I have used a similar strategy when feeling overwhelmed and stuck. I write down everything I need to do in say the next week. You have to break this down, though -- you can't just say "fix site," for example. Instead, something like, choose menu, do layout, find new host, ftp it, check links, etc. Add in all the "home" stuff too, like, "clean out LR closet" and "when is daughter's dentist appt again?"
Writing it down seems to work as permission to shut up the little voice that reminds me to do this stuff every five minutes at times when I can't. And as you cross off items, you realize that while you are still bogged down, you are bogged down with different stuff so you are in fact making progress :) ::shrug:: works for me. Dana Jerry Johnson writes: > I would _so_ disagree. > > I've lost the flame a number of times, and it has always come back. > > Matt, when working on computer projects (lately), do you have nice discreet tasks > that are completed in a couple of days, or do you have a set of never-ending tasks > that are almost but never quite finished? > > When I get pushed into the feeling you describe, I have found that it is due to > never FINISHING anything. Every day seems the same. No feeling of accomplishment. > Sisyphus never had it so bad. > > A few times it has been due to working on a project I put my heart into, but then > being told to stop before it was done. And told to throw it all away, but usually it > is due to a project that never goes anywhere, due to interminable meetings that > accomplish nothing. > > If you are seeing anything in this, you need to get back into the habit of crisp > finishes. > > I can usually cure the ennui with some short term physical tasks. Do every shred of > laundry and hang it all up. Completely clean every surface in the bathroom. The > trick is the word "every". It also should be useful. No "busy work". Then I will > move into a really short term computer task. Write a single good UDF, (and submit it > to cflib.org - which I never do). Take no more than an hour. Create a new datasource > and fill it in (christmas card list, friends' birthdays, top 1000 songs of the > 1970s). Two hours or so here. Then drop it again, and go do something else. Watch a > movie you've wanted to see. Cross it off your list. > > It's all about short-term goals and a feeling of accomplishment. > > > Jerry Johnson > > > >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 09/15/03 11:18AM >>> > oi Matthew!! > > you cannot go back. once the flame is out. it will not relight. time for career > change. > > > -- > > > ------------------------------------ > Monday, September 15, 2003, 11:10:22 AM, you wrote: > > MS> Hi everyone, > MS> What do you do when you're feeling burnt-out? I have been feeling > MS> burnt-out for about the last two months. I have no desire to program > MS> anymore, none of it interests me. I feel like all I do is sit here day > MS> after day, stare at a computer screen, hoping to get into "the groove", > MS> looking forward to the weekend and trying everything I can do to get there > MS> faster. > MS> Ugh. > > MS> - Matt Small > > > > MS> > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm?link=t:5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm?link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Get the mailserver that powers this list at http://www.coolfusion.com
