He doesn't mention flow, as in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology). Without it, you're pretty much wasting time whether you're at home or at the office. It might be easier to force yourself to do some menial tasks at the office, but it's much easier to get into the flow in peace at home, and then you'll be 10x more productive and able to do real work.
But home has so many distractions. I much prefer me in an office with noise-canceling headphones than working from home in terms of getting into the flow.
The only real distractions I have at home are the cats, whom I can hear even through my big headphones. But a cat's "I need you!" meow is as hard to ignore as a baby's cry.
I've almost finished reading "The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work".[1]
It's based on scientific results, so it's not yet another esoteric self-help book.
Now, back to your question:
If you expect it to suck, it will suck. The author explains with princile #2 (the fulcrum and the lever) how this negative priming turns this into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Now, it might be, that the particular job simply stinks, but usually you can find something positive and just thinking about that shortly before will make that negative feeling go away. My explanation might make it seem simple and useless but I can't possibly replace all the valuable advice from the book. And it works. Give it a shot.
It's a very good read and I recommend it very highly.
Find someone that tells you "WOW that's pretty cool", even if he has little knowledge or experience about what you are doing. This will motivate you a lot.
Comments
He doesn't mention flow, as in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology). Without it, you're pretty much wasting time whether you're at home or at the office. It might be easier to force yourself to do some menial tasks at the office, but it's much easier to get into the flow in peace at home, and then you'll be 10x more productive and able to do real work.
But home has so many distractions. I much prefer me in an office with noise-canceling headphones than working from home in terms of getting into the flow.
The only real distractions I have at home are the cats, whom I can hear even through my big headphones. But a cat's "I need you!" meow is as hard to ignore as a baby's cry.
The big question is, how do you train yourself to get ´in the zone´ when you are working in a project you don´t like with tools you don´t like?
I've almost finished reading "The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work".[1]
It's based on scientific results, so it's not yet another esoteric self-help book.
Now, back to your question: If you expect it to suck, it will suck. The author explains with princile #2 (the fulcrum and the lever) how this negative priming turns this into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Now, it might be, that the particular job simply stinks, but usually you can find something positive and just thinking about that shortly before will make that negative feeling go away. My explanation might make it seem simple and useless but I can't possibly replace all the valuable advice from the book. And it works. Give it a shot.
It's a very good read and I recommend it very highly.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Advantage-Principles-Psychol...
Find someone that tells you "WOW that's pretty cool", even if he has little knowledge or experience about what you are doing. This will motivate you a lot.
I train myself to fix holes for the next job...