Whether I’m about to work on a homework assignment or side project, learn a new programming language, or work a 9 – 5, procrastination always strikes.
I’ve taken some time to reflect on why I procrastinate and ways to prevent it. Here are a few realizations and actionable tips for your next time you sit down to program.
Realizations:
- You don’t have a plan.
Winging it is a sure way to waste time and get discouraged. A plan is not something that is set in stone, but a loose guideline to get you in the right direction. Let’s say that I want to build an iOS app and I have no plan. I could spend upwards of an hour “researching” apps by looking at apps on the app store, scrolling my phone, watching Youtube tutorials to hype me up to create an iOS app. At the end of the day, I have not build an iOS app and doing this everyday will not make me any closer!
2. What you’re working on is too broad.
I’ve learned from my errors and now I understand that I do need a plan if I want to create an iOS app. I might have a vague idea of an app to build…
Again, this will lead to many days of hopelessness. The spirit is there, but you must narrow down on your topic. An online course could help with building an iOS app. There is structure and an end date. Subscribing to raywenderlich and working on one of their courses (an online subscription for all things mobile app development) is another solution to narrowing down learning how to build an iOS app.
3. You’re trying to do too much.
Let’s say you’ve decided you want to build an iOS app, have found a great online course to follow and are now cramming to get through the online course as fast as possible to finish and build an ios app! That’s also a recipe for burnout. It would be much more effective to spend a few hours a day to absorb certain concepts and build your knowledge over time.
Now time for the tips.
- Break up your tasks in a weekly view
I am a big fan of looking at what you have to do on a week by week basis. A week is just enough time and days to progressively chip away at larger over arching goals. - In a daily view, break up more tasks.
You could have decision paralysis trying to complete a task that is actually multiple tasks in one. It’s hard to recognize, but that comes with practice. - Use a pomodoro timer.
When you do have tasks you want to work on, working in 25 min chunks, taking 5 min breaks for 4 rounds, then taking a larger break helps you stay fresh and productive. - Incorporate reflections either before your timer is up or at the beginner of each pomodoro.
Questions like what worked and what didn’t work can help you progress more than going down a rabbit hole. Sometimes I find that I would want to go down a rabbit hole to figure something out. Other times this helps me realize I should try a different approach.
I hope these realization and tips help you!
