what do you do to not get distracted while working?

[kiriri]

Hey Guys,
This is a question that really interests me quite a lot! We know it all, whether you're an artist or a programmer, sometimes you just sit in front of your screen and do nothing. There's no apparent reason for why we're doing this, but we just sit there and stare at the screen. Some people instead watch their own game running forever. Or they check the forums and mail every 5 minutes which can be just as unproductive.

Do you know of any tricks against this kind of behavior? I know some but even though I do this professionally for more than a year, it's still a huge problem to me.
My partial solutions:

1) Music. I mean without music I couldn't keep my mind to it at all. I create playlists that are roughly 90 min long and ...

2) ... at the end of each playlist I stand up to do some shadow boxing, you know, against arthritis and all. This also helps thinking about what to do next. I know of other people who do yoga or the like

3) planning : If I can't finish something within my set timeframe I take pen and paper and split the task into very small subtasks. Then I always get a sense of achievement each time I can strike one of the items from the list. Sometimes this speeds up the work by a lot. But it also takes some of your inspirational creativity which you can only get due to trial and error, so I try to avoid strict planning.


What do you think about these "solutions"? Do you have better ones? Even if they sound ridiculous, if it's within my power I'll try them all.

[jeanfabre]

Hi,

 Yes, my biggest evil is Procrastination, this is bad and very difficult to fight properly. This is one of the reason I spend time writing this post instead of doing what I should be doing to answer pending posts on this forum, solve that bug I know I can fix on that other project, but requires full attention and 100% focus, and I don't feel in shape enough to handle it, etc etc.

The best thing so far is to mentally be very strong about your goals, short, and long terms, and never fear a task even if it seems difficult as you think about everything it implies. Most of time, it's not that difficult, and it's ( in my experience...) only when you don't realize the difficult that you do it without any second thought and then face difficulties, and eventually end up in difficult situation. so when you find yourself procrastinating, it's actually a good sign that you can do it, but don't want to spend the energy doing it, rather then "Yes, that's really easy, it's a two minute job" attitude and then find out it's not...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procrastination

if when you read the link above and it kinds rings some bells here and there... don't worry, we are all in there more or less, else you are very likely a highly successful and workforce that nothing can stop, hired by top companies around the world...

one book helped me a lot ( really a lot, even if I haven't had the strengths to take 3 days to implement his technic... what a failure...  )

http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0142000280

It's really something I recommend to read if you feel you lack organisational skills and always fill overwhelmed by all the things you have to do for yesterday...


Enough Procrastination, back to kids crying, not wanting to go to sleep ( this time, I have a good excuse )

Bye,

 Jean

[Dev_Sebas]

Both posts are interesting.
In my case I just don´t have time to work with Unity/PlayMaker.Because the school. Is there any solution for that?
Cheers

[kiriri]

@ jean
Thanks, yeah all this perfectionism and all sounds pretty much like me Procrastination eh?
I've downloaded the book as an audiobook and let's see if it helps. I'll say more once I'm through.

@Sebastiao
Dunno how your school system works. In France it's pretty much impossible, unless you sacrifice your midi break to sit somewhere with your laptop. In Germany you have often more than half the day off, so that's probably why so many programmers are german I mean I'm in my final year there and some months I work full time. That should say it all xD.
But either way, a laptop really helped me get started a lot. You can always use the free time whenever a teacher is sick or otherwise absent to continue on your personal projects

[Red]

To be honest, my biggest issue with procrastination was the fact that i've got Attention Defecit Disorder. before i was diagnosed that "brain null" mode was actually quite common because i would shut down when i realized the scope of what i was working on and how much work i needed to do. granted, i do get those moments still but very rarely and they're usually a sign that i need to take a break and rejuvinate myself (our brains are better when we have short breaks to recoup our mental energies... prolonged and sustained levels of focus aren't the way that our minds are built to deal with.) so, as a suggestio is to try and take a short break every hour and a half (max) that's about 10-15 minutes. just, take that break, go grab a drink and stretch, just take yourself out of your computer chair and away from the computer during that break.

[Dev_Sebas]

@Sebastiao
Dunno how your school system works. In France it's pretty much impossible, unless you sacrifice your midi break to sit somewhere with your laptop. In Germany you have often more than half the day off, so that's probably why so many programmers are german I mean I'm in my final year there and some months I work full time. That should say it all xD.
But either way, a laptop really helped me get started a lot. You can always use the free time whenever a teacher is sick or otherwise absent to continue on your personal projects

Hi kiriri
Look just for all of you know I live in portugal.
I know...that f***** country. Sorry about my language. And sorry about my country.
Here the school is from 8H30m am to 4H30m pm. Not bad.
Yes I would like to have an laptop. I got some time in school to work but without laptop I can´t afford of that time. I just write some FSM´s and draws.

Please leave me tell a bit of my country.
So in my pauper country most part of things don´t work.
-In school you see "fat" teachers that give good notes for all his students.Because if the give bad notes they have more work to make (justifications).("fat" in money, do you imagine how many they win? 1K to 5K euros.Is this normal?There some people in my school that they don´t know read or write anything.
My parents are teachers too and they win 1k each one.In a poor country be wining 5K???)
I´m a medium student because I prefer to learn 3D. My all friends expecting someones pass all the day playing on the school and playing at home.
They get good computers and unlimited internet for playing video games. And I have slow computer and 5 GB of internet per moth for learn 3D and programming.
-People in my country just like to spend money, have parties, have good clothes and expensive things.
-And all they rest don´t function too.You good corruption and thievery.

In summer holidays I went to netherlands to go UNITE12. I went there and I saw a much different society.
People work, have jobs, students struggling.

If I cloud be on a good university in Germany studying programming and learning 3D, have good friends and have a good job in the future.

Cheers
Sebastião

[kiriri]

@Red
if those are definite signs of ADD then there must be loads of programmers who have it, I think. Though I personally tend to almost never get the "brain null" (nice term ) state when I try seemingly impossible things. Like Jean said it's more something that accurs when I already know how to do it and don't really have to think anymore. In those situations I just end up sitting there, completely oblivious to what I was doing before, and do nothing for hours.
Won't hurt to ask a doctor though I guess, if some medicine has the chance to turn me into

a highly successful and workforce that nothing can stop, hired by top companies around the world...

. Furthermore I said I'd try everything and going to the doctor isn't all that strenious a task compared to reading an entire book as Jean suggested

Though this is getting complex ... I mean, so far it seems that really everyone has entirely different causes and ergo solutions to their procrastination. There seems to be no apparent universal solution as I had naiively been hoping before.

@Sebastião
I know similar things from spanish private schools... only there, teachers do not dare to give bad grades because they fear that they would loose those students to other schools then and then they wouldn't have any income anymore.

Germany is a very good choice if you want to study IT I think, there's really no corruption whatsoever and computer sciences are often taught in English. Furthermore it's cheap. So good luck on that

[dasbin]

My solution has been to stop fighting it. If my brain doesn't want to focus and I feel like I need to do something else, even for a few minutes, or a day or two, I just listen to that need and do it. My workflow has improved so much since taking this view. Important creative ideas seem to spawn themselves spontaneously in my brain while I'm doing something totally different or more relaxing. And when I come back I am naturally focused, faster and much less frustrated.

Thinking hard and focusing requires an actual chemical consumption inside your brain. If you deplete these chemicals with a lot of focus, the only thing you can do is rest and wait until they are regenerated.
And certain times of day, the body clock wants to shut things down for a while. Don't fight it - it's healthy and useful to give in, at least for a while.

[Dev_Sebas]

@Sebastião
I know similar things from spanish private schools... only there, teachers do not dare to give bad grades because they fear that they would loose those students to other schools then and then they wouldn't have any income anymore.

Germany is a very good choice if you want to study IT I think, there's really no corruption whatsoever and computer sciences are often taught in English. Furthermore it's cheap. So good luck on that

Thank´s for reply kiriri.
BTW are you in germany? How do you know all that situations?
Cheers
Sebastião

[kiriri]

Thinking hard and focusing requires an actual chemical consumption inside your brain. If you deplete these chemicals with a lot of focus, the only thing you can do is rest and wait until they are regenerated.
And certain times of day, the body clock wants to shut things down for a while. Don't fight it - it's healthy and useful to give in, at least for a while.

I seriously didn't know that. I thought all the chemicals in our brain autoregenerate instantly, like the visual purple (Rhodopsin) in our eyes. I like the lifestyle of just letting things go its way. But unfortunately I can't make it work, I often get tasks which I need to return ASAP and then I sometimes ahve extended periods of no tasks at all. Not much room for a free schedule like yours unfortunately.

@Sebastião
Yeah, I live in Germany right now. I've also spent a year or so in France and half a year in spain (school exchange). Next up is GB since it's well known for its great universities of Natural Sciences

[Dev_Sebas]

@Sebastião
Yeah, I live in Germany right now. I've also spent a year or so in France and half a year in spain (school exchange). Next up is GB since it's well known for its great universities of Natural Sciences

Damm. You are a lucky guy.
Cheers
Sebastião

[Vallar]

Well, in this kind of situation I always try to build up motivation so I can get back to work; for me motivation comes from just reading postmortems written by game designers for their work (particularly in a related genre to what I am working on).

I don't know, but just reading about the story of someone just like me doing the same thing I am doing and succeeding or failing gives me enough momentum to go back to work. Not only that, but I have just learned a few things I should care about (or in general about the game design/release process) so it was a useful "waste of time" as well.

[jeanfabre]

Hi,

 good point, "wasting time" is always good to learn things you will need for later that are not necessarly related to the actual problem, it can be ways of debugging, having to read docs over and over again, etc etc. so never fear getting stuck on a problem, cause around solving that problem, you will learn a ton, that's ho you build up experience and solid skills, by solving problems, so always embrace this instead of fearing facing a problem. Easier said then done... agreed 

bye,

 Jean