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@blaix
Last active May 10, 2023 19:17
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I like to mirror the process of "going to work" even when I'm working from home. Get dressed. Brush teeth. Etc. and physically move to a dedicated work space. Same for "coming home". And keeping consistent working hours. Basically anything you can do to put a line between "at work" and "at home" in your mind, and and it helps with your kids/family if you have them.

You have to fight the urge to "power through" when you start to get stuck. Since no one is looking over your shoulder it's easy to waste time spinning your wheels. Work on your "ask questions" reflex.

On that note, prefer asking in public channels over DMs. Better chance that you'll get an answer, and it can help others. And it also provides positive pressure to make sure you'll asking the question well, and combats the feeling that you might be bothering someone in particular.

The pomodoro technique is great. Focus on one thing for 25 mins (or any length that works for you) , then take a 5 min break. Physically get out of your chair and look at something that's not a screen for your break. This doesn't work for everything and not all day, but for "getting things done" mode it can help.

I like having a record player in my office. The length of one side of a record is usually a good pomodoro focus length for me. Then it creates a nice natural break to get up, stretch, and flip the record before moving on to the next task.

Big fan of the Getting Things Done framework. Brain dump tasks/thoughts/whatever into an "inbox" and then regularly groom it, lining up your next tasks, projects, and contexts. Pop your next task and kick off a pomodoro timer and get to work. You can use simple todo lists for this, but I like OmniFocus a lot. It's apple only though. Todoist would be my cross-platform second choice.

I like to physically write done what I'm working on, and cross it off when I'm done. Either on a pad of paper or a whiteboard. Creates a nice feeling of productivity that can help fight procrastination. And if you are procrastinating, seeing your empty list can help bring you back.

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