Well, you could associate a reward to that kind of tasks. For example, you can allow yourself to work half a day. Alternatively, you can make a task you would like to do (say, watch a new movie) to be blocked until the unwanted task is done. "Peter Neilson" writes: > On Thu, 11 Oct 2018 10:03:15 -0400, Bingo wrote: > >> Le 10 octobre 2018 21:45:53 GMT+05:30, Marcin Borkowski >> a écrit : >> >>> >>> - a warning when my efficiency is lower than a set value, and info >>> about >>> how much work I need to do to bump it up to that value. >>> >> >> Nice, but it has an anti-feature. For procrastinators, warnings >> frequently have negative effects. It can be understood in multiple ways : >> >> 1. "What the hell" effect : As Dr Art Marckman tells in the book "Smart >> Change" , there is a "what the hell" effect where the victim goofs off >> even more to the extent of giving up a goal if he realizes that he is >> falling behind schedule, or has goofed off more than was advisable. The >> solution is to forgive oneself, and not beat oneself up. This warning >> looks like beating oneself up. >> >> 2. Showing how much work needs to be done to catch up goes against some >> self improvement philosophies. E.g. dividing work into subtasks helps in >> not getting overwhelmed by the amount of work. Or the recommendation to >> plan breaks in addition to planning to slog, otherwise the plan to slog >> becomes overwhelming and procrastinators give up. >> >> Of course, if it works for you, go for it. > > Sabotage of the TODO list ... > > Managing the flow of my own work sometimes runs into unintended sabotage, > perpetrated by others or by me. The offending tasks are often large, > incapable of division, and not immediately crucial. For example, somewhere > in the middle of my list of "Get it done some other time, but not now," > tasks is this one: "Repair the International 454 tractor." It rests > comfortably on that list unless I either (1) need to use that tractor, or > (2) hear my wife telling me, "Why don't you ever get the 454 running? You > never get anything done around here! I need to use its bucket, and the > Mahindra doesn't have one." From that point onward, and my "TODO" thoughts > about writing, about programming, or about training horses are derailed. > In case (1) I need to figure out some other approach, like maybe using the > Mahindra. In case (2) my wife is right--as always--and my tendency is to > stop doing anything at all. > > My org mode TODO list is absolutely no help when I encounter one of these > show-stoppers. If anything, the list is an additional albatross adding to > my already encroaching depression. > > Maybe I need a brain-wave detector, connecting through emacs-lisp AI code > to a huge Pomodoro-style graphic display, that will alert me when I am > goofing off, falling asleep, or practicing mental evasion. >