Working fast and slow

When I’m in the zone, problems seem more straightforward. Even complex tasks feel pretty doable. Once I notice that, I try to pack my time with high-priority work only. I’ll put off responding to all but really important messages (Slack’s “remind me later” is a great feature). I also try as hard as I can to avoid multi-tasking, so I can keep my entire attention on getting a single task right at a time. If I feel like continuing to work through the evening, I let myself do that, knowing I’ll give myself the time back the next day or the one after that.

When I’m not in the zone, every task seems complex and rife with booby-traps. I feel like I have to proceed defensively and avoid taking risks. On days like these, I try and knock out easy wins and don’t worry so much about prioritization. I do a lot of general talking and bouncing between multiple projects. I don’t feel so bad about stopping work earlier than usual, knowing that at some point I’ll make it up with a period of hard focus

I’ve been reading Sean Goedecke’s blog for a few weeks now, and it is exceptionally helpful to hear these words at this point in my career.

This post spoke to me because I’m working on a project at work where it’s been hard to achieve flow for consistent periods of time.

I’m sharing this to remind myself that it’s okay to have rough days, and the important thing is to be honest with yourself and show up every day, even (especially?) if you don’t want to.

My latest self-improvement experiment is determining what environmental factors will induce flow. I can’t seem to find the right album, the right physical space, the right combination of stimulants and exercise, the right amount of “small wins”, whatever it might be to help trigger the excitement that comes when I get into flow.

The most consistently successful approach has been to completely accept my current situation and problem solve as best I can in that exact moment. In other words, I ask myself: how can I win this moment?