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arnanzo
Community Member

Sudden inability to work

Hello Everyone, hope you're all good and having a great time working.

 

I wanted to talk to you today about a certain phase I go through and to see if any of you go through the same thing from time to time and what you do to overcome this?

 

When you're doing great work, everything is so smooth, you finish 12 hours tasks in 2 hours and you feel like you're on fire... then suddenly, you cannot work.. you keep distracting yourself with anything, boring things suddenly becomes very interesting, every time you sit down to start working you become hungry, sleepy, tired, missing family members and HAVE to call them NOW. and you keep doing that until you are few hours to the deadline and you start working really fast to deliver before the deadline and you get angry with yourself for wasting so much time instead of finishing the work in hand and actually take more jobs.

 

Thank goodness I haven't missed a deadline before, and always have satisfied clients, but this state of mind is worrying me that maybe soon I might just not be able to meet a deadline because of this, and I read a lot of articles and nothing helped

 

do you experience such a phase? any idea why it happens or how to overcome it?

ACCEPTED SOLUTION


@Tarek S wrote:

Well, I might have not explained it correctly, but it is more like getting bored maybe? I've been doing this for 12 years, maybe being at home all the time cause this cause I hardly have any other activity other than working and walking my puppy... I'm trying to get over this, and your answers have helped me a lot and I'd like to thank you all for your input


Hi Tarek,

I think it sounds like a work/life balance thing. But if you live in the northern hemisphere and this feeling hits more in winter, also check into whether using a full-spectrum light might be something that could help. Sometimes people shift their working hours when they freelance because they don't necessarily have to work on a particular schedule, so you might not be getting a lot of natural daylight.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20364...

We don't really have to leave the house that much either if we don't want to. It could help you to shift what you do slightly, or just make any change that will alter your routine a bit or get you talking to new people (who are not clients). You could do just about anything to try to make a change: take a class, join a choir, volunteer, join a club, learn a new skill or whatever seems appealing. 

Sometimes it can help to look at the types of tasks that bog you down. A Canadian procrastination researcher (Tim Pychyl) has come up with this list of characteristics for tasks that tend to make people procrastinate:

Screen Shot 2018-12-09 at 3.02.00 PM.png


I find that if I can diagnose what's going wrong using this list, it sometimes helps me to either work with it, or even better, avoid taking projects that look like potential hits for any of these items in the future. 



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22 REPLIES 22
fkose1993
Community Member

I divide projects into tasks then save them with realistic deadlines using task management services. Doesn't matter when I work on the task, as soon as I complete it properly before deadline.   Before starting to work on task, I do something that I enjoy like watching an episode of the office randomly while having snacks (probably not the healtiest thing to do),  listening music, playing darts etc to relax.  Then I take coffee / tea and start working.  After I finish task, I mark it as completed on task manager. It's my favourite feeling 🙂  Then I do more things that I enjoy as positive reinforcement. (I could also slap myself if I fail to complete task as negative reinforcement.)

I think this is a good solution

kfarnell
Community Member

Time spent eating, sleeping, resting or with family is not time wasted. It sounds as if you aren't taking enough time out so your body is forcing you to. If you schedule time for such things, it won't be an issue.

 

 

jr-translation
Community Member


@Tarek S wrote:

Hello Everyone, hope you're all good and having a great time working.

 

I wanted to talk to you today about a certain phase I go through and to see if any of you go through the same thing from time to time and what you do to overcome this?

 

When you're doing great work, everything is so smooth, you finish 12 hours tasks in 2 hours and you feel like you're on fire... then suddenly, you cannot work.. you keep distracting yourself with anything, boring things suddenly becomes very interesting, every time you sit down to start working you become hungry, sleepy, tired, missing family members and HAVE to call them NOW. and you keep doing that until you are few hours to the deadline and you start working really fast to deliver before the deadline and you get angry with yourself for wasting so much time instead of finishing the work in hand and actually take more jobs.

 

Thank goodness I haven't missed a deadline before, and always have satisfied clients, but this state of mind is worrying me that maybe soon I might just not be able to meet a deadline because of this, and I read a lot of articles and nothing helped

 

do you experience such a phase? any idea why it happens or how to overcome it?


It is calld the Instant Gratification Monkey.

 

I did this all the time, and still do to some degree.

 

My first solution to this whole issue was to only take on clients who never gave me deadlines, where I could just submit work whenever I want to. That worked fine for a while, until I realized that I'm not actually making any money. 

 

Now I'm on my second solution, and this so far works fine. I still only have clients who don't give me deadlines (except for one but that just takes 45 minutes every Monday, so I get that done just before I go to bed...), but I make deadlines for myself. And I'm not talking about the stuff you add to a calendar of some sort yourself, because those you can just move to the next day. That doesn't work for me. What I do is that whenever a clients sends me more work I reply with a date for when I will deliver. That means i either have to deliver by that date, or I'll have to get back to the client and tell them that there is a delay. And that I never do, so I always manage to deliver on the date I said I would.

 

The trick is to give yourself long deadlines, that leaves enough time for procrastination. For instant a couple of days ago someone asked me to do something next weekend, and I said no as I'm gonna be working. I have promised a client to deliver a project the following Monday, so I know it will be a long weekend with work, so no time for fun stuff. However, Monday to Wednesday I'm free, because I have to rest a bit before going in to all nighters in the weekend. So yes, a normal person would rather do the work earlier in the week, and take the weekend off. But I know myself, and that plan would never work for me. So I just take time off earlier to make up for the panic mode work later in the week. 

 

It sounds completely insane, but it works somehow. It's like in the video Jennifer shared. The panic monster comes at some point, and that one always wins over the monkey. But before the monster shows up nothing productive is happening.

________________________
Freelancing is a gamble - To win you need skill, luck and a strategy
booksist
Community Member

I'd love to say "if you're not ill or something, it is not inability - it's sheer laziness, and stop with it already" but sadly I know exactly what you're talking about.

 

The two things that I found helpful are

- sleep at least 7-8 hours at night, and your focus will improve (this always works, and it works for everyone, no exceptions)

- free time ≠ screen time

 

Also, I'm not proud to say this, but the other day I wrote four (!) articles for a client. I was so deeply into the subject matter that it didn't require any research, but still... And the last time I wrote something for my very own dear lovely literary Medium publication was over a year ago! 

 

I think of myself as of a self-driven person - which I am when compared with an average human (and which all of you are -- otherwise, you'd never be able to freelance) -- and I still frequently wait for an outside force to make me do something. That's just horrible!

Weeks might go by with me starting work at nine and finishing at 4....non-stop except to go do the essentials...you know, tea, a sandwich, the loo....

 

Then, like now, I go into a slump. For the past few days I have had to force myself to do anything. The reason for this is that all my deadlines are met and the only work I have is stuff that a client needs done 'at some point' and that is not essential. So I do a little...faff in the garden...do a little...go ' oooo look at the butterfly' ...work a little...decide dusting is a DEFINITE MUST RIGHT NOW!....and so I go on. 

 

Next week, however, the milestones are going to come in again...and I am going to be overworked, focussed, and loving it.

 

Meh. Yes! I KNOW I am weird. No need to remind me.

 

 

In all honesty, I do not do this. I am able to work consistently. I do not say that to be condescending. I say that in a ruminating way: As I consider this aspect of my personality, it occurs to me that it contributes to what makes me a successful freelancer. (I have simply never been a procrastinator. Delay and unfinished tasks create too much anxiety for me.)

No matter whether the job is small or big, exciting or boring, I try to finish it as soon as possible.

 

That way I have time for other things that I like.

 

"Certa bonum certamen"

Well, I might have not explained it correctly, but it is more like getting bored maybe? I've been doing this for 12 years, maybe being at home all the time cause this cause I hardly have any other activity other than working and walking my puppy... I'm trying to get over this, and your answers have helped me a lot and I'd like to thank you all for your input


@Tarek S wrote:

Well, I might have not explained it correctly, but it is more like getting bored maybe? I've been doing this for 12 years, maybe being at home all the time cause this cause I hardly have any other activity other than working and walking my puppy... I'm trying to get over this, and your answers have helped me a lot and I'd like to thank you all for your input


Hi Tarek,

I think it sounds like a work/life balance thing. But if you live in the northern hemisphere and this feeling hits more in winter, also check into whether using a full-spectrum light might be something that could help. Sometimes people shift their working hours when they freelance because they don't necessarily have to work on a particular schedule, so you might not be getting a lot of natural daylight.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20364...

We don't really have to leave the house that much either if we don't want to. It could help you to shift what you do slightly, or just make any change that will alter your routine a bit or get you talking to new people (who are not clients). You could do just about anything to try to make a change: take a class, join a choir, volunteer, join a club, learn a new skill or whatever seems appealing. 

Sometimes it can help to look at the types of tasks that bog you down. A Canadian procrastination researcher (Tim Pychyl) has come up with this list of characteristics for tasks that tend to make people procrastinate:

Screen Shot 2018-12-09 at 3.02.00 PM.png


I find that if I can diagnose what's going wrong using this list, it sometimes helps me to either work with it, or even better, avoid taking projects that look like potential hits for any of these items in the future. 



creativedigit
Community Member

Tarek,

You shouldn't be looking for technicalities because I bet you already know how to manage your workload. Focus on the emotional side of things. This happens when you are not happy from the inside. You need to have a meaning for your life and find people who care for you (and you care for them). Could be a friend, girlfriend, wife. When you have someone you love and care for in your life, you'll want to finish your work quickly so you can spend more time with them and do the things that make you happy.

Blessings,
Wassim

Honestly I think this experience is pretty normal if you are generally quite busy. The mind wants new and different challenges. If you indeed find yourself missing deadlines or delivering lower quality work, I would then worry about it. Otherwise I would take it as something that most go through and your brains way of shaking things up. 

vsalinitro
Community Member

I used to have the same problem, my solution to stop procrastinating is to write down everything.

Every week (sometimes every two days, depending on the workload) I write down what I have to do, deadlines, progress and so on, and when I start slacking, I take my piece of paper and check my "To Do" list. I found out this really helps and keeps me focused and,  weirdly, motivated.


@Valerio S wrote:

I used to have the same problem, my solution to stop procrastinating is to write down everything.

Every week (sometimes every two days, depending on the workload) I write down what I have to do, deadlines, progress and so on, and when I start slacking, I take my piece of paper and check my "To Do" list. I found out this really helps and keeps me focused and,  weirdly, motivated.


Sometimes I find I can start avoiding my "To Do" list if projects are particularly complicated or if it's not clear what I'm accomplishing. The "ambiguity" point on Pychyl's list is an interesting source of slowdown for me.  

As an alternative, I started doing a reverse list, my "To Done List."  I write down what I've done. Sometimes that's a more motivational way to get out of a stall than looking at a long list of items that need doing. I also write down things I've attempted and alternate things to try if I'm running into problems on particular projects. 

Hello Tarek, how have you been? I read your original post with a surprised amusement. It was like reading something I had written in the past. There are some very good advice here and I want to add mine.

 

What you write really sounds like seasonal affective disorder as Renata pointed out or a very mild case of bipolar disorder. When I realized I was having difficulties like you I looked to past and saw that I had been having them since highschool.  I lost my will to work/study for a couple of months every year. I had it again at the start of the summer but it was not as intense as winter.

 

Now I have a very bright daylight bulb that’s on all day and my desk is next to a very large window. I feel good about this placing and light but I’m not sure if it helps or not because I’m also using medication.

 

What I’ll write here is not medical advice. This is what I’m doing to be able to feel normal. There is a medication called modafinil which is sold as Provigil, Modiodal, Modiwake, etc. I take 1 mg every morning when I open my eyes or even before getting up. It is a wonderful drug used for narcolepsy patients and it also keeps you alert and focused without any side effects. I also use a low dose SSRI antidepressant. There are lots of those and some with different effects but I found the SSRI ones to be most helpful. I use “vortioxetine” sold as Brintellix, Trintellix… This drug doesn’t cause the “brain fog” you "might" experience with other SSRI’s. I use 5mg every day. This drug doesn’t affect instantly, it should be used for 2 weeks for the effects to be felt, has some mild side effects which also disappear after 2 weeks. Don’t believe songs saying that drugs don’t work. They do work.

 

Even with these I feel lazy and unfocused for the first 2 months of winter but to be aware makes things easier (you just wait for it to pass) and the drugs minimize those.

The physical, mental, and emotional effects of light deprivation are very real. I can't comment on the use of medications but fully second Baris' suggestion to look into a light designed specifically to simulate sunny natural daylight.

 

It worked for me I was living in Boston.


@Wendy C wrote:

The physical, mental, and emotional effects of light deprivation are very real. I can't comment on the use of medications but fully second Baris' suggestion to look into a light designed specifically to simulate sunny natural daylight.

 

It worked for me I was living in Boston.


@Wendy
It's not something that people normally consider, but the effects can be quite profound. Like the carbohydrate cravings. I remember this from  living in Vancouver (which is like living on Noah's ark in the winter -- 40 continuous days and nights of rain is not an uncommon weather occurence).  I found I couldn't get through the morning without a 16-oz coffee and a double chocolate muffin at coffee break. It also did a number on my motivation and concentration. And I started to become an extreme night owl -- not to mention gaining weight from all those double chocolate muffins. 🙂


@Renata S wrote:

I remember this from  living in Vancouver (which is like living on Noah's ark in the winter -- ..


 And you don't even mention constant danger of stampede...

LOL ...

 

Renata, my cravings during the "Big Dark" were for veggies - the greener the better. And all kinds of hearty bean based soups.   As far as coffee - that's always been there.

 

sergio-soria
Community Member

It doesn't happen to me while working here, but it did happen when I was working in a regular job from 9 to 6 some years ago, and I believe it's anxiety and being tired mentally. I suggest you take your time to rest well at night and also reserve at least 3 hours of your week to play some sports or physical activity. That will help you.


@Sergio S wrote:

It doesn't happen to me while working here, but it did happen when I was working in a regular job from 9 to 6 some years ago, and I believe it's anxiety and being tired mentally. I suggest you take your time to rest well at night and also reserve at least 3 hours of your week to play some sports or physical activity. That will help you.


Yes! This works for me. It burns off some of the excess anxiety and it helps me sleep better. Not to mention the fact that hitting things in an socially acceptable context can help to release a lot of frustration. 

🙂

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