Comment by TeMPOraL
21 hours ago
I built my whole career on focusing on the wrong thing. In fact, focusing on the right thing makes me slow down, struggle, and get bogged down with frustration. I still learn 10+x faster when focusing on the wrong thing, and after two decades of this, I now know I have to regularly focus on the wrong thing with passion - those are the moments I pick up knowledge and experience that, few months to years later, people pay me to apply to their problems.
Structured procrastination [1, 2] was invented full 30 yeas ago, and works very well, given some skill.
[1]: https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-to-procrastinate-and-s...
[2]: https://pennyzenker360.com/how-to-procrastinate-and-still-be...
This is me. I’ve gamified it to the extent that, to control my passion, I play tricks to ensure that the right thing becomes the wrong thing. My brain must believe it is procrastinating.
For example, I often don’t pay my bills (the money isn’t the issue). I have to have sufficient debts that they become convincing boogeymen. Work can’t feel like escape if there’s nothing to escape from.
I love this. Feel like I’m the same way. I also feel like some of this “focusing on the wrong thing” is sharpening the saw, preparing my mind and my environment for greater productivity. As long as I eventually return to the right things.