I've found that both "to date" and "to go" thinking impede my ability to get the task done. If I focus on what I have left "to go", the problem seems insurmountable, my stress level goes through the roof, and I never get started on what's left.

Instead, I've found that the only way to make progress on a serious long-term goal is to focus on "What can I do now?" It's completely present-oriented, neither past nor future. I forget about everything I've done and forget about everything I'm going to do, and think about only what I'm about to accomplish in the next couple hours.

I started a 20% project with the express purpose of training myself to finish large, far-off, independent goals with a minimum of stress, because all my previous projects have hit the wall of "This is too big, I can't ever finish this on my own". When I started, I set the rule for myself: I wouldn't be bound by deadlines or obsess over the "right" way to do things, I'd only care that every time I had some free time, I'd make a little progress on it. It seems to have worked so far, as it's been a lot more fun on a project that's been intrinsically more boring than many past projects.

I find the best way for me to keep going on a project is to keep a list of things I still want to do, but never more than 5-10. I don't think too far into the future, but rather think, "what's the next thing I could do to to make this more awesome." A key piece is to try to make it such that at every step it actually does something and isn't stuck in the state of being "in progress".

If my list ever gets too long from all the things I think I should do, I just cross off things that aren't important. It keeps me focused on actionable things that will make a real difference.

For some reason I feel more and more tired the closer I get to finishing. It applies to finishing a programming task late at night or running a certain distance. When I know I'm close to the goal, suddenly my eyelids start to droop or my legs feel heavy. I fix it by thinking that maybe I will start another task tonight or run an extra loop on the trail... and sometimes I do, which is an extra bonus.

I've found that focusing on the present is also the best way to run long distances. If I over-think the run, how much I've gone, how much I have to go, etc., I'm likely to quit early.

My problem with this type of argument/technique is they constantly identify a completion state.

Stop thinking about completion, and start thinking about milestones (waypoints, checkpoints, revisions, whatever). A popular startup mantra is release early and often; another popular startup technique is to release unfinished.

I say we need to stop thinking about what's been done, and also stop thinking about what needs to be accomplished before we are finished. Think about what needs to be completed for the next checkpoint.

In the ever-popular race metaphor: Put your right foot in front of your left, then put your left foot in front of your right. Congratulations, you made it one step further. Tell everyone what you accomplished, then take the next step.

Using this concept, the hard part becomes determining what exactly constitutes a step. This is no small task, but it seems easier to deal with than constant concern about 'finishing'.

I agree.

Let's extend the article's advice. Suppose, for the sake of argument, your minions do work harder when you remind them how much they have to do and how little time to do it. It follows that they'll work harder still if you mislead them about how much time they have left, and set an artificial deadline.

Now, class, pick up Peopleware, and turn to page 1.

Read the abstract of the paper; it's a much clearer summary than this article, which ignores the second control condition of "surety of commitment." http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/94/2/183/

"To-go thinking" actually causes me to procrastinate... Because I have plenty of time left.

Instead, I find that getting it 'working' with the minimum features, then adding more and more provides that sense of accomplishment while motivating me to continue making it better.

A lot of people will say 'Of course!' but once upon a time I didn't work like that. I would plan it all from the start and you couldn't do ANYTHING with it until it was almost completely done.

Now, I just plan broadly enough to make sure I'm not preventing any needed feature, and then work on making it work as quickly as possible.

Totally agree "Koo and Fishbach's studies consistently show that when we are pursuing a goal and consider how far we've already come, we feel a premature sense of accomplishment and begin to slack off." So Advise is to look at what is left to be done. This advise will surely turn procrastinator into an expert procrastinator :)

> "To-go thinking" actually causes me to procrastinate... Because I have plenty of time left.

You are focusing on the time left. IMHO, This is not what the article recommends. You should focus on the tasks left.

Yes, I have plenty of time left to finish all the tasks.

The focus needs to remove the concept of time and just frame the mind to think about tasks. This is a foundation of the Pomodoro Technique.

I find it easy to obsess on optimizing parts of a project before the whole is complete. Focusing on getting pieces into a working state as soon as possible helps relieve a lot of the stress. And generally I find it less stressful to have something that's good enough and have extra time to attempt to make it better. I also make sure, even if it's good enough, to not present the done project until I've had time to at least attempt to optimize. Early presenting of 'good enough' often results in 'more projects'.

Does this validate negative self talk that most people say you shouldn't do? Let's say someone (cough me cough) has a lot of weight to lose. I could approach it as either "I've eaten pretty well this week, I can keep doing it" or "Jeez, I'm still a fatty, I need to keep losing weight".

Nearly everyone would say to focus on the first type of statement and not the second, but this article seems to contradict that. I'm sure the amount of magnitude of the negativity would play a role as well.

It sounds like you're focusing on a different dichotomy (positive or negative reinforcement). The two ways of thinking the article deals with are more like (for a diet goal to lose a total of 30 pounds, as an example) "I've already lost 14 pounds" or "I still have 16 pounds to lose". I think the article implies that the former is more likely to lead to congradulatory mindsets, maybe justification for slacking off, while the latter keeps focus on what you have to do to acheive your 'end game'.

As far as focussing on positivity or negativity, most everyone will say think positive, because they want to be encouraging and not seem/feel mean. For yourself though, you need to discover how motivation works for you. There are definitely people who are driven by the things they hate, or at least an emphasis on what needs improvement.

There's a third choice: "I need to do X until Y to reach my goal on time." No negatives, no positives... Simply facts. This is more what the article is suggesting.

However, dieting is a different animal. You aren't building something. You don't have hands-on control of the situation. The best you can do is alter some metadata and hope the right outcome occurs. Less food, more exercise... You can't actually say 'If I jog for 10 more minutes, I'll lose .2 lbs." It just isn't measurable like that.

It is measurable, but it's not as easy as in your example. A single 4-5 hour long run burns a pound of fat (and uses many times that much water) for a moderately fit man. If effort isn't made to regain that fat, it's gone. In general, I think an hour for .2lbs of fat is probably a good bet. Running is one of the greatest fat burning exercises there is, and it also protects muscle and bone density in a way that pure dieting won't. But most people vastly, vastly underestimate the amount of work it takes.

Not sure why this was downvoted, s/he asks a valid question. I didn't read the article, but I know that personally some level of negativity is helpful, because I am very prone to saying "Look, I'm <positive trait/accomplishment>, so I shouldn't worry about not achieving goal X"

Really interesting that it's not that the future looks too daunting, it's that past progress is so satisfying? Not what I would have thought intuitively.

The tough part with startups is you often don't even know what "to go" is. Even if you have an idea about what you think it is, you still need to constantly re-evaluate.

Agreed but for me, the uncertainty helps fight the procrastination. Not knowing how much is left keeps me humble and working.

I break the goal into doable tasks and challenge myself towards the accomplishment of each task. Each task has a timeline so I can pace myself. I then know when in the future I an going to be complete so I really don't worry about it, I can enjoy the coding. The final task always seems to be testing, I hate testing.

I've done my share of endurance athletics and as an alternative to the 'how far approach' instead focused on the moment. I usually use phrases such as relax, long and smooth, etc... and knew the distance would take care of itself.