How to use mood

Imagine the situation. I need to write an important Module. And a somewhat less important Article. Everything seems clear: sit down, write Module. Sit down, write. More precisely, I try to write. In fact, the ideas for the Articles constantly come to mind. Patiently write them in a notebook. In the process of recording, more interesting thoughts appear. But we must return to the Module, because it is more important.

Attention, a split story!

Branch 1
And to hell with this module! I open a text editor and write an article. Since the thoughts climb into the head themselves, for the day it is easily done. The next day, without any distraction, I am writing a Module.
“Crazy,” you say? Let's look at alternative developments.
')
Branch 2
To hell with this article! I am a courageous programmer and must first finish an important matter!
All day I try to brush off flies from extraneous thoughts. I try to decompose the Module into functions, and not into chapters, and coordinate interfaces, not cases. So, by the end of the day, the barely started Module and slightly scattered notes on the Article, which I still threw into a notebook to get out of my head.
The next day, the Article is completely forgotten, and I calmly finish the Module.
On the third (!) Day, I try to remember what I had in mind in my notes on Article. But since I am well separated from her, it turns out so-so. Maybe for this day I will write. Or maybe not, the inspiration is gone.

Unfortunately, in reality we cannot see the variants of events and cannot compare. But I think no one will deny that the above thought experiment is convincing enough. What is now the soul, is done quickly. So even the rejection of the important in favor of the desired in the sum gives a better result.

Of course, not so simple. There are known (and not very well-known) risks in such behavior. We will consider them.

What you never want to do

“So you can be completely lazy,” you say. It's true. In order not to miss important, but obviously uninteresting tasks, they need to be approached with a different standard. Each activity has its own “emotional median”. Favorite tasks sometimes “like” and sometimes “rod”. Unloved ones can “dislike”, and can “enrage”. It needs to be amended.
The third day you can not take up the letter to "that slow-witted customer"? Do not wait when you want, since you understand that you never want. Catch the moment when it will be just not disgusting to you.

Lack of choice

The most powerful performance gag happens when there is only one or two tasks left to complete a project (or stage). Meanness that in the end usually remain the most "disagreeable" case. It is important to identify them in advance and not to bring to the deadline.
Easy to write new functionality, but all the while getting around the grammar checking module? Well, if you noticed it at the beginning of the stage, or at least in the middle. Watch him more closely than others. Take hold of him as soon as he seems to you "scary" and not "terribly scary", as he usually is. Otherwise, it will be the last in the list and it’s not at all the fact that the day before the delivery will be the best time for its implementation.

Yes, there are still trawls that also leave no choice. But when the server crashes, or a person with a whip appears, there are usually no problems with motivation: o)

Uncertainty

Is it a strange day that you are ready to devote to writing documentation? It would be better to do this, because the case is very rare. But bad luck, it did not stand in the plans for the week, for which part of the system to take in the first place, what generally remained undocumented? There is a risk to spend the day to clarify these issues and eventually lose all the "inspiration".
It is very good to work on such issues in advance. Even if the documentation will be needed only after three months, always keep the current list of “debts” at hand. Otherwise you will not write anything during these three months.
GTD-based planners, in addition to tasks related to time, include tasks related to circumstances. It should be attributed to the circumstances and mood. So that in the event of a desire to “draw”, or “study”, or “set”, it would always be easy to find a more specific action.

When all is bad

It so happens that nothing at all goes (head hurts, lousy from the ensuing quarrel, and just tired). In this case, there are more simple (including emotionally) tasks that are also useful. It may be possible to sort the mail already, look for the appropriate library for another task, read the help on the framework, etc.
If you are stupid today, and you can’t set the brain to work at all, well, don’t torture yourself by glancing at the black screen (or at the white screen, how). But also it is not worth slipping into aimless surfing on the Internet. Get your list of good unread books / articles. Yes, for today you do not fulfill the plan. But you do not do it anyway. A slightly elevated level of knowledge is still better than nothing.

Conclusion on applicability

Even the wrong mood can be sent in the right direction. If, in addition to tasks, to closely monitor your condition, you can save a lot of time and nerves. It is unlikely that it will be possible to “do only what I want,” but it is quite realistic to learn how to perform tasks in the most productive time for them.