Anyone else really, really lazy?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2137670

by lazylazylazy • 16 years ago

9 14 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Throw away, obviously.

I've been wanting to make this post for a while but not sure the right way to do it.

I made my living playing poker for most of my adult life (im 28), after dropping out of school and working $10/hour jobs for a couple years. Never made a ton of money.. ~25k a year on 10-20 hours a week.

I fell backward into some free lance web work, fast forward a couple years and I am making 70k a year full time in a small town as the stake holder in a $2M revenue/year website.

All through doing free lance work, and now full time (and throughout my entire education) I always always procrastinate until the last minute.

Part of the problem is that I have always been able to put forth 10% effort (or really, 100% effort 10% of the time) on 'assigned' things and get A's or deliver to clients or whatever.

I was fine with this most of my life. But it's got worse and worse, to the point where I just let things slide that I don't really want to do, even though they are important to me that have them done. It's only when it's either a) dire, or b)something I have a desire to do that anything gets done.

I really thought taking a full time job, and being accountable and what not would force me to buckle down. But I've found I can put forth 10% at work, get everything that is expected of me done, and get praised.

Please don't take this as a bragging post for that statement. I am sure lots of people here know what I am talking about. If a decent hacker was my boss they'd see through my BS in a week. I actually am good at what I do, and make things happen for them that is magic as far as anyone in the company can tell.. but I do it while browsing the internet 25 hours a week.. granted a chunk of that is researching the types of things that make me valuable to them.

I guess my question is: WTF? I am in this slump.. I have nothing whatsoever to complain about; but my life is one big game of "tomorrow I will.." and I don't know how to break the cycle.

atgm• 16 years ago

Start small and force yourself to do something you want to do for ten minutes every Monday for a month, then try Monday and Wednesday... I don't really know what else to say. I was in your situation in college and when I graduated and moved to Japan, I found that I just wasn't happy with the kind of person/work ethic I'd developed, so I started forcing myself to work on projects.

It's not easy to kick yourself in the ass, so you just have to keep doing it!

And I'm not saying I never procrastinate, because I do. I think everyone does to some extent, honestly -- so you should chose a simpler, more attainable goal with a positive effect, like "work on X for Y minutes Z days."

Bystander• 16 years ago

been there, done that - still working my way out of it.

One thing I have learned, though - this all started because I forgot WHY I was doing what I was doing, and work was EXTREMELY unrewarding (no challenge). My wife handles the bills, so I never see the money. We have kids, so most of our free time is devoted to them, the house, the cars, etc. What I realized was that I had forgotten what I enjoy (beyond video games, which were an incredible time sink). I sat down and started making a list of all the things that I like to do - no matter how small, or how obvious. That's given me something to work for (like saving money to scuba dive, or fix up my bicycle).

I also started back running and weight-training, which helps improve my mood too (more energy). I've started new job responsibilities at work, which has helped get me out of my funk there - it's incredible was hard-working people will do (meaning, they forget that they can automate), so automating most of my new responsibilities is my new mountain to climb.

roxstar• 16 years ago

Try structuring yourself to a schedule, start off easy with things you can manage and move to a stricter and stricter schedule.

The best way to develop a habit is to practice that habit, it won't happen right away but if you can dedicate yourself it will happen.

Umalu• 16 years ago

It sounds from this like you aren't being challenged enough. For some people that is a good thing, as they like the idea of sitting around doing nothing 90% of the day. But it sounds like you want something more, and I expect you will not find it unless you are working in a much more challenging environment. Bluff yourself into a place where you have little idea what to do. Once you're scrambling around trying to keep your head above water, you'll lose your laziness. Or realize that's what you prefer.

arctangent2• 16 years ago

You need to ask yourself whether you are happy with your current standard of life.

If you are, then well done! You have found a job that pays for you to have the amount of free time that you want, at a level of effort that you are happy with.

If you want to earn more money then you will presumably have to find another job that pays more but which requires a few more hours of your time to do well.

I guess you just need to decide whether you want to be making more money through your salaried job (and having fewer hours to do with as you want) or whether you are happy being paid in your current position.

arctangent2• 16 years ago

I should make clear that I think you still have a "job" if you work for yourself. Otherwise my response doesn't make a lot of sense :-)

jimboyoungblood2• 16 years ago

The job is crushing your soul. Quit and go do something you give a damn about.

lazylazylazy• 16 years ago

I guess that's basically my plan; I am saving like 40% of my bring-home pay every month. My plan is to travel with it until I am broke. But I am in a lease until the end of May; and have only recently gotten in the black after dealing with debt and outstanding legal issues (~4k in cash). I estimate I will have ~10k at the end of May for that purpose. (no family or significant ohter)

jimboyoungblood2• 16 years ago

instead of traveling, maybe you should try to start your own business with that capital instead. for someone with the degenerate poker player personality type, the only sustainable career paths are vagrancy and owning a business.

silverlake• 16 years ago

I am the King of Laziness. If I'm given a hard deadline I work hard and get stuff done. On my own I'm useless. I've been looking into cognitive behavioral therapy. If it's effective, then I'll be cured. If it's not, then it serves as a commitment device to Get Stuff Done. Of course, I haven't gotten around to locating a therapist. <insert procrastination joke here>

Designer• 16 years ago

This is really some core "who am I" type issues. I had a similiar situation 15 years ago where I fell into a depression. I was talked into doing a weekend seminar by Landmark Education. It might sound hokey but I found it to be so powerfull that after the weekend I shut down my business, sold my house and ended up starting a new business 6 months later that ended up making me quite wealthy. Obviously not everyone will have the same results but if you want something to shake you out of complacency I can't think of a quicker, better way to do it.

PonyGumbo• 16 years ago

I did Landmark's entire program (the two weekend courses plus a weekly, multi-month program). I got something out of it, too, but to be honest, it's not cheap - and there's really nothing there beyond what you you'll find in a decent pop-psych book. In the end, I became extremely uncomfortable with the increasing pressure to enroll friends and family, and chose not to continue with it.

joshdotsmith• 16 years ago

You may think this is coming from left field, but have you ever considered talking to a therapist/psychiatrist about this? This sounds a lot like ADHD to me.

I'm 24 and was just recently diagnosed. Like you, I'd spent years of my life needing to the minimum and yet excelling at nearly everything I've done. Still, something wasn't quite right, and things began to get worse.

You sound very much like me pre-diagnosis (and, unfortunately, post-diagnosis, too). I'm currently taking Adderall which has allowed me to focus and get certain unpleasant things done, but I'm suffering from a real lack of skills in organization.

My advice is to talk to someone about this. And if you'd like, you can feel free to email me (josh at goals dot com). I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have and talk more about my own experiences. After all, the only reason why I'm on HN is because of my ADHD: I founded Goals to help me build a tool for myself.

complacent• 15 years ago

I'm in the same boat you are right now. I still haven't found a way out of the slump that I have fallen into. I make an absorbent amount of money doing a job that I despise but have become so comfortable with my lifestyle that I am unwilling to leave. Thanks for writing this post; I know we are all a little complacent sometimes, but you have said word for word what I am feeling. Just glad to hear others with the same issues.

Anyone else really, really lazy?

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