#psychology #motivation #procrastination #personal-organization #productivity
idea
The willpower required for starting work is greater than to carry on. The hardest is to begin, it takes most of motivation. This can be compared to an exothermic reaction[1], which requires energy to be brought into the system for the reaction to start, then it carries away:
It can also be compared to Newton's first law of motion[3]:
In an inertial frame of reference, an object remains at rest or continues to move unless acted upon by a force
That is: the hardest is to start, once doing it continuing requires "no" force.
This is why it's sometimes as easy as just starting something to get it done, and once doing it, might as well just finish.
Start with a small task and allow garbage[2].
links
Starting work helps building Motivation by building momentum
Large code bases make the energy required to start work higher.
Five minute rule is a good way to start work: start with the goal of doing it "just 5 minutes"
references
[1]: Tiffany Matthe / The art of not thinking compares accomplishing a task to an exothermic reaction.
[2]: Thomas Frank / trick your brain into doing hard work has three tricks: 1. Decompose into small steps (e.g. Write 500 words) 2. Allow yourself to do garbage (any progress is good) 3. Note ideas when in unideal places (inspiration usually comes when not at workstation)