Looking for a buddy to help combat procrastination

[inDbin]

Hi there,

I'm in the process of building my own muse, helping my wife with her fledgling business and in the mean time I have two jobs and help out with our four month old daughter. For some this might sound like enough of an excuse to procrastinate, but there still is time in the day and week to do some work for us, but many times I still find excuses that lenghten the time scale of my projects.

What would help is someone in a similar position to me (at least in respect to muse creation) to whom I could be accountible, whom would act as a motivator. In return I would do the same for them.

Tim wrote in his book that he had a friend like that and they would phone each other to support their efforts ("dude, are you turning into a fat man in a red BMW?").

To facilitate this I've created a blog with a game like reward system where I give myself points and level ups for doing, networking, courage, etc, and it seems to help me do more. The URL is plus1living.blogspot.com (http://plus1living.blogspot.com/)

If you're interested, please say in this thread. Same thing if you can give me some advice on my game system, as I would like to develop it further.

Cheers

Daniel

[jens]

thats one of my big problems and I have more time on my hands then you so im interested :)

[inDbin]

Fantastic, looking forward to meeting you!

[-GF-]

I'd be happy to maybe start an accountability e-mail or something to keep you/us on target.

[inDbin]

Hi GF, it would be great. I'm happy to share my email, skype, etc with you. I'm currently using the blog to keep me on track, and it would be great if you joined me there.

Tell me your thoughts

Regards

Daniel

[DevinFord]

Hey! Awesome blog there, I feel just the same as you. I have so much time, but I procrastinate SO MUCH! Maybe we should all get some sort of checklist going, visible to all of us.. so we cal all see whos slacking, and who to get motivated! Let me know what you guys do!

Devin

[inDbin]

Devin, fantastic, thank you for your kind words! First task for you is NOT to wait for us :P The challenge is to build this thing for ourselves and perhaps others who would like to join in. Are you up for it? :)

My brother in law suprised me today. We've just finished talking and he's starting his blog for himself. Because he lives in Germany, his will be in German, so the little project is multilingual from week one ;)

I've just bought a domain name, and will download Elgg, but have no idea how to use it... Any wizz kids out there?...

[DevinFord]

and here i thought i had a legitimate reason to procrastinate! haha just kidding, of course im up to it!

Not sure how to use elgg, but ill ask around some people I know may!

[americanoracle]

The best thing to come out of 4HWW is tyhe realization of how much time I waste. I had what others would say is a valid excuse but can't bare the thought anymore and things are changing gradually. I go for spontaneous revolution about once a week but it is a burnout cycle. I think you may have to step up a bit each day, cut something out each day.

As for your point system, was reminded of this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKnzPHtf9u4

I will let you decide if it's worth your time to watch... best of luck.

[Musetester]

For me, it is all about backwards planning. Set a goal and a no later than completion date--set it in stone. Now break down your project into distinct and sequential steps. Based on the estimated time to complete each step, distribute them through your calendar between the launch date and today.

Then, when you wake up each morning, ask yourself, what the hell do I need to accomplish TODAY in order to not bust your suspenses. Everything beyond those mission essential tasks is gravy...or BS depending on how it relates to your project/job/family life.

Productivity is born of laser-like focus on what's important and ignoring the noise. Every outstanding commander I've served under have all shared the same attribute in that they can absorb massive amounts of information, key on the momentous, ignore the trivial and outsource the BS not requiring his individual attention to the sausage heads.

[inDbin]

Hi Americanoracle,

Dimitri is the first comedian I've seen that is analytical. Made me laugh thanks. I've watched the first part, will watch the rest when I have some time to waste ;)


Regards

Dan


The best thing to come out of 4HWW is tyhe realization of how much time I waste. I had what others would say is a valid excuse but can't bare the thought anymore and things are changing gradually. I go for spontaneous revolution about once a week but it is a burnout cycle. I think you may have to step up a bit each day, cut something out each day.

As for your point system, was reminded of this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKnzPHtf9u4

I will let you decide if it's worth your time to watch... best of luck.

[inDbin]

Hi Musetester,

thanks for popping in. I plan too, but get lost in planning. Also I feel no motivation to complete a lot of the tasks as I've spent most of my working life as an employee with a salary knowing that whatever I do will produce a pay cheque at the end of the month...

You may notice in the Current Quests post that it's very brief, without all the padding that can be found in my mind maps that let me splurge out everything I have on my brains. Then by awarding points and levels for DOING only I award myself for going ahead and progress becomes more visible.

Regarding planning for a set date, sometimes it's quite challenging like with speaking to the distributor. They keep ignoring me, and I need to speak to them as the customer I wish to supply is an aquaintance of mine.

I want to speak to other distributors as well, and I hope to do it today, but it's easier to speak to someone that has a reason to speak to you. It really scares me, but does get easier. I hate cold calling though. Networking is better.

This game like award system works for me, and it would mean much more if someone else was there to help. That's the goal of this thread.

Regards

Daniel





For me, it is all about backwards planning. Set a goal and a no later than completion date--set it in stone. Now break down your project into distinct and sequential steps. Based on the estimated time to complete each step, distribute them through your calendar between the launch date and today.

Then, when you wake up each morning, ask yourself, what the hell do I need to accomplish TODAY in order to not bust your suspenses. Everything beyond those mission essential tasks is gravy...or BS depending on how it relates to your project/job/family life.

Productivity is born of laser-like focus on what's important and ignoring the noise. Every outstanding commander I've served under have all shared the same attribute in that they can absorb massive amounts of information, key on the momentous, ignore the trivial and outsource the BS not requiring his individual attention to the sausage heads.

[inDbin]

I've just had a call from the distributor, and wll be speaking to them again tonight or tomorrow night...

Phew........

[inDbin]

@Americanoracle: just finished watching Dimitri's show and laughed myself silly. I would incline to comparing this to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE1DuBesGYM

[inDbin]

@jens, GF and DevinFord, you can get me at daniel (insert your favourite at sign here) carpedm dot co dot uk