The self-salvation of a procrastination patient programmer!

Write in front

I actually wanted to write about time management, how to plan, how to improve execution... and so on. I actually wanted to write about it a long time ago, but I didn't write it for a long time. But this time I thought and thought, and I can't delay it any longer.

Because I often see similar problems on the Internet: Many friends say that sometimes they feel that their lives are not fulfilled, the execution ability is not good, and the task plan they are doing feels soulless, and it is difficult to stick to it. Of course, I also Very experienced.

So in this article, I am going to talk about some personal thoughts, ideas, and practical experience and habits in this area. The content is more subjective for your reference. In addition, I also hope that through this topic, everyone can communicate and see, maybe there are other new inspirations.

In fact, when many bloggers talk about time management, including how to plan, they come up to share which software they use and how to plan on it. But the focus of our content this time is not on this. I don't think the software to use is the key. The key is how you think and whether you have found the pain point of the problem.

Taking time to think clearly in this regard should be very helpful for the formation of a positive workflow for later learning and work.

This article has been included in the GitHub open source warehouse "Road to Programming" https://github.com/rd2coding/Road2Coding , which contains my own 6 programming directions (posts) self-study routes + knowledge points combed , interview test sites , my resume, , a few hard-core pdf notes , and my programmer life and perception , welcome star.

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Four bowls of chicken soup

Before starting, there are a few big principles, I think it is necessary to talk about them first.

• First of all, a firm belief must be there!

How do you say this?

Because I myself have repeatedly experienced the entanglement, trouble, and even self-ashamed of making a plan but not completing it, and setting up a Flag but not fulfilling it for a long time. So I once gave up on myself, and fell into a slump in time management and task scheduling. I stepped on the watermelon rind every day and slipped forward, wherever I went.

So let’s not talk about the methods, tools, and methods. First of all, we must tell ourselves deep down and firmly believe that I will become a master of time management and task planning, work efficiently, live happily, and slowly become an executive. Very strong person!

So belief must be.

• To Do List (ToDo List) must be done consistently

Many people will complain that they feel that the task plan (ToDo List) they have made has no soul. Because it is rarely possible to persist in completing it, this will bring a psychological burden to myself, and I simply give up later.

You know, everything will be done in advance, and nothing will be done if you don't.

In my opinion, no matter what, the mission plan must be done! There is definitely a difference between planning and not planning, but I think this is related to many factors such as planning methods, habits, tools, and whether to get positive feedback. I will also follow Explain in detail my personal method experience, which is also the focus of this article!

• Continuous motivation and positive feedback are particularly important

We all know that in normal work and study, the success of joint debugging is the sense of accomplishment, the resolution of bugs is the sense of accomplishment, the technical difficulties are overcome, the sense of accomplishment, the function is stable and the online is the sense of accomplishment... These will become our lives and The sweet spot at work, at the same time, inspires us to move towards a better goal.

Positive motivation is the source of motivation for us to continue to move forward!

In the same way, when our time management and task plan are being implemented solidly, and positive feedback is received, this is also a great sense of accomplishment. It is often this sense of accomplishment that drives us to become more hardworking and diligent. With the formation of positive feedback, many things will be easier to handle!

• Replay and aftertaste are indispensable

Because no matter how rigorous the planning and execution are, it may be disrupted by changes in reality, so periodic review and summary will help us grasp the progress and correct deviations.

The route to the end must be clear, but what is more important is our current position on the road.

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So, let’s talk about the principles first, and then talk about some practical experience and feelings of individuals in their daily study and work.

Let me start with a discussion, and welcome everyone to share their own experience and experience, and communicate together.

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ToDo List without soul!

I don’t know if you have this feeling, that is:

• Make a promise when planning
• Procrastination while carrying out the plan
• Self-blame and guilt when accepting the plan...

Over time, I always feel that the plan I have made is soulless, and then slowly gave up after a sigh.

To be honest, in fact, I have experienced this kind of mental cycle many times. After learning from it, I analyzed several possible reasons:

• The ritual sense of planning needs to be strengthened
• The granularity of planning is to be discussed
• The priorities of planning are not separated, and there is no distinction between long and short-term tasks.
• The execution of the plan is not guaranteed
• Lack of positive feedback and positive incentives
• Lack of review and summary
• ...

Let's talk about some of my methods and habits.

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How to plan (ToDo List)

I think "how to plan" is quite knowledgeable, and I am constantly exploring and improving myself.

Let me first talk about my personal habits when doing ToDo List. Many of them are learned after work by the company and the team.

1. First of all, when planning, I am accustomed to splitting the tasks into tangible and executable task points. The unit time of execution should be controlled within 1-2 days, and the task points within a day Arrange in 3~5. I think this is more convenient for urging myself to show confidence to complete, so as to form short-term positive motivation and sense of accomplishment feedback.

Because we are human beings and not gods, we forcibly arrange too many tasks for each day. Once we fail to complete them, we will have a kind of inner guilt and anxiety. This is not necessarily a good thing.

2. Secondly, when making plans, I will use a concept called "pool".

Technologists all know that the pool is a good thing. For example, we deal with it every day: constant pool, thread pool, database connection pool, memory pool, network connection pool... and so on.

In order to make the planning work full of ritual, I also created a task board myself, and built 7 pools on the board. The logical effect is probably similar to this:

Let me explain in detail below.

• Task planning pool

This pool contains almost anything I want to do in the future and any possible task points, regardless of size, priority, and whether the task granularity is reasonable or not. As long as there are ideas or even any ideas that flash in the sky, I will Will be thrown in in time.

The reason for this is simple.

Because we often have no way to immediately determine that the current task division must be reasonable when we make plans, so as long as it is a task point that may be done in the future, I will throw it into the "plan pool."

So in this way, the "mission plan pool" is more like a favorite, or even a memo, which records any thoughts and possible things to do in the future.

• Task ready pool

The tasks placed in the "ready pool" are all selected from the above "plan pool" waiting for execution determine the task , so the tasks dropped into this pool are waiting for the next execution and completion.

When selecting tasks from the "Task Planning Pool" to the "Task Ready Pool", you must repeatedly ask yourself:

• Is this task important?
• Is this task urgent?
• Is this task sure to be done this week?
• Will this task definitely yield results?
• Does this task need to be divided?
• ...and many more.

Therefore, the following four-quadrant diagram can be used as a reference for task selection and segmentation.

Personally, I regularly (I spend more than ten minutes before going to bed every night) to screen and segment the tasks that have higher priority or are easier to implement in the "planning pool" and can quickly generate short-term positive feedback and put them in the "task ready pool". ".

• Task execution pool

As the name suggests, the tasks dragged into this pool are all tasks being executed.

Note that my personal habit here is to only schedule tasks to be performed within a day, and for individuals, it is enough to arrange 3~5 task points to be performed in a day, and it is not enough to drag too much to do it. Meaning, it will cause inner anxiety and guilt.

• Task acceptance pool

This is also easy to understand, the tasks completed every day can be dragged here immediately.

Note that the reason why this is called the "task acceptance pool" is that although the task itself has been completed, the follow-up review, summary, comparison, output, record... etc. may not necessarily be done. , So add such a buffer pool .

For example, today I wrote the project code of a certain module. The code is indeed finished and the function is realized, but has the summary work been done? Have you encountered any bug records? Which pits did debugging step on? Where else may need to be optimized in the next iteration? and many more.

The purpose of this is very simple. It is to add a simple review and aftertaste link for the tasks that have been completed, which can also increase the sense of accomplishment. Because whether it’s studying or working, sometimes I really don’t care about being fast. It’s actually necessary to look back and think about it. Still the same sentence: sometimes slower can be faster!

So I personally usually go through the tasks in the acceptance pool every night. Those who should write remarks write remarks, those who should take notes take notes, and those who write blogs should write blogs. After confirming the completion, drag the task to the "task completion pool" described below.

So for me, the tasks in the "acceptance pool" may be piled up. Generally speaking, I will try to clear them out once a week.

• Task completion pool

This is particularly easy to understand, the tasks dragged here are all executed.

The coolest thing every day is to drag the completed task cards into this pool in turn, so to a certain extent, this is the most direct positive motivation!

• Task blocking pool

The "blocking pool" is dedicated to storing those tasks that have a long execution cycle, or have a low priority but are still more important, or are some old and difficult historical tasks.

The common feature of this type of task is that it is generally difficult to complete within one or two days, or even within one or two weeks. It lasts for a long time, and there may be some uncertain factors that will affect its execution, most of which are long-term. Task.

For me, it is generally that some long-lasting learning tasks will be placed here, such as learning a certain knowledge point systematically, or spending a month to get an open source project and so on.

But to be honest, several tasks in my blocking pool have been put in for almost half a year, and it feels like they are about to be unfinished. . .

• Mission Soy Sauce Pool

The task list in this pool is quite special, so I want to explain it.

We all know that although we spend most of our time and energy on work and study every day, no matter how hard we are to hit workers, we will inevitably have our own time for soy sauce. time..).

For example: the gap before and after work, the gap before and after a meeting, the time spent in a daze, the time spent on the phone... This type of time is generally characterized by: relatively fragmented, unfixed duration, unfixed frequency, and low controllability... In fact, if you make good use of this kind of time, you can accomplish a lot of things.

Therefore, it is especially aimed at such a situation. When arranging tasks, you can actually throw all the corners and small things into this pool. Once you have time to make soy sauce, you can glance at the tasks in this pool to see if you can easily complete them.

For example: look up a certain information or article, write a simple summary review outline, look at the latest information in a certain area, glance at the market situation...

So in short, the tasks in the "soy sauce pool" are mainly used to pass the time for making soy sauce, and the purpose is also to maximize the use of fragmented time, so it should be easy to understand.

• summary

So at the end, let's make a little summary!

As a result, day I just focus on ensuring "Executive pool" where all the empty entry, it shows that the completion of the task of the day. And every week as long as the items in the "Task Acceptance Pool" are all cleared, it means that the week's task has been completed!

This will be psychologically fulfilling and people will be very happy.

After completion, filter and split the tasks from the "Task Planning Pool" again, and pay proper attention to the long-term tasks in the "Task Blocking Pool". If necessary, add them to the "Ready Pool" and wait to be executed. .

It goes back and forth like this, turning the task planning and execution into a positive workflow that can see positive feedback, so that the habit can slowly form! Once the habit is formed, many things are easier to handle.

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How to perform the task

Now that the task has been planned, the next step is to implement it at the specific implementation level.

Different people have different experiences and skills, how to ensure the effect really depends on the individual's own execution. Some methods may be effective for others, but we may be on the street in our own hands. This is all possible.

Next, let’s talk about some cautions that I have practiced. I hope it will be useful to everyone, and everyone is welcome to share their practical experience!

eyes,

One day is actually very short. Most of the time, one of the main reasons for our anxiety and emptiness is that we have not made a definite task plan in advance. Aimlessly, the way of doing things with one hammer and one stick is definitely not advisable.

As mentioned above when we talked about planning issues, as long as we ensure that all the entries in the "Task Execution Pool" are cleared every day, it means that the task of the day has been completed, and this will be very fulfilling.

So as long as you focus on the definite tasks to be done every day, give priority to ensuring their completion, so that you can keep the basics, and your heart will be very at ease! Work and study will lead to rush!

Avoid frequent task switching

Everyone has learned about computers, and we all know that overhead costs such as thread switching or task interruption cannot be underestimated!

In the same way, frequent task switching in life, study, and work will also bring a lot of "performance loss".

To avoid this, a deeper requirement is to arrange tasks reasonably when doing the ToDo List plan of the day. For example, similar tasks can be put together, secondary and mechanical tasks can be placed in the corners, and difficult and challenging tasks can be placed in a large range, and so on.

for example.

For example, mechanical repetitive tasks such as taking express delivery, replying to mail, and replying to messages can be arranged in a fixed time corner; and more challenging tasks such as writing code, making requirements, and researching open source projects can be arranged. Put it in a complete and efficient time interval; and those personal promotion and interest times such as reading, writing, and video editing can be put together and arranged in a relaxing time to unburden yourself.

Pomodoro Technique

I think everyone has heard of the Pomodoro Technique. It is a very simple time management therapy.

The basic idea is to divide the time into Pomodoro time slices, 25 minutes of work + 5 minutes of rest, once four Pomodoro time slices (2 hours), you can take a longer rest, of course, its other implementation details are still There are many, you can read the encyclopedia for details.

Regarding this method, when I personally implement it, in some cases it still has guiding value, but in some cases it is really difficult to play.

For example, if a task does not take a long time, forcibly applying the Pomodoro Technique at this time may reduce efficiency.

For another example, in some fragmented time scenarios where the time is easily interrupted, the effect of this method will be greatly reduced. Imagine that one time the leader asks you to report and discuss an opinion, another time the product convenes a meeting temporarily, another time you have to wait for an important call, and another time you have to go out to the next-door team to communicate a demand... Once the time is broken, The effect of the Pomodoro Technique is greatly reduced, so there will be a psychological burden, and there is no sense of accomplishment.

I personally think that this method is effective in the face of relatively complete time periods, because it is not easy to be interrupted in this situation. For example, today is the weekend, this afternoon I will spend a relatively complete block of time (≥2 hours) at home to prepare the code of the XXX module, or read the XXX technical books. At this time, the Pomodoro Technique is quite comfortable to use. . Sometimes there is even a feeling of forgetting the time, and 25 minutes will arrive in an instant. The thing is done, and the sense of accomplishment is full.

Therefore, I now feel more and more that it is really a happy thing to be able to use the Pomodoro Technique! This shows that you have a lot of good complete time to do things.

Time statistics and regular

In addition to the famous Pomodoro Technique, there is also a "Liubischev Time Statistics Method". I don't know if you have heard of it.

It is named after the former Soviet entomologist, philosopher, and mathematician Lyubichev's quantitative and statistical management of personal time for 56 years.

The overall idea is rather simple: When completing the task, try to record the starting time and duration as accurately as possible, and do a good job of classification (there are many apps that can help us to complete this function), and form a complete time account book after completing the task, and Carry out a summary analysis after the fact, and then use it to guide and improve the control of time and the completion of tasks.

This shows that when we are doing task planning and time management, it is very necessary to review and summarize our time expenditure and task completion on a regular basis. Through the constant comparison between the actual situation and the expected situation, we can slowly build ourselves. Perception and tolerance for follow-up task planning and time management.

Create positive incentives and positive feedback

In fact, when talking about "how to plan" above, I have been emphasizing the importance of short-term positive incentives and positive feedback for time management and task execution. For this reason, many measures have been taken to improve the sense of accomplishment and see positive feedback. These have already been mentioned above, so I won't repeat them here.

deadline+hard liver

It's like having seen a lot of truths and still having a bad life. Sometimes when all kinds of time management methods and task scheduling skills can't fight procrastination, late night hard liver becomes my own exclusive antidote.

For example, when writing an article, it was originally scheduled to be completed today, but due to various reasons, it was still stuck there by 12 o'clock in the evening. Okay, wash your face at this time, take a look at yourself in the mirror, and hold back, I'm so angry tonight until early in the morning, I won't sleep if I don't finish it...

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Summarize

Well, this article talked a lot.

Up to now, I still think that a very, very important motivation for persistence in time management and task planning is: we must find a way to continuously obtain positive feedback and positive incentives, so as to form a positive workflow!

Once the positive feedback is formed, many things will be easier to handle, and execution will be able to slowly increase.

So if you revolve around this line of thinking, it may be effective to change your current study and work.

Of course, what others say may not be useful, and other people’s methods may not be completely effective here, so in the end, I suggest you find out a set of methodology suitable for your time management and task planning as soon as possible, and implement it firmly. If you keep going for half a year, I believe it will be very different.

Hope we can all gradually get better and better.

This article has been included in the GitHub open source warehouse "Road to Programming" https://github.com/rd2coding/Road2Coding , and there are self-study routes for 6 major programming directions (posts) , Interview test sites , My resume , hardcore pdf notes , and my programmer life and perception , some of the contents are as follows, welcome to star.