Discomfort while trying productivity

[Kurmutziku]

I have noticed that whenever I sit down at my laptop and try to get some productive work done, my head starts to get fuzzy. Really any activities that seem boring to me. I even yawn more frequently. It’s a pretty uncomfortable feeling. This never happens when I’m watching random videos or on my phone messing around. This makes me want to stop and go back to my bad habits. It’s like my mind is so used to instant gratification that long term gratification activities literally make me sick. It’s crazy how programmed I am. Does anyone else deal with this?

 

[posttraumaticnegro]

I think everyone who has some level of internet addiction deals with this to a certain extent. Your brain is used to more stimulation than what you’re getting from your work. Like nofap, you’re probably going to want to take a break from social media and YouTube as well. What you’ll probably notice is that you’re probably just as addicted to those things as you are porn, and giving it a break will settle your baseline dopamine production

 

[Deleted Account]

I have noticed that whenever I sit down at my laptop and try to get some productive work done, my head starts to get fuzzy. Really any activities that seem boring to me. I even yawn more frequently. It’s a pretty uncomfortable feeling. This never happens when I’m watching random videos or on my phone messing around. This makes me want to stop and go back to my bad habits. It’s like my mind is so used to instant gratification that long term gratification activities literally make me sick. It’s crazy how programmed I am. Does anyone else deal with this?

Yes I get this, but didn't before the internet.
I approach it like exercise: set a timer and do some healthy reading, make a note of the time and next day do 1 minute more etc etc. Train your brain to want (and enjoy) more helpful things. It takes work, but it's not that difficult when you do it gradually.
You can do this with things other than reading. Exercise is also important. It's about you taking control.

 

[Deleted Account]

I have noticed that whenever I sit down at my laptop and try to get some productive work done, my head starts to get fuzzy. Really any activities that seem boring to me. I even yawn more frequently. It’s a pretty uncomfortable feeling. This never happens when I’m watching random videos or on my phone messing around. This makes me want to stop and go back to my bad habits. It’s like my mind is so used to instant gratification that long term gratification activities literally make me sick. It’s crazy how programmed I am. Does anyone else deal with this?

Try making “productive activities” more enjoyable and temptations less enjoyable. So when you’re on your phone or your computer, turn on greyscale and disable push notifications. That makes it more boring and less distractible.

 

[Anonymous86]

Try making “productive activities” more enjoyable and temptations less enjoyable. So when you’re on your phone or your computer, turn on greyscale and disable push notifications. That makes it more boring and less distractible.

How can I put certain social media apps on greyscale? Is that possible? Like Twitter?

 

[Deleted Account]

How can I put certain social media apps on greyscale? Is that possible? Like Twitter?

I just use greyscale wholesale- you can do that on your phone settings. For computer I download an app called flux and set it to that.

 

[Kurmutziku]

I think everyone who has some level of internet addiction deals with this to a certain extent. Your brain is used to more stimulation than what you’re getting from your work. Like nofap, you’re probably going to want to take a break from social media and YouTube as well. What you’ll probably notice is that you’re probably just as addicted to those things as you are porn, and giving it a break will settle your baseline dopamine production

Most definitely. I haven’t PMO’ed in over a month and I have noticed I been using these apps as replacements. Sounds like you are talking about a dopamine detox which I agree needs to be done to some extent. Thanks for your response, I hope everything is going well in whatever you are doing.

 

[Kurmutziku]

Yes I get this, but didn't before the internet.
I approach it like exercise: set a timer and do some healthy reading, make a note of the time and next day do 1 minute more etc etc. Train your brain to want (and enjoy) more helpful things. It takes work, but it's not that difficult when you do it gradually.
You can do this with things other than reading. Exercise is also important. It's about you taking control.

For sure, scheduling out time is something I have thought about before too. It seems like a necessity. It's like going to the gym for your mind. I'm tired of being controlled by the internet and dopamine hits. The work we put in will be worth it. Thanks for your reply and wish you the best.

 

[Kurmutziku]

Try making “productive activities” more enjoyable and temptations less enjoyable. So when you’re on your phone or your computer, turn on greyscale and disable push notifications. That makes it more boring and less distractible.

I have tried this for a few minutes on my phone and it felt so weird that I switched it back. I'm sure this is a helpful way that I might try again. Thanks for the tips and good luck in your journey to recovery.

 

[randomname3]

Yes, I'm well acquainted with the feeling. I don't know why or how, but I know it happens to me a lot.

I don't know if there's any way to make it go away, maybe exercise or a nice walk. It's also helpful to figure out reasonable daily goals. For instance, if you're writing a book, writing 1k words a day. Also, changing location and working on the project there is helpful (but not always possible). As you start to work on it and start progressing, the feeling sometimes goes away.

Yet Frankly, those often aren't enough. Push through. It is possible. To prove it, I'm about to go work on my 60k word manuscript , finishing the new section of chapter 1, even though I don't feel like it.

 

[Kurmutziku]

Yes, I'm well acquainted with the feeling. I don't know why or how, but I know it happens to me a lot.

I don't know if there's any way to make it go away, maybe exercise or a nice walk. It's also helpful to figure out reasonable daily goals. For instance, if you're writing a book, writing 1k words a day. Also, changing location and working on the project there is helpful (but not always possible). As you start to work on it and start progressing, the feeling sometimes goes away.

Yet Frankly, those often aren't enough. Push through. It is possible. To prove it, I'm about to go work on my 60k word manuscript , finishing the new section of chapter 1, even though I don't feel like it.

I actually did go for a jog in nature after my last reply which helped the numbing feeling in my face go away. I have written goals for myself before but I wasn't following through with them which led to less trust in myself. Now that I'm on this streak, I feel even more motivated to write goals again. Ultimately it's about pushing through and being persistent. Deleting distractions. I'm sure we can all do what we genuinely put our minds to. That's awesome you are going to do something you don't feel like doing. That already differentiates you from most. Thanks for your feedback, go smash that manuscript.

 

[randomname3]

I actually did go for a jog in nature after my last reply which helped the numbing feeling in my face go away. I have written goals for myself before but I wasn't following through with them which led to less trust in myself. Now that I'm on this streak, I feel even more motivated to write goals again. Ultimately it's about pushing through and being persistent. Deleting distractions. I'm sure we can all do what we genuinely put our minds to. That's awesome you are going to do something you don't feel like doing. That already differentiates you from most. Thanks for your feedback, go smash that manuscript.

Thanks! And just for the record, I actually did go finish that part I was dragging my feet on for the past week. Feels good!