As you might have noticed, my recent post count suffered a tremendous drop. And surprisingly, work has nothing to do with it. It is just a dangerous attack of laziness that I can not shake off. In my spare time, I have become lazy to a point, where writing this article took about a month of preparation and it is written now only because I am out of moves in Triple Town and Bejeweled can entertain me only so far. Yes, I admit, I am lazy to a point where I cannot be bothered even playing a proper PC game. There are latest X-COM (and all 4 original parts), Civ5 and FM2013 waiting for me patiently in Steam, but haven’t run them in ages.

This state is mindboggling to me. I can not stand laziness. I am usually found writing my own projects or just surfing latest development tech sites in the wee hours of the morning. Lately, not so much. So all of this got me thinking. How to get out of this funk?

Step 1: Find the trigger

Each and every funk has a trigger, a root cause, that put you in a situation you are in now. The problem is that in a funk, you are the least probable person to find it, as you are in no state to reflect on your past decisions. For me, and I know this for a long time, the problem is in an old software project I am involved with my best friends since ever (or rather 2002). Don’t get me wrong, the project is ownage. It is used to run a small brewery, which suits my geeky love for low level industrial development (I thankfully had almost nothing to do with MFC development) as well as my love of beer. The thing is though, that after 11 years, I really have problems motivating when new feature request arrives and that worries me. And currently, I am supposed to add support for cooling tanks.

Cooling tanks might only work for me, though, and you might have a totally different trigger. It doesn’t matter. Find it and embrace it.

Step 2: You can not change history

Embraced your trigger yet? Now think about it. What were decisions that lead you to a point where trigger, well, triggered? It doesn’t matter if it was one or 1000 of them, the thing is, you can not change them. You can, however, use them to your own good the next time you face a tough decision.

My problem is that a project leader is my best friend and I have a problem saying ‘no’. One is inter-weaved with another to a point where I do not say ‘no’ to a feature assigned to me purely to avoid disappointing a friend. And that is not fair. Not to me, not to the project and definitely not to my friend. And that is depressing and depression leads to lack of motivation, which leads to laziness. And that is a problem.

Step 3: Just finish the damn thing and be over with it!

The thing with work induced funks is that they are over the minute you are, but it is just so darn hard to get it done, because your motivation is near or at nil. My advice… Finish the darn thing and be over with it. Not now. Yesterday!

My lazy stint is going to end as soon I release a new version. Software part I had to do is already in alpha stage, which means I only have to do some serious testing and bug fixing (which I normally love), and I am done. But… I am stalling this for as long as possible, because, frankly, I find Triple Town more satisfying at the moment.

That said… it is probably best that I now try to test the bugger. Even if it means only getting rid of those pesky ninja bears.