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« Last post by nudone on October 12, 2006, 03:59 AM »
first, advice to app, just forget about this experiment - it wouldn't be a failure to just forget about it. it obviously just doesn't suit you. if i were you, i'd just try and redefine the experience so that it's something you can look back on as being positive, i.e. it helped just to demonstrate that what you already did was the right way.
as for myself...
my current system is: no system! well, that isn't strictly true.
i know what i want to do. i have things wrote down and things in my head. i do whatever i feel like doing during the day - i'm living off of my bank savings so i'm fortunate that i can do as i please at the moment.
providing i complete each month's big task/project that i've set myself then i'll be very happy. so far, everything appears to be going fine. the first half of the month tends to be procrastination based - with me putting off that months project, but as the month progresses a sense of urgency sets in and i feel compelled to get things done. i start getting really angry/annoyed with myself and i know the only way to releave it is to just get on with the big task.
up until the point of seriously tackling the project i will complete hundreds of minor tasks that need doing. like all great procrastination tacticians, i use the avoidance of the major task/project as a way of getting lesser things done.
so, i am very happy with my progress. i've only had one day since we started the experiment where i felt tired/bored/depressed and couldn't really be bothered to do anything at all - but i still got things done - i just felt a bit down whilst i was doing them.
i've managed to stick to my new exercise plan - exercising every other day. i've increased the length of time i do it for and plan to take up more exercise towards the end of the year after i've made more progress with what i'm currently doing.
i'm eating more fruit and drinking more water, and completely cut out alcohol (not that i ever really consumed much) and late night snacks - i've not embraced a truly healthy diet yet but hopefully what i'm doing is the foundation of one.
i still get up about 6am, though, the dark mornings are starting to make that a little more difficult. i'm trying to avoid using an alarm clock as i think they are evil.
overall, i've found these past few weeks to be very successful. i've almost completed every major backlog (as MF would describe them) i've been accumulating over the years. thousands of files stored on my hard drives have been sorted/deleted. hundreds of magazines reviewed and then thrown away (taken to the recycle bin). there are a few things to sort out yet on the computer but i'm at the last 1% or so.
when i think about all of this, it is amazing. years of 'backlog' has been almost cleared. stealing a term used in Scientology - i think i am almost a 'Clear'. the chains attached to all these unfinished/unsorted backlog tasks have nearly worn through - i just need to prevent them from building up again.
on the downside, i still haven't gained the ability to immediately snap my fingers and start doing a task that i'm procrastinating over. sometimes i've managed to do so but not by following a set technique - so, i can only blame myself for not being consistent with a particular method to see if it works or not.
one method that stands out in my memory is from a day where i was suffering from overwhelming procrastination. so, i decided to do something i knew would absolutely ruin my sense of calm - i played a computer racing game that was guaranteed to put me into a terribly foul mood and frustrate me (regardless of whether i won or lost in the game). the idea of this was to, kind of, hit rock bottom - to put myself in the worst possible frame of mind i could think of and then see if i could somehow snap out of it and get the procrastinated task done. it worked, brilliantly so. but the trick to succeeding was probably more to the few minutes i spent just calming myself after playing the game - i don't meditate but i think what i did during those few minutes would be classed as meditating. i relaxed, blanked my mind, blah, blah, and then focused on the thing i was avoiding. i then spent the rest of the day easily working on the problem task. quite incredible really - i have no idea why i've not tried the technique again.
i guess, the main discovery i've found so far is that whilst 'learning' about time-management techniques i am enthusiastic about the particular system i'm looking at but i don't really make a great effort to implement the ideas. but, really, on reflection - it doesn't look like i need to with what i'm doing. maybe i have simply redefined to myself what i consider successful. before the start of the experiment i wanted to become like a machine that would just get on with any given set task - now, i'm simply content that i'm not sitting on my arse wondering why i'm not getting something done - i'm always getting something done.
set yourself realistic goals. nibble away at them. remind yourself of the goals you've completed. that's all i can say.
(i wish to thank Mark Forster for the books he has wrote because i know for sure that they have helped me reach this positive state of mind - and urlwolf for recommending them. i'd also like to thank mouser for his encouragement and the DC community for providing an outlet for this experiment.)
anyway, onwards, and upwards - this is only the beginning as they say.
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