Chasing Productivity

I am guilty of always trying to find the best study setup, or best software development routine, or best plugins for my text editor, or tweaking my desktop or server configuration so that everything is just right. I trick myself into thinking that I’m doing something useful (which it might be), but I end up putting off the task that I’m supposed to be doing.

Examples of time-wasters have been 1) tweaking my VSCode or Neovim setup with all the extensions and settings, 2) installing and using a Linux distribution (and wiping if I have too many packages), 3) endlessly changing my NixOS configuration, 4) being indecisive on the server purchase and setup, 5) switching note-taking workflows between handwritten notes, Notability, OneNote, plain markdown files, neorg files, Apple reminders, and more, 6) adding unnecessary services to my homelab, and 7) trying to migrate all of my personal notes to the Zettelkasten system because I saw it mentioned on YouTube one time.

I productively procrastinate.

Lately, I have been addressing this “productivity-killer” in two ways:

1. If I am trying to find the best setup,
   • I stop myself and just use what I already have. No frills, if something doesn’t work, then I change it accordingly (see 2.)
   • Setups, whether for coding, note-taking, reading, etc. evolve over time to fit the user
2. If I am obsessing over “distraction” tasks,
   • I ask myself, “do I need to finish this today?”, “is this task pertinent?”, or “can this just wait until the weekend?”
   • 9 times out of 10, the answer is that the task can wait. I can either add the task to my agenda (if it’s life related) or add it as a task on GitHub (if it’s coding related)

One of the worst habits I have is where I need everything to be right in order for my day to be “productive.” For example, I need to wake up at 6 AM, I need to have my water/tea/coffee, I need to get to work by 7:30 AM, I need to check my email, and so on. If there is any deviation from the plan, I freak out and feel like the whole day is ruined.

I talked to my manager about this, and she jokingly brought up the analogy about spilled milk. If I let the day be ruined, it’s the same as just spilling the rest of the cup, rather than enjoying what is left. I just need to learn to roll with the punches instead of being a control freak about life.

Just do only what you need to do. Do what works for you.