For some background, I'm a developer and am in a position where I can contribute to FOSS full time. Issue is, I'm shit at managing my time and sitting down to crank out some good work. Free sats to anyone that's got good time management/motivation.tips :)
1150 sats \ 5 replies \ @south_korea_ln 7 Sep 2023
I code for a living, albeit not as an app developer, but in academia.
A gamechanger for me in terms of fighting procrastination has been a combination of:
- www.focusmate.com (you share the screen for one hour with someone else who is trying to get a task done)
- journaling almost everything I do. At the beginning/end of the week and day for big picture, and at the beginning or end of each focusmate session for readjusting my focus, i.e. write down what I did well, what I need to change, what is my next immediate task, etc. I use vimwiki for this, but there are many other tools (my colleague is into obsidian https://obsidian.md/ quite heavily).
- tell my colleagues NOT to interrupt me when I have my headphones on (this means I am "in the zone", and coding).
As a side note, I've been tinkering with the idea of building a nostr client which does a similar thing as focusmate.com, but with the additional advantage of using LN micropayments to pressure yourself into working (you lose the bounty if you didn't do what you committed to).
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2 sats \ 1 reply \ @south_korea_ln 7 Sep 2023
Just noticed I tipped the @anon account. What happens to those sats? Do they go in the shared tipping jar?
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23 sats \ 0 replies \ @WeAreAllSatoshi 7 Sep 2023
Yes, rewards pool to be distributed to everyone
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @Signal312 7 Sep 2023
I really love your idea of a nostr client that does the same as focusmate (I use flow.club, similar concept but I like it better) but with zaps. Absolutely amazing idea, totally count me in for feedback/beta testing/etc.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln 7 Sep 2023
I'd like to build it during an upcoming Nostr Hackathon. If anyone reading this would be interested in teaming up, please contact me. I have coding experience, but not specifically in the things that are required to build such thing. But I'm eager and able to learn quickly.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @sebastix 7 Sep 2023
Did not know focusmate.com, that sounds really like a awesome shortcut to get productive!
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893 sats \ 0 replies \ @rijndael 7 Sep 2023
pomodoro technique is cliche for a reason.
get yourself a cheap timer.
make a check-list of tasks you want to get done
pick the first task, set the timer for 25 minutes, and do nothing but that task. Close other windows, turn on DND, etc. when the timer goes off, take a 5 minute break (check your email/slack, go on stackernews, use the restroom, whatever). Set the timer for 25 minutes and do it all over again. Every 4 cycles, take a 20 minute break. At the end of the day you'll be shocked at how much you got done.
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @TwoLargePizzas 7 Sep 2023
Some years ago I started and built a decent sized community around a FOSS project. I spend 5 years working on it almost every day. The project still exists and is still used by many, but I have since left and handed the reigns over to someone else.
Reflecting on that experience I can say a few things...
- The reward for me was seeing my creation come to life. Having people getting value from something I created was a great feeling.
- Building and participating in a community of like minded people is also very rewarding.
- I started the project for a few reasons...
- I saw an unfilled need in the market
- I admired other FOSS creators and wanted to be like them
- It was something I was excited to work on (kinda nostalgic in a way)
- I gained a lot of experience that has been valuable in lots of ways.
However, there are some downsides, which is ultimately why I quit...
- Running a FOSS project is actually pretty difficult. Writing the code was the easy part for me but managing a community gets more difficult as it grows.
- I had hoped after 5 years I would find a way to monetize somehow and keep going. I made some beer money but ultimately never figured out how to turn it into a sustainable business.
- I got burnt out and just couldn't do it anymore.
Here's the thing. I still work on side projects regularly and I occasionally contribute to other FOSS projects. For me, it's just about the enjoyment of coding and solving problems.
Although, I must say I do get more distracted nowadays than I used too. Staying focused and managing your time is a skill that needs to be practiced and I'm out of practice. I got through phases when I can get really deep into something and then other times I waste time watching YouTube. It's a real problem.
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @nout 8 Sep 2023
Make all distractions be more expensive.
E.g. when you want to check Stacker News you have to go to another room and check your phone there.
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310 sats \ 0 replies \ @supratic 7 Sep 2023
schedule your routine, look back and notice the things you usually do.. just acknowledge them as part of your starting routine. With time of practicing the same routine day after day, you'll will change the routine as you pleasure.. 8h FOSS work a day? Nah, 4h? 4h a week?... you decide. The important is that you stick to it!
DON'T CHANGE IT TO OFTEN!
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @azul 7 Sep 2023
My best guess is that you're not procrastinating on doing the FOSS, but that doing the FOSS would be procrastination, even if you did it successfully. People who work on FOSS full time seem to me to know why they're doing it and how they got there, and why they're running out of steam. Things like, I did it adjacent to being in school, or for my job, or to fix a bug for some game I like playing that wouldn't work anymore.
The way you've formed it is more like "I'm an athlete in a position to devote myself to full time to sport." than the slightly more plausible forest gump "I just felt like running." It's ok to have big almost irrational dreams or hobbies, but you have to at least be very specific at whats being attempted before going to the time management well. If I'm a doctor I'm not giving a kid an adderall prescription because he and his mom say he's having a hard time with his yoyo practice, I don't care if he's some yoyo social media star or not.
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @WeAreAllSatoshi 7 Sep 2023
As others have mentioned, managing distractions is huge for me. Putting the phone on Do Not Disturb, not checking email/messages as often, etc. Really allowing me to get into the zone and crank out some work.
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @Signal312 7 Sep 2023
Instead of FocusMate, try Flow.Club. I like it tons better, and it's been insanely motivating for me.
Basically in Flow.Club, you sign up for zoom-type calls, in which everybody writes up their tasks for the hour (you can be private by just using acronyms or abbreviations for your tasks). You spend 5 minutes with the host going around, asking people what their tasks are, then 50 minutes muted, then 5 minutes where the host asks everyone how they did.
It really works for me. $40 a month, $20 if you do some hosting.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln 7 Sep 2023
I'll have a look at Flow.Club. Focusmate is cheaper, but doesn't have the hosting part. I had some experience with the hosting concept, and indeed, it works pretty well.
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @sebastix 7 Sep 2023
Do you have a clear view on your distractions? What's getting your attention? Look like don't the problem you're short on time but on attention.
https://world.hey.com/jason/the-difference-between-time-and-attention-bdd955eb
I'm also a developer who's self-employed and I have learned to schedule my work with a weekly review (doing this with a template set up in Notion/AnyType) which forces me to reflect, learn and plan my week which are aligned with my goals. I love to freewheel a lot (I have that freedom) so it's easy to avoid the things which are URGENT & IMPORTANT to do. If I'm not doing those things, I will pay a price on the long term (like a client which is unhappy because it takes long to get my output for what he's paying for).
I would also like to mention I started a experiment with a other self-employed developer who struggles to manage his time to get the things done which costs much focus and attention. These talks we call encouragement sessions where we share our struggles + goals and encourage each other how to get it done / get rid of those struggles (saying NO to certain things is a strong tool for that). We also share every (little) success we achieve while working with just a simple message to each other.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nkmg1c_ventures 10 Sep 2023
- Check out the Pomodoro timer method (it's basically just using a timer, but with added intent and planning)
- Timeboxing - Similar to Pomodoro method, it's another term for purposefully and strictly mapping out your full-day schedule (including things like eat / sleep / rest ) and sticking to it via tracking success and failures via calendar. The idea is to create a schedule for yourself that allows for some flexibility across the week, but also has constants (in your case FOSS contributions)
- Check out the book "Atomic Habits" and the concept of "habit chaining"
- If using your phone isn't cutting it, and it's distracting you as well, get a cheap digital stopwatch or some other analog method that isn't your phone
- Make sure to add time for exercise depending on your fitness and mobility, it helps productivity
- Meditation breaks, simple focus on diaphragm breathing (no yoga poses lol) help a lot in focus too.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @devver 8 Sep 2023
I'm able to work on my job all day and still do some FOSS or personal projects coding in my free time, but I don't code all day, my main priorities are to perfect my skills so that when I do write code I write it faster and more efficiently to get things done quicker and in a way I don't have to keep coming back to fix past mistakes or errors.
Another thing is always having a low time preference i.e. everything will get done with time so if I work on something for at least 1 hour a day I know that would add up to 10 hours in 10 days, I focus on my long term health and ability to maintain habits consistently which helps getting everything I want done and enjoying every moment while doing it, working out in between, etc. I started this in 2020 during the pandemic and haven't stopped since, but I do take breaks as well
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131 sats \ 2 replies \ @nemo 7 Sep 2023
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @WeAreAllSatoshi 7 Sep 2023
Honestly you’re kinda right. I really enjoy the work so I often find it hard to stop.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nemo 7 Sep 2023
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