Looking Back (from the future)

Sometimes I don’t feel like working hard.

I’ll procrastinate. Everyone does.

I’ll fiddle with small stuff around the edges of the project. Bikeshedding.

A trick I use to snap out of it is to “look back from the future”.

I’ll pretend that I’m me but it’s the end of the year and I’m looking back at the achievements for the year. At all the projects completed.

I will want to see the current project done, and more. If it’s not done, I’d be most disappointed. I’ll be asking hard questions, like: “Why the hell not? What were you doing exactly?”

This shakes me right out of messing around with formatting or whatever, and grab for the next big thing that will move the current project closer to completion.

It also forces me to ship work that is not quite done. Work that might have rough edges. I’d rather done and rough than work that never gets out, that people/users cannot see/make use of.

Anyway, Grok3 calls this technique “future self visualization” and “perspective-taking from the future”:

This involves mentally projecting yourself into the future to gain perspective and make wiser decisions in the present by considering how your future self might view your current actions.

This technique also helps with bigger “life” stuff.

I’ll pretend that I’m me at 80 (35 years from now) looking back at the 45 year old me. What would he say? What would he expect? What would his advice be?

Typically stuff like:

Your body works fine and you have time, you should be in the best shape of your life.

And:

Your mind works fine and you have time, you should be creating the most amazing things you can think of.

And:

Your wife and kids are right there, in the other room, you should be as kind and patient and loving as you can right now.

Thanks grandpa me.

Get to work.