andaiJust make it hard to fail
https://nekolucifer.substack.com/p/just-make-it-really-hard-to-fail
Hi HN! This is probably the most important thing I ever learned, so I'll repeat it here for the people who only read the comments :)
I found a way to work on my project every day, without willpower.
I just eliminated all the failure modes.
1. Skipping days breaks momentum: I can't skip days. (So I made it easy to win: I only need to show up for an hour.)
2. Delaying the work leads to missed days. I get tired, I get distracted, I forget. So I decided I need to work as soon as I wake up. Then I guarantee it gets done.
3. Distracted by stupid BS. Noticed that all my distraction came from the internet, and getting distracted would tank productivity for the remainder of the day. So I just unplug the router before bed.
That's my whole system, and I'm using it right now. (I used it to write this post!)
The deeper idea here is ... just find out what's making you fail, and see if you can't design around that. Just design it so those things do not happen. Then you will win by default.
Hope this helps! :)
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P.S. the astute reader may observe that this describes the Q2 category in the Eisenhower Matrix... the stuff we want to get done "someday", but which will never get done unless we make time it. For this reason, I very strongly recommend dedicating the first hour to Q2. Q1 "handles itself", by definition. Q2 is the one that needs love!
(That probably should have been the main thesis. Oh well!)
> Q2 category in the Eisenhower Matrix
I thought I was in the target audience for this post, but now I'm entirely confused.
Q2 means important, but not urgent. these tasks need to be scheduled or they don't get done
Q1 is things that are both important and urgent
it's a system popularized by Dwight D. Eisenhower
I've been working on an indie game solo for the past four years. I've had quiet periods and I've had productive periods. But I have worked on it nearly every single day for those four years, rarely for less than an hour.
One method I did have a lot of success with was a time spent spreadsheet I created. For any given date I'd enter individual times I started and stopped working on it - so it might be 10am until 11.30am, 2pm until 5pm, and so on.
For each day I'd sum the hours spent, and then I had a target hours to hit each week - 20 at first, then 30, and eventually 40. This is while also working a day job, otherwise I'd probably have tried increasing it by 1.5-2x.
A key rule I followed was this: once I hit enough hours for the day to be on track for the weekly goal, I could then do whatever I felt like with my remaining time. Ironically I'd often keep working on it as the momentum was already going, but just as often I'd go relax.
Pretty good system all in all.