Post B1mBfYFcUmZCwTktto by txerren@mastodon.eus
(DIR) More posts by txerren@mastodon.eus
(DIR) Post #B1m9kBVKIKaNvzBRMe by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-30T13:40:25Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
You need to work on a tough problem or study a topic that requires your full mental attention and concentration. Which of the following are you most likely to do:1. Work without a break until it is done. You only take a break if forced to.2. Work without a break until some fixed time limit, take a short break and then keep going. You *plan* on taking breaks even if you don't feel you need them.3. Work without a break until you feel like you need one. Then you take a break.4. Other?
(DIR) Post #B1m9qU1kL8FZ7TLq2i by afewbugs@social.coop
2025-12-30T13:41:29Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 3
(DIR) Post #B1m9wVNGFE5d2DHmrY by Photo55@mastodon.social
2025-12-30T13:42:35Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Look at it, then do something else, sleep, return to it, why did I think it was tough? Do the easy bit, iterate.
(DIR) Post #B1mAJdM6jhE0Rtm79c by Nonya_Bidniss@infosec.exchange
2025-12-30T13:46:47Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 3
(DIR) Post #B1mANY7e8R2lNPsUqm by 3janeTA@beige.party
2025-12-30T13:47:26Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird avoid, get distracted over and over, eventually sit down and do for a few minutes, go get a drink, come back, get an IM I need to answer, start again, etc etc. eventually do for a while, with more unplanned breaks.
(DIR) Post #B1mAQHqV6iL7lTACjA by Momgoth@wandering.shop
2025-12-30T13:47:59Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird I started off on 1, but that didn’t go well and lasted about a week before giving up. Now I’m gonna try 2.
(DIR) Post #B1mASAhgdHoCC0wJjU by lionelb@expressional.social
2025-12-30T13:48:20Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Concentrating is often too intense and self-defeating. Stepping away can bring a useful insight. I prefer to creep up on a problem, rather than hammering away at it. Relaxed mode is more powerful.
(DIR) Post #B1mAW5A5BCJaAA5Pai by gbargoud@masto.nyc
2025-12-30T13:49:02Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Depends on how well it tickles my mental feel good parts to work on.If it's something I enjoy then 1, otherwise 4: take an indefinite break until it's almost too late then panic work on it without a break until it's done enough that I can drop it
(DIR) Post #B1mAYjDzCIsozlAqRc by RogerBW@discordian.social
2025-12-30T13:49:30Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 3, but that feeling is the result of experience and self training.
(DIR) Post #B1mAecM5eNF5QalyFc by phpete@mastodon.coffee
2025-12-30T13:50:33Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebirdI fall into the '1' column, but these are all options for after you get started. Maybe I'm actually '4', because if it's really something requiring that much focus, I find my prep to be more important than my breaks. (When possible, obviously) If I can spend a solid chunk of time dismissing other tasks from my list, knocking out a quick workout, or doing a few other things that set my head on straight - I can afford to direct full focus in one direction for longer.
(DIR) Post #B1mAtbUN9arZ5InCdc by geonz@mathstodon.xyz
2025-12-30T13:53:16Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Three, tho' I often need something like pomodoro to get started. My attention doesn't follow a timer.
(DIR) Post #B1mAv6ZZ4RH7mKwA8u by CarrieQ42@mastodon.social
2025-12-30T13:53:27Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Usually 1. Sometimes 3.
(DIR) Post #B1mAvTZhY63D7QB636 by adrianh@mastodon.social
2025-12-30T13:53:22Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Mostly (2), with the occasional (1) if I get accidentally fascinated by the problem :-)Choosing to do (2) is very much a learned behaviour, coz otherwise I'll (4) — procrastinate on some other thing.
(DIR) Post #B1mAwZOjNtgDT5ZIOG by screwturn@mastodon.social
2025-12-30T13:53:23Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 3
(DIR) Post #B1mB1YNKc7A9kEI2bo by ptmesis@writing.exchange
2025-12-30T13:54:42Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@futurebird (2) if I'm being strict with myself.Much of my daily work requires this kind of concentration, so (1) or (3) might feel nicer, but it's not sustainable in the long term. If I want to keep being productive day after day, I need to stick with (2).
(DIR) Post #B1mB7s2ePJXWTbd3nU by mayintoronto@beige.party
2025-12-30T13:55:50Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Once I can gather enough focus brain cells, if I find it interesting, like spreadsheets, 1. If I dislike it, 3.
(DIR) Post #B1mBDmnmnkiLxmUs52 by danpmoore@mathstodon.xyz
2025-12-30T13:56:55Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird I find approach 3 to be the best, as your subconscious mind often supplies your conscious mind with hints during the break.
(DIR) Post #B1mBTZxuIPVymflHH6 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-30T13:59:49Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@ptmesis This is what I've discovered. Even if I'm "in a groove" I will get more done if I take a break after 40min of real concentration. Even if it's just to go sip some water and come right back. I don't want to take the break often. But, when I do the same task for too long? I'm not getting as much done as I think. But then being efficient isn't always the point. And probably shouldn't be.
(DIR) Post #B1mBcy4m1Qp0AVRymO by jasonb@sigmoid.social
2025-12-30T14:01:27Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird #2
(DIR) Post #B1mBfYFcUmZCwTktto by txerren@mastodon.eus
2025-12-30T14:01:56Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 4. Find your flow. May involve previous points. May not. But find it.
(DIR) Post #B1mBuQVnYFLPHePq7c by ehproque@neopaquita.es
2025-12-30T14:04:37Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird it really depends. If it's interesting and I'm not stuck I'm likely to lose track of time and work nonstop until interrupted
(DIR) Post #B1mBxkJAPDdrY85f28 by ptmesis@writing.exchange
2025-12-30T14:05:15Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird I often discuss this with students who struggle with procrastination. The pomodoro system shows you it's often as difficult to start working as it is to stop. This was a crucial insight for me. It shows that procrastination isn't about being lazy, as much as it is about being averse to switching modes. That takes a lot of the shame out of it, which is very helpful.
(DIR) Post #B1mC0OQyBpKUZp0Cxs by Bumblefish@mastodon.scot
2025-12-30T14:05:43Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird I've come into doing 2, once I understood that the so-called 'procrastination' was part of the process. Before that it was either 1 or 3, with the breaks being spent beating myself up for having them. Life is so much better now.
(DIR) Post #B1mC1dLeDzpB7c6XrM by btuftin@social.coop
2025-12-30T14:05:55Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird one or three depending on how much work I think remains
(DIR) Post #B1mC9bim9pqoOOizUe by javierg@mstdn.social
2025-12-30T14:07:21Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 3, absolutely. 1 is just trying to kill yourself. Tempting but no.Pomodoro just means I'm getting more anxious as the next break time approaches. With each repetition the focus-killing time gets longer and longer until it consumes all the time.
(DIR) Post #B1mCB88Z7aKjDbVuk4 by PizzaDemon@mastodon.online
2025-12-30T14:07:37Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird back in the day, 2. Now I can't do anything that requires brain.
(DIR) Post #B1mDBHUmQYUKCGXYnY by mansr@society.oftrolls.com
2025-12-30T14:18:52Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Procrastinate.
(DIR) Post #B1mDbY4BRI8X7Vcp0K by graymiller@me.dm
2025-12-30T14:23:38Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird I try to force myself to take breaks….but often I get into flow state and just grit thru til done.
(DIR) Post #B1mDdapM94jmGIfH1c by noplasticshower@infosec.exchange
2025-12-30T14:24:02Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 3
(DIR) Post #B1mDsnVRHw7TvbbBOy by SKleefeld@retro.pizza
2025-12-30T14:26:44Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird I usually work until I feel like I need a break. Usually because I catch myself in some kind of mental loop, where I can't work past/through some issue. I know myself well enough to know I'll do better in the long run if I step back from things for a bit to reset.
(DIR) Post #B1mE1wHC3AcrjcIJPs by r343l@freeradical.zone
2025-12-30T14:28:22Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Strive with 2 because I can't trust myself to notice condition 3.
(DIR) Post #B1mEx6wt2hl9LD3eQy by i_cannot_today@beige.party
2025-12-30T14:38:43Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 4. FailI mean I'd attempt 3 but it will most likely not work and I will fallback on 4: fail.
(DIR) Post #B1mNov4eCySbmarB8C by StephanieMoore@mastodon.online
2025-12-30T16:18:05Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 3. Fixed times don’t work for me - if I’m still focused, I just burn right past them. If I run out of steam before, then I’m just done and it’s time to do something different. The hard part is getting chunks of time when I can even do this. It used to be more feasible, but lately my schedule has not left many windows for just sitting and doing / thinking.
(DIR) Post #B1mNyTynnb8QeBgNqi by BarneyDellar@mastodon.scot
2025-12-30T16:19:48Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 2, but in collaboration with others. I pair-program at work, and we do 25 minutes of work, then a 5-minute break.
(DIR) Post #B1mR3LjOC6MUNJUAnQ by stevegis_ssg@mas.to
2025-12-30T16:54:19Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 4: Glance at it, look away, waste time on the internet, try again, do LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE, look at it, realize I've been staring for 5 minutes and not absorbing anything, waste time on the internet, try again, become randomly hyperfocused on the task and discover when I next stand up that I've needed to pee for like 4 hours.
(DIR) Post #B1mTKR0W1wNLZPlrNY by greymith@mastodon.world
2025-12-30T17:19:46Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird procrastinate until the last minute, then focus non-stop until I feel i am done, and then forget it all a week later....rinse and repeat..
(DIR) Post #B1maIH5YdV3DuM2wOu by jayalane@mastodon.online
2025-12-30T18:37:51Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 3 for sure. If it is at all a complex thing I will however be holding it in my mind continually for long enough to bake it in, conscious and subconscious, so I can see the problem from all the different perspectives I can generate. When I am fortunate enough to have such work, I should not drive as I have crashed a few cars in these times. The last few years tho I have failed to persuade my job for the value of such hard projects and failed, so far, at a math research project.
(DIR) Post #B1maXh1iTu16hHbN8i by jayalane@mastodon.online
2025-12-30T18:40:39Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird @ptmesis seems you can kind of load up your mind with a sort of question or curiosity and then go get coffee or walk around or whatever and then come back with the question more of a friend.
(DIR) Post #B1mhpGVAXRu5K5hiVM by glasspusher@beige.party
2025-12-30T20:02:14Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 3
(DIR) Post #B1mkDMRmHkyUcWjf04 by farah@beige.party
2025-12-30T20:29:00Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 1
(DIR) Post #B1mlUoAkYYITUCecMK by hosford42@techhub.social
2025-12-30T20:43:24Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 4. If it's an interesting topic, work past the point of reason, until your brain has turned to mush and you realize you forgot to eat and sleep. Otherwise, sit down and stare blankly and despondently at the screen until you give up.
(DIR) Post #B1mlVvFPji1hieMoi0 by AMS@infosec.exchange
2025-12-30T20:42:36Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird 3/4 take a break at signal ENOTEA.
(DIR) Post #B1mrAJzHfmjrnouCFk by varx@cybersecurity.theater
2025-12-30T21:46:54Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird I have to do 1, and it only works if I put on the right kind of music (or noise background) that will keep my ADHD-ass brain just the right level of activated (and also act as a context cue to remind me that I'm in "work mode").If I try 2, I end up not wanting to take a break because I'm in the groove. :-) I'm also worried I won't be able to get back into the task mindset. Should try it more often though.3 is bad for me because I often want a break every 30 seconds to 5 minutes.
(DIR) Post #B1mrbBMDrpOwr7RWfQ by Burn_this_@beige.party
2025-12-30T21:51:43Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird I'm trying to think of the last time I applied my full mental attention to anything and I am coming up empty.
(DIR) Post #B1n5SyO9bG25fvKH2m by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-31T00:27:11Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@EricLawton @afewbugs Cat? Or Mountain?
(DIR) Post #B1pfefQ1wLJyyz004u by null_hypothesis@mas.to
2026-01-01T06:22:03Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird A) ScoutB) RetreatC) Pattern #3