Somewhat ironic that I found this through HN where I so often feel that the world is moving so much faster than I can possibly keep up. Some of the work produced and shown here is just superb, and so often I get the feeling of:
Everyone seems to be getting stuff done, except you.
I so often think that productivity, guilt and self-loathing go hand-in-hand. I've been wondering if entrepreneurs are particularly susceptible to to the dips and highs that come from these three things locking together, or if everyone feels that way?
Everywhere in the world, people are getting stuff done.
Don't sweat it, just remember to go at your own pace, challenge yourself on a daily basis, and be proud of your accomplishments. We all run at different strides, don't judge yourself based on someone else's accomplishments.
I sound a little preachy, but hey, we all need the pep talk sometimes. :)
> Everywhere in the world, people are getting stuff done.
A person in a depressed state of mind would answer: "Except me!" To themselves though, since they're aware of that fact and it can only make them feel worse. Why can't they just be productive? They're quite capable of repeating the various motivational mantras out there; those are more likely to just contribute negatively to the feedback cycle they're in.
Ditto. I feel the same way about HN. I love the submissions and find it all fascinating, but sometimes I just need to take a break from HN otherwise I get too down on myself.
You have to remind yourself that people are showing off their accomplishments here. It seems like everyone is an all-star and they stamp out genius products everyday, but really you're not seeing all the hard work (weeks, months, years even) poured into those projects.
Just remember, that pretty much all you see here are the end results of these projects. When something amazing pops up, and you think, "Man, that's cool, somebody went and created that amazing widget!" remember that there was, indubitably, a substantial period where that widget was being developed, and wasn't done. Results make news stories, y'know? I've never seen "Show HN: Today I'm starting to write <application>".
Ok, enough HN, I've got to go do some work. See you all in 25.
I think everyone feels that way. I'm not especially ambitious, I treat Hacker News as a sort of "accomplishment porn", and I still feel this way about even the small tasks that I delay.
I definitely see where he's going with some of this stuff, but I strongly disagree with this part, and I find it really off the mark:
You know that pile of books that you'll never read that sitting
next to the computer you are reading this blog post on? That pile
is too tall. You'll never read all those. That pile of books is a
monolith of guilt. It's a monument of sadness and failure. Pick
the book or two that you can read this week and put the rest
away.
"A monolith of guilt... a monument of sadness and failure"?! How pessimistic! No, no, it's a pile of treasure! I love having a huge stack of books on my desk, or overflowing from my bookshelves. Maybe he's talking about a different kind of book, but almost none of the books I'm currently reading I'll be able to finish in a week, not even if I devoted all my free time to a single one. Here's my current stack:
Modern Compiler Impl in ML,
Real World Haskell,
Programming Haskell,
Types and Programming Languages,
Software Foundations,
chapters on parsing in EOPL1,
chapters on types in EOPL3,
chapters on types in PLAI,
And that doesn't include some papers I've got printed out for the subway. I just got a new book delivered today, bought practically on a whim (the Coq'Art book), just because why not? Maybe I have some kind of attention deficit problem, but I really find it valuable to read multiple takes on the same topic (in this case, as you might infer, compilers and types), which means working through a bunch of books concurrently.
I find it thrilling and exciting to have so much more to read, so much more to learn. The stack of books is a monument to wonder and knowledge, it's a deep well to draw on and to be immersed in.
I think his point is that if the unread books are right in front of you for months at a time, they are a constant reminder that you mean to get around to reading them, but never do.
Which is something I definitely agree with. I used to have books lying around my room. Not only were they visual clutter, but I would get in the habit of picking one up, flipping through the pages, and then getting distracted with another book. Ever since I started keeping all my books in my bookshelf though, I've been much better at focusing on just one and finishing it before moving on to the next.
That is the entire point of having the books in a stack where you can see them!
I love reading, but I intentionally take up books for leisure reading that I know will be a challenge. Some longer or more difficult works are definitely projects, projects that I need to consciously put work into.
Having the book sitting out there, visible, a physical reminder, is probably my most powerful motivational tool for getting these books read. For me this is the main reason I still buy and read physical books.
I guess it also helps that, for me, reading is something I get excited about. It is how I unwind. Having a book in my library that I haven't read yet does not make me feel guilty. Maybe the book makes me excited with anticipation, maybe I feel apathetic towards it. But I don't feel anxious, because the world will keep spinning just fine if I fail to read a book.
edit: I should amend to say that this is also a matter of taste. Having books all over the place will definitely make you switch reading material sometime, and will probably keep you from finishing some books. I'm of the school of thought that says, fine. I'll fail to finish some books. Not the end of the world. Sometimes a book just takes a couple of tries before it gets its teeth into you.
I'm not saying that one shouldn't have a lot of books. I've got a bookshelf behind me that is TWO WALLS wide and 8 feet tall. I'm talking about the pile of books on our desk that we lie to ourselves about. I called them Guilt Piles.
For many people that pile of books that they aren't going to read this week represents promises they've made to themselves that they didn't keep. I was just saying, be honest and take a few books off your desk. Those books are on my shelves and I'll read them when I'm ready for them.
All I can say is that I live in a state of radical disarray, and I often have books just sitting around. I wouldn't ever call them guilt piles, because leaving something unfinished causes me no real guilt, especially if I'm happy with whatever I'm doing at the moment.
In my work life, I feel I need to fight that instinct. But not in my reading life. That's part of what makes it a refuge for me.
> I'm of the school of thought that says, fine. I'll fail to finish some books.
I think you're right, it's definitely partly a matter of taste or mindset. I must have a similar mindset to you, and maybe other people have a different attitude. I'm not worried or anxious about being unable to finish a book this week, or this month or even this year. Maybe it's also about setting reasonable expectations, and as the OP writes, not guilt-tripping yourself when you don't keep a brutal and impossible to maintain pace. Most of what is worth reading isn't easy to get through in 7 days.
I think it's a personality thing. I started Njal's Saga years ago (my frame of reference is that I heard of it on Slashdot) and I'm about 3/4 of the way through. I haven't picked it up in years (I think it's under the bed) but someday I will, whenever I get around to it. It just doesn't matter when/if I finish it.
Contrast that with an old roommate of mine who thought of this stuff a lot more like Scott does. He would feel really, really guilty about starting a book and not finishing it in a reasonable time or at all. He felt he "owed" it to the author to finish it if started.
I just can't think that way. It took me three tries to get past page 100 of Dune but once I did, I absolutely loved the book. Same goes for Stars in my pocket like grains of sand: I took over five years to finish that book and it was really good.
Feel "guilty?" No, guilt is reserved for when you hurt someone.
Great post, Scott. Here are some things I do to build off your main points:
Stop Checking Email in the Morning - Batch email checking into something you do two or three times per day at certain times.
Don't make Guilt Piles - If you do make them, keep them out of site and accumulate them for a long plane ride, car trip, or vacation.
If it's important, Schedule It. - Again, I schedule my email and my browsing .I actually roughly schedule my whole day. Happy to send to anyone just email me at wu at skim dot me.
Let go of Psychic Weight - This is a hard one but the key to overcoming digital overconsumption and information overload is to recognize you'll never be able to get through it all.
Schedule Work Sprints - I have two one and a half to two hour slots of real productivity per day. Sometimes I get to three.
Stop Beating Yourself Up - Constant struggle
I'm somewhat new to this productivity thing but got into it after recognizing that my web browsing was becoming addictive and unproductive. It was producing "the guilt and self-loathing" you mentioned if I couldn't keep up with it. It ultimately led me to build Skim.Me. We're making your daily online browsing routines more productive. Not just tools or a platform but really an entire user experience that wants to move content consumption away from addictive page views and time spent towards a disciplined approach to building better, sustainable habits.
We automatically onboard you using our plugin, aggregate from your favorite sites/apps (not just news & social) across devices, and help you browse in timed batches through the day without showing you how many unread or unchecked you have. Hope some people check it out when we launch (http://skim.me). v1 in three weeks.
Everyone seems to be getting stuff done, except you.
I so often think that productivity, guilt and self-loathing go hand-in-hand. I've been wondering if entrepreneurs are particularly susceptible to to the dips and highs that come from these three things locking together, or if everyone feels that way?