Slow progress in research feels worse when it is broken down into discrete tasks

Date created: 2023-01-16

Subtle or slow progress in research feels frustrating and unrewarding, but particularly so when it’s broken down into tasks. I end up here quite a lot when I have “Write Results” as a task on my taskboard. It’s not that straightforward or linear most times.

I’m much more likely to flinch away from difficulty when I view my research problem as a task, as something to be accomplished. I’m much less likely to flinch away when I’m feeling intensely curious, when I truly want to understand something, when it’s a landscape to explore rather than a destination to reach.


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