Comments on: In.Sight - Setting Your Own Deadlines http://www.indyish.com/insight-setting-your-own-deadlines-ready/ You might be awesome, but we are the Indyish! Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:55:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Tessa http://www.indyish.com/insight-setting-your-own-deadlines-ready/#comment-22714 Tessa Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:39:56 +0000 http://www.indyish.com/insight-setting-your-own-deadlines-ready#comment-22714 As a hardcore procrastinator, I can always use more time management advice. this past year i was out of school for the first time in a few years and had to learn a whole new kind of self-discipline to work for myself and from home. i had to resist the urge to wake up and immediately go on my computer or to work on my laptop in bed until late. there needs to be some sort of barrier between work and the rest of your life to conserve mental space and create a healthy creative environment. for me, it meant treating my laptop like a desktop computer and using it only on my workdesk when i was at home. i've had conversations with friends about how time and capabilities stretch to fit the boundaries you build. say, if you have 2 weeks to get something done, it takes the 2 weeks. if you give yourself 2 days and make it a priority, it can happen in 2 days. then it's all about prioritizing among your needs (creative, financial, personal health, community, family...) and like you said, giving reasonable deadlines to structure it all. i think most of us juggle a mixture of external deadlines and personal non-deadlines, so it's always a case of balancing wants, needs, desires, and not getting caught up in guilt. i'm a maker of lists and find writing helps relieve the mental load of carrying all your tasks around, so a daytimer or journal is key. someone once told me that they believe motivation always comes AFTER you start working on a project. this mainly applies to work stuff, but i've found it to be pretty true. you're never going to WANT to write that essay or press release, but just go through the motions of starting and then hey, you're doing it. you'll start to get into it and maybe enjoy it a bit or at least get something out of it. it's usually about finding ways to walk around the mental barrier we set up against hard work. it's different with dream schemes, where the idea and excitment come first. but in the same way, the motivation to actually start doing it doesn't always come naturally. i think it's actually a creative act to get over the staleness of being stuck behind a pile of work. i continue to develop my understanding of when and under what circumstances i do my best work, and because i usually work for myself, i can shape my schedule to make it most likely that i won't procrastinate. it's always good to experiment with new spaces and people (how about the library at lunch? the local cafe in the early morning? a friend's place after dinner?) and also, not getting too caught up in novelty spaces and just getting down to it! As a hardcore procrastinator, I can always use more time management advice. this past year i was out of school for the first time in a few years and had to learn a whole new kind of self-discipline to work for myself and from home. i had to resist the urge to wake up and immediately go on my computer or to work on my laptop in bed until late. there needs to be some sort of barrier between work and the rest of your life to conserve mental space and create a healthy creative environment. for me, it meant treating my laptop like a desktop computer and using it only on my workdesk when i was at home.

i’ve had conversations with friends about how time and capabilities stretch to fit the boundaries you build. say, if you have 2 weeks to get something done, it takes the 2 weeks. if you give yourself 2 days and make it a priority, it can happen in 2 days. then it’s all about prioritizing among your needs (creative, financial, personal health, community, family…) and like you said, giving reasonable deadlines to structure it all. i think most of us juggle a mixture of external deadlines and personal non-deadlines, so it’s always a case of balancing wants, needs, desires, and not getting caught up in guilt.

i’m a maker of lists and find writing helps relieve the mental load of carrying all your tasks around, so a daytimer or journal is key.

someone once told me that they believe motivation always comes AFTER you start working on a project. this mainly applies to work stuff, but i’ve found it to be pretty true. you’re never going to WANT to write that essay or press release, but just go through the motions of starting and then hey, you’re doing it. you’ll start to get into it and maybe enjoy it a bit or at least get something out of it. it’s usually about finding ways to walk around the mental barrier we set up against hard work.

it’s different with dream schemes, where the idea and excitment come first. but in the same way, the motivation to actually start doing it doesn’t always come naturally. i think it’s actually a creative act to get over the staleness of being stuck behind a pile of work.

i continue to develop my understanding of when and under what circumstances i do my best work, and because i usually work for myself, i can shape my schedule to make it most likely that i won’t procrastinate. it’s always good to experiment with new spaces and people (how about the library at lunch? the local cafe in the early morning? a friend’s place after dinner?) and also, not getting too caught up in novelty spaces and just getting down to it!

]]> By: Risa Dickens http://www.indyish.com/insight-setting-your-own-deadlines-ready/#comment-22691 Risa Dickens Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:36:38 +0000 http://www.indyish.com/insight-setting-your-own-deadlines-ready#comment-22691 i gotta tell you, i got so preemptively excited about getting organized in the new year i bought a 2008 agenda.. about a month and a half ago. i pretty much just look at it longingly these days, but watch out! come January organization won't know what hit it! (unless i've lost it by then..now that i think about it, where is that thing...?) i gotta tell you, i got so preemptively excited about getting organized in the new year i bought a 2008 agenda.. about a month and a half ago. i pretty much just look at it longingly these days, but watch out! come January organization won’t know what hit it! (unless i’ve lost it by then..now that i think about it, where is that thing…?)

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