Often it's right before bed π€¦ββοΈ It's kind of a bad habit - I procrastinate during the day, and then smush in a bunch of work late at night. Anyone else do that? Any tips for not doing that? ... I probably just need to say, "no computer after 8" or something :)
For the timebeing I was able to overcome some procrastination though it comes and goes depending on the time of year, also I think some procrastination may be good. Mind you I suck at self control but this is what worked for me so far:
1) I blocked out all social media. I generated random passwords on all social media accounts and I did not save them. In this way I am not tempted to just have constant quick looks on useless posts. The steps to recover the passwords would make me snap out of it.
2) I like to read the news during the day. So I try to only do it for ~30 minutes when I get to the office and then at lunch time (sometimes I slip though).
3) I try to not think about the things I still have to do and I try to dedicate some time during the day to acknowledge the work I have done instead.
4) At the cost of boredom, I try to avoid having my laptop on most of the evenings in the working week. I know I suck at self control so sometimes I just leave my laptop in my office so I don't even have the option to cheat.
5) My phone is always on silent.Though I have the luxury of not having to work with clients.
6) But the most important thing of all, I stopped guilt-tripping myself for procrastinating. If I am procrastinating systematically there is a reason... I should solve that first if I want to stop doing it. Maybe I don't like a specific task I have to do, or maybe there are too many unknowns or skills I have to learn that it overwhelms me. Either way, if it happens - after the first moment of frustration - I try to stop what I am doing and reason on why I am procrastinating. Often identifying the cause is sufficient to make me stop procrastinate.
This is working pretty ok for me right now also because I throw some flexibility to the rules here and there.
I stopped guilt-tripping myself for procrastinating
That's a great point - when I'm procrastinating, it's because I'm avoiding something... what am I avoiding? Answer that question to really increase productivity :)
Thanks for your tips - good things to think about!
Your self-control strategies are awesome man,
I remember that day when I left my phone on purpose silent at home and went out, but my father tried to call me to ask me to buy him something, and when I didn't answer couple of times he thought there might be something bad did happen the end of the story he went down the streets looking for me ππππ
Totally relate to this. I usually have to force myself to work sooner and when I have a break I can do things that I would normally do at the beginning of the evening.
5:00a, which is frustrating because I rarely want to get up that early, usually pushing it to 5:30 or 6. When I do, though, it's clear-headed, focused productive time. Once the day gets rolling that focus starts getting muddled, and I usually find I can't think as effectively by bed.
I guess that's what introversion is all about - going about my day and interacting with people is a clear energy expenditure, no matter how positive the interactions are.
I serve the people of Texas by working as a full-stack web developer for a state agency based in Austin. When not coding, I'm exploring all that Austin has to offer (especially their restaurants!).
Oh absolutely in the morning. I get to work at 6:30a and am able to get in the zone easily (well, most days). But the afternoons are a completely different story. I still code, but I try to focus on less complicated stuff or shift to emails/project tracking updates and so on.
It's funny cuz I never was a morning person until I hit my thirties.
I'm a professional PHP, Python and Javascript developer from the UK. I've worked with Django, Laravel, and React, among others. I also maintain a legacy Zend 1 application.
It's funny cuz I never was a morning person until I hit my thirties.
As I understand it, this is common. Apparently teenager's body clocks are primed to wake up late and go to bed late, while as we get older they slowly move forward.
I'm a web sysop and support engineer. My skills are mainly in back-end: Java, Linux, Python, PostgreSQL, Git, and GitLab. Currently I'm learning front-end skills: JavaScript, and Ruby.
In my (cough 40s) and now I'm definitely a morning person. If I can get a good start by 6 I'll be in the zone about 7 and come up for air and breakfast about 9. I peak between 10-11. When I was in my teens and early twenties I would regularly pull all-nighters though. I think having kids changes your sleep habits a lot too
Usually my peak I would say is 10PM to 3AM.
Im basically a batman :] but I try to keep my routine healthier so I work during the day as much as I can (still, not productive enough when there;s sun light)
Hey, I'm Steven Mercatante and I build things for the web.
I'm a full stack software engineer with over 15 years of experience building websites, mobile apps, APIs, CMSs, and ETL pipelines.
Between 7am - 11am and 8pm - 11pm. Mornings are productive for me because I walk a mile every morning before work and have a high energy breakfast, and the evening (if I choose to work it) is productive because there are fewer interruptions and distractions.
I'm a big believer in getting up early and getting things done before I leave for the office. I find that my best work happens then. I wasn't always like this, but have trained myself over the years to become a morning person.
Started coding at the age of 13, now a professional software engineer and Scrum Master, creating and maintaining enterprise solutions. Eat - Sleep - Code - Lift - Repeat πͺπΎ
I can totally relate!
Sometimes I am a total night owl and get a ton of work done at night but on other days I'm in the mood the get up early and get things done before everyone else is waking up / comes online.
Also connected to the weather sometimes... sounds crazy but I love to watch thunderstorms and the rain outside and this is the best weather to stay in and take a night shift :)
Mostly the day before the deadline, that's my most productive hours :)
But usually, I don't like to be interrupted, so the best time for work was just after waking up in the morning, and late at night. If I don't start working as soon as I wake up in the morning, I spend my whole day hanging around, looking from one subject to another.
Dad of two loud boys. Passionate developer on all stacks. Continous learner, continous improver.
In β€ with Mountains, cooking, good food, great wine, interesting books and Bruce Springsteen ;-).
Inspiration tends to hit me in the morning so I write/art first thing in the morning to capture ideas then refine them in the evening or pass writing off to my PA for editing and polish.
Coding is best from about 9am to 2pm.
Meetings are best from 2pm to 5pm.
My evenings are for consumption; courses, article reading, videos.
Most days I'm more productive in the morning when my mind is still fresh and sharp. But it depends a lot on the task and the progress made during the first fifteen minutes.
I usually start my tasks with a lot of enthusiasm and motivation. But if for some reason I get stuck on something right from the beginning and need to spend a lot of time researching how to solve it, then the initial enthusiasm kind of wares out and things start to get boring.
Top comments (76)
Often it's right before bed π€¦ββοΈ It's kind of a bad habit - I procrastinate during the day, and then smush in a bunch of work late at night. Anyone else do that? Any tips for not doing that? ... I probably just need to say, "no computer after 8" or something :)
For the timebeing I was able to overcome some procrastination though it comes and goes depending on the time of year, also I think some procrastination may be good. Mind you I suck at self control but this is what worked for me so far:
1) I blocked out all social media. I generated random passwords on all social media accounts and I did not save them. In this way I am not tempted to just have constant quick looks on useless posts. The steps to recover the passwords would make me snap out of it.
2) I like to read the news during the day. So I try to only do it for ~30 minutes when I get to the office and then at lunch time (sometimes I slip though).
3) I try to not think about the things I still have to do and I try to dedicate some time during the day to acknowledge the work I have done instead.
4) At the cost of boredom, I try to avoid having my laptop on most of the evenings in the working week. I know I suck at self control so sometimes I just leave my laptop in my office so I don't even have the option to cheat.
5) My phone is always on silent.Though I have the luxury of not having to work with clients.
6) But the most important thing of all, I stopped guilt-tripping myself for procrastinating. If I am procrastinating systematically there is a reason... I should solve that first if I want to stop doing it. Maybe I don't like a specific task I have to do, or maybe there are too many unknowns or skills I have to learn that it overwhelms me. Either way, if it happens - after the first moment of frustration - I try to stop what I am doing and reason on why I am procrastinating. Often identifying the cause is sufficient to make me stop procrastinate.
This is working pretty ok for me right now also because I throw some flexibility to the rules here and there.
That's a great point - when I'm procrastinating, it's because I'm avoiding something... what am I avoiding? Answer that question to really increase productivity :)
Thanks for your tips - good things to think about!
yeah, guilt tripping aparently works against actually getting to stop what one is guilty about
Your self-control strategies are awesome man,
I remember that day when I left my phone on purpose silent at home and went out, but my father tried to call me to ask me to buy him something, and when I didn't answer couple of times he thought there might be something bad did happen the end of the story he went down the streets looking for me ππππ
It sounds so simple when stated like this :)
Haha... absolutely - easier said than done... (ugh) :)
true
Totally relate to this. I usually have to force myself to work sooner and when I have a break I can do things that I would normally do at the beginning of the evening.
I get most of my work done "Tomorrow" or "Later"
Whenever our cats are asleep is my most productive time. It is noticably harder to work with a 15 pound Maine Coon on your lap.
5:00a, which is frustrating because I rarely want to get up that early, usually pushing it to 5:30 or 6. When I do, though, it's clear-headed, focused productive time. Once the day gets rolling that focus starts getting muddled, and I usually find I can't think as effectively by bed.
I guess that's what introversion is all about - going about my day and interacting with people is a clear energy expenditure, no matter how positive the interactions are.
Oh absolutely in the morning. I get to work at 6:30a and am able to get in the zone easily (well, most days). But the afternoons are a completely different story. I still code, but I try to focus on less complicated stuff or shift to emails/project tracking updates and so on.
It's funny cuz I never was a morning person until I hit my thirties.
As I understand it, this is common. Apparently teenager's body clocks are primed to wake up late and go to bed late, while as we get older they slowly move forward.
In my (cough 40s) and now I'm definitely a morning person. If I can get a good start by 6 I'll be in the zone about 7 and come up for air and breakfast about 9. I peak between 10-11. When I was in my teens and early twenties I would regularly pull all-nighters though. I think having kids changes your sleep habits a lot too
Usually my peak I would say is 10PM to 3AM.
Im basically a batman :] but I try to keep my routine healthier so I work during the day as much as I can (still, not productive enough when there;s sun light)
Between 7am - 11am and 8pm - 11pm. Mornings are productive for me because I walk a mile every morning before work and have a high energy breakfast, and the evening (if I choose to work it) is productive because there are fewer interruptions and distractions.
2 o'clock in the night ππ»
I'm a big believer in getting up early and getting things done before I leave for the office. I find that my best work happens then. I wasn't always like this, but have trained myself over the years to become a morning person.
It really really really depends on my mood!
I can totally relate!
Sometimes I am a total night owl and get a ton of work done at night but on other days I'm in the mood the get up early and get things done before everyone else is waking up / comes online.
Also connected to the weather sometimes... sounds crazy but I love to watch thunderstorms and the rain outside and this is the best weather to stay in and take a night shift :)
Mostly the day before the deadline, that's my most productive hours :)
But usually, I don't like to be interrupted, so the best time for work was just after waking up in the morning, and late at night. If I don't start working as soon as I wake up in the morning, I spend my whole day hanging around, looking from one subject to another.
Depends for me I am more productive in the early hours of the day. Just after getting out of bed.
I spend most of the day moving around the web without doing much work and then going back into default productive mood at night. Pretty bad routine :(
from 5 AM to 7 AM
from 10 PM to 1 AM
... which is a very unhealthy combination π
Inspiration tends to hit me in the morning so I write/art first thing in the morning to capture ideas then refine them in the evening or pass writing off to my PA for editing and polish.
Coding is best from about 9am to 2pm.
Meetings are best from 2pm to 5pm.
My evenings are for consumption; courses, article reading, videos.
Most days I'm more productive in the morning when my mind is still fresh and sharp. But it depends a lot on the task and the progress made during the first fifteen minutes.
I usually start my tasks with a lot of enthusiasm and motivation. But if for some reason I get stuck on something right from the beginning and need to spend a lot of time researching how to solve it, then the initial enthusiasm kind of wares out and things start to get boring.