invelica

@canon

i make indie games

canon.megane-moe.com/

unvoiced 2* in a tokyo apartment trying to weld end-of-service anime characters into playstation 1 party games

invelica @canon1/26/2023, 10:11 PM

ash @astral

@brlka1/26/2023, 7:59 PM

starting things vs. doing things

i think a lot of times the secret to Doing Something is to spend zero time deliberating the merits of doing it and just start without thinking about it... the experience of doing a thing is often totally different from how i think it's going to be, and usually after five minutes i'm like fully engaged no matter how ambivalent about i felt at the start. one effective tactic is to lie to yourself about how long you'll do something - go in telling yourself "just five minutes!" just to get past that threshold of starting

this is also one of the reasons i think if you want to commit to a hobby or activity you should try to arrange your workspace to make the initial energy required to start as little as possible... e.g. keep your drawing tablet plugged in, your text editor pulled up, dedicate a space to your craft, leave your exercise equipment out, w/e

i think the trick your brain plays on you is it mistakes the experience of doing The Thing with Starting The Thing... this is also why i think a lot of time procrastination results in going on social media, because it's designed to have the lowest possible energy to initiate

(incidentally, i also think if you're not Doing Something because you're indecisive about what to do specifically, it's a sign that it doesn't actually matter and you should pick one arbitrarily)

ash @astral1/26/2023, 9:30 PM

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in reply to @brlka's post:

@daffodil1/26/2023, 9:58 PM

I am a strong advocate of the workspace being in ready and working order. The less friction there is in starting the thing the less likely you are going to be frustrated and inhibited in starting the thing. This is also why I opted to have two separate desks in my room rather than one big double sized desk. I can have them be workspaces ready for different sorts of work. One desk for music and soldering and collage etc, one for computer programming and gamedev and digital art.

@joXn1/27/2023, 4:02 AM

I've just started doing this, too. It's too early to tell if it will make a big difference to me, but I'm hopeful!

Kami @KamiBee1/27/2023, 1:02 AM

This definitely all tracks with my experiences as well as very specifically calling me out, once I'm finished typing here I am going to actually make sure my drawing tablet is plugged in and my drawing software is open instead of continuing to mope about never getting started on the drawing project I need to complete this month. 🙄

I think it's no coincidence that the creative work I most frequently complete projects in (writing) is the work I'm most used to and comfortable with just plunging into and not overthinking or structuring with plans until a bit later in the process. In my experience and from what I observe of other people, planning ends up being a good procrastination method too. It feels like you're doing the actual thing, but without any of the anxieties that might be attached to doing the thing like finding that it's not coming out as well as you'd hope or that being in the thick of a project can be very messy.

Narf @narfnra1/27/2023, 2:56 AM

I think about this a lot as someone who struggles with executive dysfunction in ADHD. This is also why I have a lot of trouble learning new programs - the hardest part of developing a new skill is being able to get into a flow state pulling it off.

@pancelor2/1/2023, 8:41 AM

this is good advice; I like the workspace bit in particular. I'll try to keep that in mind

but: on the other hand, sometimes I'll start doing something and then after a few subjective minutes pass, I'll look at the clock and realize it's been eight hours and I'm dehydrated and starving and crabby and generally distressed. oops.

so a helpful companion tip, if you find yourself similar: set a timer (30 minutes? 90 minutes?) that will extract you later. when it rings forcibly stand up and go somewhere else; you can choose to continue what you were doing if you want, but go somewhere else to make the decision; that helps make it a real conscious choice for me

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