~~
james_s_tayler
Or complex multi-level coping strategies. Whatever works.

