43 Folders

43 Folders feed subscription icon - Shiny!Time, Attention, and Creative Work. After 4 years and a lot of productivity pr0n, we’re shifting gears. Re-learn how to use 43 Folders. Then back to work. [»]

”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

AskMe: Motivation to do things you dislike

motivation solutions? | Ask MetaFilter

Good Ask Metafilter thread on finding ways to motivate yourself to do things you don’t want to do. Good advice so far includes:

  • “Incentivise yourself, e.g. ‘If I spend an hour cleaning and tidying, I definitely deserve <insert vice of choice here> when I’m done’.”
  • “I set the timer for one hour every weekend and make myself tackle chores before I’m allowed to do anything else. When the beeper goes off, I stop and do something fun for a while. Repeat all day Saturday until everything truely essential is done.”
  • “Don’t look at everything all at once! Otherwise you won’t get anything done other than worry about all the stuff you need to do. You have to pick at it, otherwise it overwhelms you.”
  • “just pick one thing and do it, I pick the smallest thing if I’m feeling unmotivated. As you start chipping away the motivation will come to tackle the larger things.”

Great tips, and a good time to mention The Procrastination Dash and most especially The (10+2)*5 Hack.


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Yeah, that&amp;#8217;s it&amp;#8230; - A Frog in the Valley - Techno's picture

[...] 18 ways to stay...

[…] 18 ways to stay focused at work and Motivation to do things you dislike. I will let you guess what I should be doing this afternoon… […]

About Merlin Mann

Merlin Mann's picture

Bio

Merlin Mann is an independent writer, speaker, and broadcaster. He’s best known for being the guy who started the website you’re reading right now. He lives in San Francisco, does lots of public speaking, and helps make cool things like You Look Nice Today. Also? He looks like this, answers questions, and has something like a life.

Merlin’s favorite thing he’s written recently is a short essay called, “Better.”

 
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The Podcast Feed

Inbox Zero

The original 43 Folders series looking at the skills, tools, and attitude needed to empty your email inbox — and then keep it that way. Don’t miss the free video of Merlin’s Inbox Zero presentation.

Making Time

3-part series on attention management for artists and makers. Read Bad Correspondence, The Job You Think You Have, and One Clear Line.