The big lesson here that might be more pragmatic is to avoid quasi-working, the state of half-working that feels like full-bore work without actually getting much done.
I recently came across PJ Eby's work on thinkingthingsdone.com and find his insights very useful.
He's made a study of what mental habits cause us to be either "naturally successful" or "naturally struggling".
I personally have not been making headway on my goals for a while now, so I would say I've been struggling.
One key idea is whether one chooses to focus on what one can gain or on what one might lose as you pursue a goal.
A focus on potential losses makes one fearful, more likely to be paralyzed and ultimately fail.
If you ignore the potential losses and focus on what you can gain, you more naturally just take the actions required to get what you want. Flow is the way to go.
Is there a better way to avoid 'quasi-working' then to work only when you feel like it? I've never been able to figure out a good, sustainable way to do this without really being motivated.
Give yourself a reward to work for.
Take frequent breaks.
Delimit your tasks into very specific chunks of time.
Usually, just getting started is a huge factor.
I think the article meant that there are some days when you don't have motivation to do any work - you just don't feel like it. I like arranging music for fun, but I don't always feel like it. When I do try to force myself into it, I don't get much done. The article is saying to avoid doing the work you don't feel like doing because it's going to be half-assed and not valuable anyways.
