I like to follow boxing. Often you will see a fighter that is clearly out matched. He is getting beat up round after round. The other fighter is faster, stronger, and more skilled. The boxer's manager generally knows this. He'll shout some words of encouragement between rounds, but eventually, he'll admit his mistake and throw in the towel. Careers have ended as a result of the psychological damage of such a demotivating act.
I've found that there is a similar phenomenon in all of us when we send ourselves out to fight a task that, at the time, outclasses us. I know when I am high energy and I know when I am not. One of my task list antipatterns is ignoring my internal clock and trying to force myself to do tasks that do not match my energy level. While I have a tremendous amount of self discipline and can make that effective in a pinch, I've noticed that when it isn't critical (e.g. looming meeting or important external commitment delivery date), my mind knows and my productivity suffers. While I might have been able to knock out a number of low energy tasks, I instead wallow, unable to tackle the challenge I inappropriately tried to make myself take on. Worse, when I am forced to throw in the towel, it takes a while for my mental discipline to rebound from the blow.
So be a good manager and protect your fighter's career. Don't needlessly send yourself into battle when you know you are outmatched. Reserve those gambles for the times that it really matters and the purse is large. Match your energy level to a tasks that will make for a good fight. And as we all know, the definition of a good fight is one that you win. ;-)
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