I have a list of tasks as long as my arm at work. And their priority is inversely proportional to their interestingness. I feel like a car stuck in neutral because I can’t motivate myself to get the high-priority crappy jobs out of the way so I can get stuck into the more interesting ones.
Hav’st thou any tips for getting out of neutral and up to fifth gear?
For giving the brain a kick up the backside?
For doing work that amounts to wiping the asses (figuratively) of ‘important customers’ (rich tossers)
The only thing I watch at work is the clock. The ‘to-do’ lists can kiss my ass.
I’m lucky in that I work from home and so can adjust my environment easier to accomodate what I’m doing. I just put on some music, and get stuck in.
I just tell myself, “Gunner, if you don’t pay attention you can kill your entire crew and yourself.”
That may not work for everyday situations.
Music always helps me get through the more mundane tasks. Added bonus: it helps to drown out annoying coworkers. Can you use headphones at the office?
If you find out, tell me. I can’t concentrate for longer than a half an hour or so at a time.
It’s probably useful I work at home. One of the few things that motivates me is staying up all night doing the work, because “when I’m done, I can go to bed.”
it works for me to work together with a co-worker. When we work on something together, it creates a “flow” and I can’t distract myself as easily. Working together brings the added motivation that I want to keep my agreements I made with the co-worker. If one person is slacking, the ennergy of the other person keeps the flow going, and vice-versa.
Working together also brings me better idea’s: when I can hear myself talk to explain the project, I get good idea’s.
You’d have, of course, help the co-workers with their projects as well. But often, there are mutual benefits to be found if you look close enough, that make working together a plus.
Making a tight schedule for yourself helps too. Like matt_mcl said, if you’re finished with your list of alotted task for the day, you can go home.
Finally, lack of focus can be a sign your thougths and emotions are still deeply occupied with (getting over) the girl you’ve told us about on the boards. And that just takes time. Usually much more time then you’d like.
It might help you to forget her faster if you found a new interest, a hobby, or even, a new love.
I’ve also found that working out (fitness, for me) helps to blow off steam and uses up restless and negative energy. With working out even twice a week, I feel more relaxed and more focused during the rest of the week. YMMV, of course.
I find that there’s a dip in my creativity if I am working with someone else on something… unless they are more intelligent/knowledgable than me on the subject in which case I seem to rise to them or meet half way as it were.
One of my problems is being too helpful… I jump at the chance to help people out with what they are doing because it gives me a break from trying to focus on what I’m supposed to be doing… procrastination in it’s most active form.
FYI my thoughts are still occupied with her… but far less than they once were. My thoughts now are more actively occupied with trying to find a ‘place’ in my job where I belong… I have been given many oportunities to spread my wings and in the early stages I have had trouble adapting to this… especially working hap-hazard shift patterns and not getting regular sleep as a result.
I effectively have three seperate bosses, all of whi…no FOUR seperate bosses, each of which does not know or understand that I have expecations heaped upon me from the other three. I have an IT boss, an MD of the parent company with IT expectations. A ‘floor manager’, and the COO of my own company with reporting/hub expectations (not to mention the delegated wiping of rich behinds expectation)
Not to mention my hub duties, for which I am my own boss. If I neglect those duties things fall apart…
and as I write I rember a SIXTH source of responsibility/duty… the call center… being their IT/Hub support, and being their personel supervisor.
Somebody shoot me.