Discussion Forum > Overthinking Productivity and the Resistance Factor
I think you are right Hail2U. In my case resistance connect with fear. I just write all my fears connected to project (possibility of failure, legal consequences from clients, financial breakdown, working nights) and then make simple plan how to avoid.
Though it is not total resistance remover, it helps a lot.
Though it is not total resistance remover, it helps a lot.
April 4, 2013 at 10:06 |
Navigare
Navigare
Hi all
I hate to be the spanner in the works but I truly believe that some of it may simply be genetically based. As an example most people had heard about is ADHD ( all three types ). There's also genetic propensities toward and against certain types of thinking and action. All my life I've suffered from a very low tolerance for boredom and linear processing. By the time I was 10 years old, the teachers just isolated me from the other students except for meals and recess. They'd have me in the back so I didn't have to pay attention to the lessons. They'd give me the books and more books to keep me quiet. Then they'd throw me in the cafeteria so I could learn instruments and paint. Everything to keep me from disrupting the class. I truly believe it was largely because I was a systems thinker rather than a linear thinker.
I felt very isolated and made fun of. Usually the isolated kids were the trouble makers so I caught hell during lunch and recess about it. But it was really because I learned differently and was interested in different things. I wasn't stupid. My academic scores were always very high. I simply couldn't learn the same way as other students. (linearly)
I believe that I have to have all these resistance busters because my brain suffers if I'm bored. I can't help it. Over the years I've gotten proficient with using work-arounds but coping isn't cure. It's the best that I can do.
I hate to be the spanner in the works but I truly believe that some of it may simply be genetically based. As an example most people had heard about is ADHD ( all three types ). There's also genetic propensities toward and against certain types of thinking and action. All my life I've suffered from a very low tolerance for boredom and linear processing. By the time I was 10 years old, the teachers just isolated me from the other students except for meals and recess. They'd have me in the back so I didn't have to pay attention to the lessons. They'd give me the books and more books to keep me quiet. Then they'd throw me in the cafeteria so I could learn instruments and paint. Everything to keep me from disrupting the class. I truly believe it was largely because I was a systems thinker rather than a linear thinker.
I felt very isolated and made fun of. Usually the isolated kids were the trouble makers so I caught hell during lunch and recess about it. But it was really because I learned differently and was interested in different things. I wasn't stupid. My academic scores were always very high. I simply couldn't learn the same way as other students. (linearly)
I believe that I have to have all these resistance busters because my brain suffers if I'm bored. I can't help it. Over the years I've gotten proficient with using work-arounds but coping isn't cure. It's the best that I can do.
April 4, 2013 at 12:17 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
p.s.
I also have permanent brain damage and spinal cord damage. Sometimes the shock of sudden pain totally empties my brain and my short term memory loss doesn't help things either. It takes great effort for me to remember why I bother to make myself suffer like this. I hold my thoughts and resolve precariously as I try to get past boring work. Without resolve and work-arounds, I'd be forced to agree to having care givers in my life. I don't want that. I want to preserve my freedom and my dignity. Lots is riding on my work-arounds. LOL!
I also have permanent brain damage and spinal cord damage. Sometimes the shock of sudden pain totally empties my brain and my short term memory loss doesn't help things either. It takes great effort for me to remember why I bother to make myself suffer like this. I hold my thoughts and resolve precariously as I try to get past boring work. Without resolve and work-arounds, I'd be forced to agree to having care givers in my life. I don't want that. I want to preserve my freedom and my dignity. Lots is riding on my work-arounds. LOL!
April 4, 2013 at 12:23 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
"how do we get the time to do the important things without falling to resistance"
I was in a band that had a problem. We wanted to play live, but lacked focus and were driven by fear and resistance. Our other guitarist - a total narcissist - booked a gig without any of our input. We had a deadline that we couldn't renegotiate without financial and emotional consequences. A few years later, my band was signed to Sharon Osbourne's record label.
I often show this to clients: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vFUqcoeTvg
I do it for them, and for me.
So to answer you question: do whatever works. I usually break through inertia when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of doing something different. I'm not proud of this, but this is how I got married, had children, agreed to write a book, etc.
And still, I dedicate a lot of time scouring the web for tips and tricks to improve my productivity, focus, etc. It's mostly procrastination, but as David Allen is prone to say, there are worse ways to spend your time.
I was in a band that had a problem. We wanted to play live, but lacked focus and were driven by fear and resistance. Our other guitarist - a total narcissist - booked a gig without any of our input. We had a deadline that we couldn't renegotiate without financial and emotional consequences. A few years later, my band was signed to Sharon Osbourne's record label.
I often show this to clients: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vFUqcoeTvg
I do it for them, and for me.
So to answer you question: do whatever works. I usually break through inertia when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of doing something different. I'm not proud of this, but this is how I got married, had children, agreed to write a book, etc.
And still, I dedicate a lot of time scouring the web for tips and tricks to improve my productivity, focus, etc. It's mostly procrastination, but as David Allen is prone to say, there are worse ways to spend your time.
April 4, 2013 at 14:49 |
avrum
avrum
learning as I go:
<<There's also genetic propensities>>
Oh yes, much of our functioning (unconscious, patterned responses) are a complex mix of generational (physical/emotional) and external factors. So much of this is lost on most productivity authors/coaches.
<<There's also genetic propensities>>
Oh yes, much of our functioning (unconscious, patterned responses) are a complex mix of generational (physical/emotional) and external factors. So much of this is lost on most productivity authors/coaches.
April 4, 2013 at 14:59 |
avrum
avrum
Hi Avrum
LOL about external factors. In my day the left hand was called the Devil's hand. I was forced to be right handed. Mixed in with lots of brothers and sisters I wasn't especially noticed when I was very young. Some of the teachers did their best to ignore me because I was a handful. One day a teacher saw me drawing with my left hand. She said, "Why are you drawing with your left hand?" I was scared **Itless! She asked again and I promised that I wouldn't do it again. She asked why I write with my right hand. She was obviously a progressive teacher. She called my parents and told them that I was a gifted artist and to allow me to freely use my left hand.....and left foot. I didn't care as much about the art as freeing up my hands and feet to play sports. LOL! The devil was a huge factor in those days. I was also accused of being Satan's child because I had light green eyes, a deep voice along with being left handed. They thought I was posessed! (It wasn't funny that my mom believed it. My talents were given to me by the devil. LOL!)
I'm glad that the world is becoming more open minded about lots of different things. When I first started surfing the net it was wonderful to find out that I wasn't alone. Lots of people have traits that are different than the so called norm.
LOL about external factors. In my day the left hand was called the Devil's hand. I was forced to be right handed. Mixed in with lots of brothers and sisters I wasn't especially noticed when I was very young. Some of the teachers did their best to ignore me because I was a handful. One day a teacher saw me drawing with my left hand. She said, "Why are you drawing with your left hand?" I was scared **Itless! She asked again and I promised that I wouldn't do it again. She asked why I write with my right hand. She was obviously a progressive teacher. She called my parents and told them that I was a gifted artist and to allow me to freely use my left hand.....and left foot. I didn't care as much about the art as freeing up my hands and feet to play sports. LOL! The devil was a huge factor in those days. I was also accused of being Satan's child because I had light green eyes, a deep voice along with being left handed. They thought I was posessed! (It wasn't funny that my mom believed it. My talents were given to me by the devil. LOL!)
I'm glad that the world is becoming more open minded about lots of different things. When I first started surfing the net it was wonderful to find out that I wasn't alone. Lots of people have traits that are different than the so called norm.
April 4, 2013 at 16:36 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
Hail
Interesting thread. Over thinking is sort of a form of procrastination. I view the function of a tm system to simply capture what needs to be done so I don't forget it. To me our own minds know what must be done and the relative importance of tasks. The issue for me is interest and motivation. No system can get one to do the things they are unmotivated or disinterested in doing.
I also concluded that simplicity is the way to go with time management. Do not introduce anymore overhead and drag to your life than is needed because we all already have tons of things to get done.
Gerry
Interesting thread. Over thinking is sort of a form of procrastination. I view the function of a tm system to simply capture what needs to be done so I don't forget it. To me our own minds know what must be done and the relative importance of tasks. The issue for me is interest and motivation. No system can get one to do the things they are unmotivated or disinterested in doing.
I also concluded that simplicity is the way to go with time management. Do not introduce anymore overhead and drag to your life than is needed because we all already have tons of things to get done.
Gerry
April 4, 2013 at 16:55 |
Gerry
Gerry
Hi Gerry
I'm definitely guilty of over-thinking. I'm not nearly as bad as I used to be. I think some of the over-thinking stems from being sick of failure. Especially when I was in physical therapy and cognitive therapy, the failing got really old! LOL! I knew I had to at least try to overcome things and not listen to the naysayers. I definitely didn't want to be as disabled as they were saying I was. When the sting of failure overwhelmed me, I found myself desperately thinking of trying to cover all angles to maybe prevent yet another failure. True, the doctors were correct about most of my limitations but I'm glad I was and am stubborn.
Sometimes the over-thinking was a waste of time. I can't simply problem-solve away certain limitations but some of my stubbornness and over-thinking helped my to carve out a lifestyle and skill set that allows me to live without aide. You're right. It definitely was 1/2 procrastination. Sometimes X amount of failure plus everybody telling me I have no option but to accept limitations made me sort of gun shy at times. If I didn't have so much riding on it I probably would have turned to chronic rumination to avoid the sting of failure.
But lots of it did pay off. I'm functioning much better than they said...but after X amount of over-thinking, I did have to concede to many limitations. LOL! I didn't like that part of it! LOL!
Before I was disabled I definitely remember not wanting to approach a project when I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do! LOL! I learned to accept lots of false starts. The deal is a combo of not quitting and knowing when to cut futile efforts. Lessons hard won.
I'm definitely guilty of over-thinking. I'm not nearly as bad as I used to be. I think some of the over-thinking stems from being sick of failure. Especially when I was in physical therapy and cognitive therapy, the failing got really old! LOL! I knew I had to at least try to overcome things and not listen to the naysayers. I definitely didn't want to be as disabled as they were saying I was. When the sting of failure overwhelmed me, I found myself desperately thinking of trying to cover all angles to maybe prevent yet another failure. True, the doctors were correct about most of my limitations but I'm glad I was and am stubborn.
Sometimes the over-thinking was a waste of time. I can't simply problem-solve away certain limitations but some of my stubbornness and over-thinking helped my to carve out a lifestyle and skill set that allows me to live without aide. You're right. It definitely was 1/2 procrastination. Sometimes X amount of failure plus everybody telling me I have no option but to accept limitations made me sort of gun shy at times. If I didn't have so much riding on it I probably would have turned to chronic rumination to avoid the sting of failure.
But lots of it did pay off. I'm functioning much better than they said...but after X amount of over-thinking, I did have to concede to many limitations. LOL! I didn't like that part of it! LOL!
Before I was disabled I definitely remember not wanting to approach a project when I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do! LOL! I learned to accept lots of false starts. The deal is a combo of not quitting and knowing when to cut futile efforts. Lessons hard won.
April 4, 2013 at 17:31 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
+JMJ+
Wow, LAIG, you've had it rough. I do not think I can compare to you, but overthinking is also a major impediment for me.
As far as I can see in my life, procrastination is the manifestation of a fear for discomfort, of going out of my comfort zone of routine and known outcomes into the unknowns of success and failure. Unfortunately, overthinking is probably the worst way to handle this: Because overthinking is very unstructured, the mind will look for ideas to latch itself to ruminate, and usually these anchor ideas are both the known outcomes of my old ways and current situation, and the unknowns of doing something new. In other words, overthinking most of the time just magnifies the reasons for procrastination.
I think this is one of the reasons I am having much success with MFME, the system I am using now. Having a freeform notebook, the first part of MFME, in which I can free write and sketch out my thoughts gives structure to my thinking. It is my remedy for overthinking.
As for the other part of MFME, well, how about an exercise:
- Write something that you want to do today (even something you have had considerable resistance before) at the bottom of a three-item list.
- Above this, write one thing that you want to do BEFORE you do the one you wrote before.
- Above the two, write one more thing that you want to do BEFORE you do the two before.
- Do ALL the three things you wrote in order, from top to bottom. You do not need to finish any of the three. Cross out when done.
- Repeat.
Say hello to the Ordinal Triad, inspired by FV and three task systems such as SMEMA, which I have been using over the past weeks to plow through highly resistant tasks. It seems to use both "structured procrastination",
http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/
and "task momentum",
http://socialphysics101.blogspot.com/2004/08/lesson-3-task-inertia.html
Wow, LAIG, you've had it rough. I do not think I can compare to you, but overthinking is also a major impediment for me.
As far as I can see in my life, procrastination is the manifestation of a fear for discomfort, of going out of my comfort zone of routine and known outcomes into the unknowns of success and failure. Unfortunately, overthinking is probably the worst way to handle this: Because overthinking is very unstructured, the mind will look for ideas to latch itself to ruminate, and usually these anchor ideas are both the known outcomes of my old ways and current situation, and the unknowns of doing something new. In other words, overthinking most of the time just magnifies the reasons for procrastination.
I think this is one of the reasons I am having much success with MFME, the system I am using now. Having a freeform notebook, the first part of MFME, in which I can free write and sketch out my thoughts gives structure to my thinking. It is my remedy for overthinking.
As for the other part of MFME, well, how about an exercise:
- Write something that you want to do today (even something you have had considerable resistance before) at the bottom of a three-item list.
- Above this, write one thing that you want to do BEFORE you do the one you wrote before.
- Above the two, write one more thing that you want to do BEFORE you do the two before.
- Do ALL the three things you wrote in order, from top to bottom. You do not need to finish any of the three. Cross out when done.
- Repeat.
Say hello to the Ordinal Triad, inspired by FV and three task systems such as SMEMA, which I have been using over the past weeks to plow through highly resistant tasks. It seems to use both "structured procrastination",
http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/
and "task momentum",
http://socialphysics101.blogspot.com/2004/08/lesson-3-task-inertia.html
April 4, 2013 at 18:21 |
nuntym
nuntym
Hi Nuntym
LOL! I also had lots of joys in my life. I hope I wasn't the reason my mom became agnostic! *blush*. I was lucky that eventually somebody convinced her that my talents were in fact a gift from God. Phew! Also, I believe that Dad had a lifetime of some of the same. He went out of his way to keep my mind occupied allowing me to learn whatever I wanted. He used to always say "Find out your interest and talents by trying different things. If you keep your mind occupied you'll be alright. His profession required an extreme version of linear processing. When he came home he always read often and always had a few hobbies and projects. I think he understood first hand yet never really mentioned it.
Also, all those years learning by myself (my mom wouldn't allow them to skip ahead in school. She thought it would be a social liability for a girl.) The good part was that I almost never had homework. And they allowed my to take advanced courses so I coasted through into college. That gave me time to pursue my other talents and friendships. I'll always be grateful to my dad for knowing that I wasn't intentionally bothersome. He knew to keep my mind occupied! LOL!
Plus my parents were very good at encouraging us to form friendships and engage in community service. Besides feeling like a pariah to some of the teachers when I was young, I learned to love school life when they allowed us to choose our own courses. I didn't need to be bored except taking required courses that were boring. Everybody was stuck with that! LOL!
Boredom is a killer! LOL!
I think it's really cool that you created a system custom made for your needs. I have a flexible system but I rely heavily on my work-arounds to plow through the necessary scut! That will never change. It's no use for me to sugar-coat poop. Boredom is my kryptonite but I've developed a couple of (thin) lead shields.
LOL! I also had lots of joys in my life. I hope I wasn't the reason my mom became agnostic! *blush*. I was lucky that eventually somebody convinced her that my talents were in fact a gift from God. Phew! Also, I believe that Dad had a lifetime of some of the same. He went out of his way to keep my mind occupied allowing me to learn whatever I wanted. He used to always say "Find out your interest and talents by trying different things. If you keep your mind occupied you'll be alright. His profession required an extreme version of linear processing. When he came home he always read often and always had a few hobbies and projects. I think he understood first hand yet never really mentioned it.
Also, all those years learning by myself (my mom wouldn't allow them to skip ahead in school. She thought it would be a social liability for a girl.) The good part was that I almost never had homework. And they allowed my to take advanced courses so I coasted through into college. That gave me time to pursue my other talents and friendships. I'll always be grateful to my dad for knowing that I wasn't intentionally bothersome. He knew to keep my mind occupied! LOL!
Plus my parents were very good at encouraging us to form friendships and engage in community service. Besides feeling like a pariah to some of the teachers when I was young, I learned to love school life when they allowed us to choose our own courses. I didn't need to be bored except taking required courses that were boring. Everybody was stuck with that! LOL!
Boredom is a killer! LOL!
I think it's really cool that you created a system custom made for your needs. I have a flexible system but I rely heavily on my work-arounds to plow through the necessary scut! That will never change. It's no use for me to sugar-coat poop. Boredom is my kryptonite but I've developed a couple of (thin) lead shields.
April 4, 2013 at 18:59 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
So, amid all the tweaks we've made to Mark's systems and others, I think we can agree that the function of them all is to address the big question: how do we get the time to do the important things without falling to resistance? But I'm thinking that we might be better off focusing our tweaks into drilling to the root of the problem and removing it.
It's easy to know why you feel resistance - you don't want to do something and you're fighting it. But maybe figuring out how to dissolve that resistance at that core level is a better use of the tweaking than the ground-level, tactical stuff. Once we do that, really, all we'd need is a specific kind of task list to guide us.
I just wanted to see what you guys think of this, and what your ideas for addressing the roots of the problem could be.