Creating a Workspace

SightTDW

I've been having an issue lately/forever where I am pretty easily distracted, but I find that its usually more of an environmental issue for me. I work very well once I get into the proverbial zone, but it takes a while to get myself there. For instance, I generally do most of my work on an old macbook, as opposed to my desktop. My desktop being covered in videogames and such, while the macbook can't reliably run Netflix, it helps keeps me focused. I suppose I'm looking more for ways to get myself into that "work" state of mind a bit quicker.

Its more of an issue some days than others, but I can't help but notice that I've been working on a story for five hours today and I've barely written a page.

I know the basic things, keep things clean and organized, put aside distractions, those sorts of things, but I was wondering what sorts of habits people might have.

MushroomStick

Is this like a homework/job thing or hobby stuff? What's the ultimate goal here?

Djeet

Hack my hosts file so PA and reddit go to localhost. Wear headphones that do a good job with noise isolation (or run white noise in tha background) to drown out environmental sounds.

SightTDW

MushroomStick wrote: »

Is this like a homework/job thing or hobby stuff? What's the ultimate goal here?

Yes and yes, but mostly personal projects lately. I don't have a have much issue with actually getting work that needs done finished, but I'd really like to be able to have some better control of things. For instance yesterday, where I got things done, but basically stared at a blank page and dicked around on here for a good four hours first.

Djeet wrote: »

Hack my hosts file so PA and reddit go to localhost. Wear headphones that do a good job with noise isolation (or run white noise in tha background) to drown out environmental sounds.

Now there's something. Its no secret that this place is bad for me; being able to shut it out could do some good.

Figgy

SightTDW wrote: »

MushroomStick wrote: »

Is this like a homework/job thing or hobby stuff? What's the ultimate goal here?

Yes and yes, but mostly personal projects lately. I don't have a have much issue with actually getting work that needs done finished, but I'd really like to be able to have some better control of things. For instance yesterday, where I got things done, but basically stared at a blank page and dicked around on here for a good four hours first.

Djeet wrote: »

Hack my hosts file so PA and reddit go to localhost. Wear headphones that do a good job with noise isolation (or run white noise in tha background) to drown out environmental sounds.

Now there's something. Its no secret that this place is bad for me; being able to shut it out could do some good.

I may be wrong, but you might be able to get a mod to tempban you, if you really need a break to get shit done. I've seen it before, but I'm not sure how/why/when/if it happens any more.

ihmmy

for me it was always about setting up at the dining table, away from my gaming-zone, with a pot of tea and some music that was good, but not so good I had to dance or sing along with it. Since, when I was in school anyway, I didn't regularly drink tea, setting up with the tea would become the trigger for get-work-done-now. A bit pavlovian by the end.

ChopperDave

I think you've got the right idea using two computers, one that's your "entertainment" computer and another that's your "work" computer.

We're creatures of habit, and the human mind reacts to conditioning and patterns. It's why working in a library works out for a lot of people -- you're accustomed to the library being a quiet workspace, so it's easier for a lot of people to focus there.

I've always found it good to designate areas of the house for different purposes. For example, the couch is my entertainment space. The dining table is my eating space. The bed is my sleep space. The desk is my workspace. There's limited cross-pollination between the four -- I try to avoid reading in bed, or watching tv from the dining table, or falling asleep on the couch. It helps in a lot of ways... as soon as my head hits the pillow I fall asleep, and as soon as I drop into that desk chair my mind says "Alright, it's go time."

.red

Figgy wrote: »

SightTDW wrote: »

MushroomStick wrote: »

Is this like a homework/job thing or hobby stuff? What's the ultimate goal here?

Yes and yes, but mostly personal projects lately. I don't have a have much issue with actually getting work that needs done finished, but I'd really like to be able to have some better control of things. For instance yesterday, where I got things done, but basically stared at a blank page and dicked around on here for a good four hours first.

Djeet wrote: »

Hack my hosts file so PA and reddit go to localhost. Wear headphones that do a good job with noise isolation (or run white noise in tha background) to drown out environmental sounds.

Now there's something. Its no secret that this place is bad for me; being able to shut it out could do some good.

I may be wrong, but you might be able to get a mod to tempban you, if you really need a break to get shit done. I've seen it before, but I'm not sure how/why/when/if it happens any more.

Nah, OP can do it himself if need be - just download an addon that lets you block websites or do it manually via router. I did that for Firefox with an addon - it's nice in that you can always unblock it (with a little bit of work). It's really useful especially if you have trigger fingers like me. I have this tendency of just typing letters in my search bar when I'm bored and clicking the first suggestion to pop up in the browsing history - and it's mechanical. I mean, you're not even thinking and you just end up browsing a site you had no plan doing so. It helps to get rid of those natural tendencies to follow habits, and helps build self restraint for screwing around and getting down to business/work.

SightTDW

I like the idea of designating spots and uses for things more clearly. I'm thinking that I'll try to avoid using the laptop for not-work to try and hammer that in.

exis

What software do you need on your computer to accomplish work tasks? You could uninstall everything that could be a potential distraction. An alternative might be to make yourself a separate user account, and only install the software that you need. Remove IM clients, Steam, desktop widgets, email clients, anything that isn't necessary for work purposes.

Similarly, if you need an internet browser, you could use a different browser for working, and block anything potentially distracting on that browser.

That way, when you legitimately 'need' your laptop for non-work stuff, you can just log yourself back into your regular account and everything is available again. A slightly more extreme approach would be dual-booting. I used to do this - my programming tools and a browser configured specifically for coding stuff were on my linux install, while my personal stuff was all on Windows. I found it put me into a completely different mode depending on which OS I was looking at, and it took long enough to switch that it encouraged me to stay on task.