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by vasco 1515 days ago
Why would you grind out something you found you don't want to do? Or on another note, if something really should get done, I think their argument is that this sort of crutch makes you lose the muscle of "just do it and get on with it".
2 comments

> I think their argument is that this sort of crutch makes you lose the muscle of "just do it and get on with it".

I don't have that muscle when it comes to "internal motivation", and decades of floundering have not particularly succeeded in developing it.

The right external motivation - for me, most typically, something along the lines of not wanting to let down the people who are depending upon me in a reasonable manner - means I can absolutely slay it when it comes to getting things done in a 9-5 work environment, and rather than being soul crushing, it's a relief that I can contribute value. I might grumble a bit at the start of my mornings, but getting into the grove of work quickly distracts me from said grumbling. johnthewise's experience is far from universal.

Precommitment in the form of money laden goalposts and checkpoints alone aren't super effective for me, but they do accomplish something.

> Why would you grind out something you found you don't want to do

Because it will be valuable enough to have it done, to be worth it in the long run. My natural internal motivation is terribly shortsighted - to the point that I'll procrastinate on getting myself food when I'm only a little hungry, because cooking, walking, driving, or even ordering sounds like a bother and a chore. Does spending an extra hour or three hungry improve my day overall? It does not.

It's 10AM, I've skipped breakfast, and I'm rather hungry for lunch. My natural instinct is to spend another few hours doomscrolling reddit or HN or otherwise making not particularly good use of my time, even when it comes to the explicit goal of leisure or relaxation. But, instead, I'm going to hunt down some socks, shoes, keys, wallet, sunglasses, mask, jacket, and go out into the beautiful sunny day that I've been hiding away from, and go grab some delicious food I've been looking forward to all week, and improve my day in the process.

And I will grumble slightly along the way, because among other injustices, I will have to "get up".

I have to do X. I don't want to do X but I must finish X. Instead of procrastinating and wasting my entire day on avoiding X, it would be more productive to do X and then do the things I am actually interested in.