[LambdaTrain]

Right. It feels like Op uses wrong math but gets a good conclusion in the context of doing daily job: focus on one shit.

However, in general sense, the return of an investment is considered as random variable, so the problem is not just max value, but max value while minimizing risk, and the solution is multitask/portfolio

[nefitty]

Your comment helps me. I think I'm getting closer to the mechanism of what causes me to procrastinate. When many tasks are due, all important but of tiny ROI, like washing dishes and vacuuming, I feel overwhelmed because my mind can't sort them by expected reward.

I also noticed that I engage in extreme procrastination when the rewards of a high effort task are uncertain. It's like my body recoils at the idea of expending energy unnecessarily. For example, creating a "portfolio-worthy side project" immediately queues up questions, "But I heard recruiters don't look at them. If they do they'll look at it for a second. What if they think my code sucks and I blow myself out instead?" Etc etc

If anyone has some sort of mental model or frame which they're conscious of in these situations, I would love to hear it. I started researching CBT for ADHD last night and now I have 30 tabs of research articles, infographics, blog posts, book reviews and god damn it if I didnt go and get stuck in Wikipedia instead...