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Comment by manic85 | Hacker News Reader

I've found a combination of keeping a journal, having self-compassion, and having something to prove to be the key to sticking with a self-study regimen.

Journaling helps document progress and provides notes that you can transcribe to a spaced repetition system (i.e. flashcards) for long term retention.

Self-compassion is key for picking yourself up after you feel overwhelmed by a topic and quit for the day, which will happen. You have to not be so hard on yourself and understand that there will be good days and bad so that you can build the long term stamina needed to see the project through.

Having something to prove (i.e. I'm a business guy but I can learn coding too; I know I'm smart enough to score high on the GMAT/LSAT whatever and get into the school of my dreams, etc etc) is often what motivates me the most. It gives you that "why" that you need to keep yourself focused on finishing in the face of so many distractions until the project is done.

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That's an interesting approach, but I feel like you are describing a slightly different problem than the op is talking about, or at least I have.

Once I pick something to work on I have no problem staying motivated or sticking with it. I've also never felt bad about myself running into roadblocks. My problem is that there are too many interesting things to work on, I have a hard time picking from them, leading to FOMA for all the other things I can't pick. What I'm looking for is not so much a way to stick with a task, but rather a system to help me "manage" my life, deciding which of 1,000 potential thing has the highest payoff, and how to balance them.

Google Keep... put them in order.

I dont think there is a way to know which one thing in the list of potential 1000 things, will be the one that has highest payoff. And the definition of payoff also depends on what your goals are. For examples, learning computer networking concepts will have different payoff for someone who wants to get a PhD in Machine Learning (it will help him/her write better software maybe, or add to his/her list of employable skills), vs someone who is building distributed systems. So you have to take some bets. Think about stuff like what one or two things you can learn in next 6 months that will get you closer to your most coveted goals. And just try to focus on them. If there are more than 1/2 things, filter them out based on what gets you excited more. At the end, its all about your perspective.

Check this post out: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22792829. Some relevant tips in there to what you describe. The book in the top comment wasn’t a panacea for me but it was helpful in working through some of the issues you describe (or my personal version of them at least).

have you tried the regret-minimzation angle?

I did not write it but I keep this in my notes when I have such doubts ->

Circle of competence (read about it on wiki as well):

Short-term

What job can you be hired for an hold for a year and make the most money? If you forced yourself to make money doing one job and holding onto that job for at least one year, what would you do? What skills does that entail? If you're not sure, go network and interview. What gigs can you get right now and get folks to pay you - whether you advertise on Quora, Facebook, call your friends, family, neighbors, etc.? What skills does that entail? What do people ask you to do more than they ask others to do? That's what they think your circle of competence is. They're part of the market. The market will value your competence whether you like it or not.

Long-term

What do you like doing that is a marketable skill? What do you spend your time doing? You'll get better at something you like doing and keep doing, especially if that skill is in demand and others are not as devoted to it or as interested in it. The things you do which you like doing and spend a lot of time doing - as long as you make sure you keep improving - will become part of your circle of competence.

Yes! I found that once I started putting my achievements and goals on paper, it really motivated me to achieve my goals, and be proud of what I had done so far. Just write down what you did everyday, and what you hope to accomplish tomorrow. It's kinda stupid, but was scary effective for me.

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