When I'm racing to meet a writing deadline, I feel a sense of exhilaration, momentum, and flow. How can achieve that state on a regular basis so I can make steady progress on my writing? [more inside]
posted by incandescentman on Feb 27, 2013 - 17 answers

A person actively avoids doing what he knows will make him happy. He just doesn't want to do it. Psychologically, what's going on here? And more importantly, perhaps, why should he do what he doesn't want to do? What arguments, appealing to either his reason or his emotions, might he consider? [more inside]
posted by Busoni on Jun 29, 2011 - 37 answers

Like most people, I work much more efficiently when there is a looming deadline to focus my mind. Has anyone found a way to 'trick' their minds into thinking a deadline is more imminent than it is, to increase productivity?
posted by Kiwi on Dec 15, 2009 - 28 answers

I'm finally on my own and liberal arts school should be the place for me. But I'm still approaching my coursework from the standpoint of "how little can I do and how late can I do it and still not utterly fail," and it's making me hate myself. [more inside]
posted by randomname25 on Nov 21, 2009 - 22 answers

So a 'ruinous indiscipline' issue (described here and here) isn't getting any better. [more inside]
posted by raisons de coeur on Nov 20, 2007 - 22 answers