Motivation for Chrome puts the finger in the wound to stop procrastination
I have lots of ideas and plans. I want to write a book, create an Android application for Ghacks that rocks, create other Android apps for various ideas that I have, create a boardgame and finally find the time to read all five Game of Throne novels which have been sitting on the desk for some time now.
Distractions are everywhere and it is sometimes difficult to keep on working if it is so much easier to do other stuff.
Maybe watch a TV show or a movie, browser eBay for bargains, watch videos on YouTube or simply browse the web to find out what is new.
While those activities are certainly entertaining, they keep me from pursuing my dreams and plans which obviously is a bad thing in the long run.
I tried using procrastination applications and extensions in the past but they don't really work that well. Some block sites so that you cannot visit them but if you really want to, it is easy to bypass. For instance, by using a different browser any extension blocking access to sites would not be useful anymore.
Motivation is a free Chrome extension that shares those limitations. It is a different kind of anti-procrastination extension on the other hand as it does not block anything.
Instead, it puts the finger in the wound by displaying your age as it flows by on the new tab page.
The passing of time, or more precisely, your life, can be a powerful motivator as it can put certain things in perspective.
Yes, browsing Facebook every ten minutes or watching every YouTube video one of your friends sends you can be a rewarding experience but it does not help you in regards to what you want to achieve in life.
I think the extension works best for computer workers that spend long hours per day on the computer. While it can also work for people who use the computer occasionally, it may not have a powerful effect on them.
Before you start using the extension you are asked to enter your birthday. You can enter anything you want though even though birthday may be stronger than the current day for example as it personalizes the flow of time on the new tab page of the browser.
Verdict
Motivation puts the finger right into the wound by visualizing and personalizing the flow of time. It can be a powerful tool, especially if you use Chrome as your main browser.
It used to be quite similar, and Leoh even mentions Momentum in the store description, but the extension has been out for over 2.5 years, and with each update, we make it better and more unique than Momentum.
Momentum is limited in terms of features and customizability. Leoh is unique, and you’ll notice it after a day or two of using it.
I’m not trying to knock Momentum; I like it, but a lot of users switch to Leoh once they realise how different it is.
He gets kinda wordy/philosophical at points but it may resonate with you.
RSA Replay: How to Flourish in an Age of Distraction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIjISpIHgFs
great stuff. =)
http://puu.sh/hk6Ft/dd5218c80d.png
I’ve had this exact concept for a productivity app for Android, which would display your age continuously ticking in the status bar, occur to me just under a year ago.
There’s a website, Mori and an Android app of the same name which use a similar concept.
The problem with Motivation is that I’ll have to sacrifice my speed dial to have it ad the new tab page.
Seeing time slip while you get older is definitely a huge motivator for productivity.
just like the Memento mori watch; for offline motivation
http://gizmodo.com/373156/the-most-depressing-watch-ever-prepare-to-be-bummed
whew! thankfully found this website when i’m 18.41 years old ;) thanks man
I was reading ”Thrones” long before it became popular, & hate to think doing so would be a chore. I can’t wait for the next one to (finally) come out.
Want a REAL chore, try reading ”The Wheel of Time” or ”Malazan.”
Someone make this for Firefox please
Many years ago I made a spreadsheet which I now consult nearly every day. Various fixed events are listed as text down the left column, such as meeting my future wife, my marriage, moving into a new house, taking a job, and joining a social club. The next column contains the fixed date of each event. The following three columns use the current system date (@now) to calculate the time since each event has occurred (in fractional years, and in days, and in hours). Various additional columns contain formulas which calculate the percentage that the duration of each event represents as compared to other events; e.g., the percent of my life or of my marriage that I have been living in this house.
When I consult this chunk of numeric results each day, I often find nice round numbers turning up. This gives me frequent opportunities to reflect on the benefits of how I am spending my limited time on this planet. Right now, for example, my spreadsheet tells me that I have been living in this house for 70,008 hours or 7.986 years. I can either observe this 70,000 hour mark, or wait a few days until I get to exactly 8.000 years to have a party, or both. I can note each achievement with a celebration or with a regret, as appropriate.
The spreadsheet also calculates that the same 70,008 hours represents x.xx% of my life, and y.yy% of my wife’s life, and z.zz% of our married life together. These percentages each also periodically reach nice round numbers, offering additional opportunities for introspection.
Events which come to an end (such as quitting a job) get their formulas changed so they stop accumulating additional duration time. The event percentage then naturally begins to decrease as a proportion of the time I have been alive, and the proportion they represented of my married life.
I’m not sure what is worse, the stupidity of thinking that any sort of simplistic program can actually address a concept as complex as procrastination, or the assumption that we can ever achieve everything we want to in life.
As much as mental health, IMHO, is still often a question of whatever works can be worthwhile, I don’t think a program like this would do much more than create anxiety in people.
A lot of people embedded in the tech industry seem to think technology can potentially solve any number of wide and varied human problems. It can’t. It might help but it won’t solve our problems.
Before I depress anyone I’ll stop here. Regardless of my disbelief in this concept, if it works for more people than it hurts, I guess that’s a good thing.
Personally being reminded of impending death everyday does nothing more than cripple me. Martin I think it might be time for feeds based on tags so that readers can avoid posts like this. Not wanting to hassle you or cast ill will around, just would prefer never to see articles with a psychological angle.
All the best.
what about adult projects?
Martin, I’ll trade you your 40.625892617 for my 49.770570165! LOL! :)
49 here as well. 49.07 or so, just turned it about 3 weeks ago.
I respectfully have to decline ;)
LOL!