Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

221–230 of 236 posts

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#221

Post by brianmcc »

rankam wrote: post #206
leviathan wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand how you can do a full on attack on the OP without knowing him or his situation. You seem to think that a person has nothing else during his day than read every piece of news that comes their way. It might be a good idea to consider the fact that some people are extremely busy (with work or other tasks) but still want to stay informed. Those people would probably come across a piece of news or artic…

Valid and like I said, I didn't mean my comment to be antagonistic and certainly wasn't overtly trying to attack the OP. Obviously it came off like that so my apologies. But, I think you're missing my point - the information overload, in this particular case, seems to be a direct result of the decision to continually add articles to their list all the while knowing that they are never going to be able to find enough…

FWIW I understood exactly what you meant, and I think you identified a real factor - it's important to identify a root cause of such self-identified "problem behaviour", not just identify coping mechanisms and carry merrily on doing so. I think you are spot on, partially at least. (I'm neither the OP, nor any idea who the OP is - but your comment resonates)

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#222

Post by ocfx »

smikhanov wrote: post #182
zokier wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You won't miss it [news], you won't miss out (the big stuff will find its way to you regardless) Maybe it is different in the valley or wherever, and of course highly dependent on your social circles, but not being able to comment any current affairs can make some conversations quite awkward. Personally I'd find that it would not reflect well on the person. Also I would say that it is far better to choose your own…

> [...] not being able to comment any current affairs can make some conversations quite awkward Not really. I don't watch TV since 1998. I also don't read newspapers (exceptions are sometimes made for weekly magazines like Time, Economist, Spiegel or New Yorker and monthly magazines of all sorts) and don't listen to radio (for example, I always drive in silence -- it's not boring as many people tend to think). I also…

In fact one could argue that you make them feel more important by doing so.

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#223

Post by JSeymourATL »

You've clearly struck a vein among HNers, noting the 200+ comments.

I've found going off-grid for several days a huge help to clear thoughts, and reboot the mind. Bill Gates famously took twice a year solo-trips to a lake cabin, just to read and write in peaceful silence. People used to call that vacation.

But I find these individuals who boast they blissfully ignore news and current events all together depressing. As though we're regressing to our reptilian past.

Relative to your conundrum, I'm reminded of the quote by Oscar Wilde “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#224

Post by johnmw »

anabranch wrote: post #29
austenallred wrote: post #24

For a long time I felt (and now feel) the same as you. I just wanted to share an experience that, while completely anecdotal, is perhaps atypical, and has been one of the defining experiences of my life. I got the Internet as a birthday present on my 8th birthday, and pretty much disappeared from normal society for the next few years. The Internet was (and is) fascinating - I could learn anything, interact with peopl…

http://selfcontrolapp.com/ Works well. It cannot be turned off and you can set it for a specific amount of time. You choose the websites you would like to block. Your phone is obviously a weak point, but it's a start.

Thanks. Also, if people haven't seen this yet, you can easily click on your HN username and set noprocrast: yes.

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#225

Post by 40pdev »

What has helped me in that past is this here: "do nothing alternative"[1]. That is, I select a task that I think is most important to me and set aside a certain time to do it (lets say 2 hours). During that time I either work on that task or I do nothing. So if I don't want to work, fine. All I can do then is stare at the wall.

This has to effects: 1. I calm down. Its kind of an enforced meditation period. 2. I usually get bored and go back to the task.

[1]: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-happiness-project/20...

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#226

Post by 40pdev »

I want to second the advice to write. That helps me a lot. Pick any of your hundreds of interest or articles. Reserve some time for it, lets say one hour. Study / read for 30-40 mins. And then use the rest of the time to write a summary. That is the hard part and forces you to concentrate and really understand the subject. It also clears out a lot of subjects because you will notice much faster what you are really interested in. Ideally blog about it so you have the pressure to write something decent.

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#227

Post by coned88 »

rankam wrote: post #162

"800 articles I have yet to read...Currently my instapaper account has some 800 articles I have yet to read. Kindle has about 10 books I want to read...pinboard account has about 100 unread article" The following is just my opinion and I don't mean to be antagonistic. However, IMHO, your issue is that you think that being aware of topics is equivalent to truly understanding those topics. If you were really interested…

" However, IMHO, your issue is that you think that being aware of topics is equivalent to truly understanding those topics. If you were really interested in those 100 unread pinboard articles, you would have read them - you seem to like the idea of knowing about the topics of the articles more than actually understanding the underlying concepts contained in the articles."

It's not always about knowing things in and out. I am in a position where I need to know a lot about a lot of things. If developers come with some new tech and want to do xyz. It's very helpful for me to know what xyz is. If non technical people or management comes with demands abc I need to know the bounds of it.

It's not great being in a meeting or on a phone call and not knowing what the other person is talking about. Not only does it make you look uneducated but it makes the other people lose respect for you.

To do what I want I don't need to know everything about a topic. But knowing the basics and its existence goes a very very long way.

I know a good bit about a lot of topics. Then in my specific field I know a lot more in depth.

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#228

Post by coned88 »

dyadic wrote: post #79

It's not at all a silly question, I've experienced the same and, reading the comments, it seems many others have too. My own problem was being too attracted to novelty, every little bit of information that arrived in front of me was the most important piece of information in the world. But, before I could act on it, the next piece would arrive. This manifested in me having a long lists of books and articles to read,…

" I "solved" my own problem by just routing every distraction as it arrived into a look-at-later list. Then when later arrived I'd scan through, decide what was actually worth following up on and just delete the rest. If you do this then you will realise how unimportant most of those distractions were."

Good idea. Frankly when I come on HN or reddit I may scan through and open a ton of tabs. But then as I go through the tabs I'll close many since they no longer seem as important

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#229

Post by coned88 »

geekam wrote: post #114
dyadic wrote: post #79

It's not at all a silly question, I've experienced the same and, reading the comments, it seems many others have too. My own problem was being too attracted to novelty, every little bit of information that arrived in front of me was the most important piece of information in the world. But, before I could act on it, the next piece would arrive. This manifested in me having a long lists of books and articles to read,…

look-at-later is amazing. I use Instapaper for exactly that. Now I have made a habit of shoving everything there and going through it at a specified time in the day.

is look-at-later a product I am confused.

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#230

Post by coned88 »

Grepsy wrote: post #217

The state you describe sounds very familiar to me. What helped me a great deal was to simply stop drinking coffee. The first few days after stopping my concentration was completely destroyed, I couldn't focus at all. After about 2 days things started clearing up and I got back my calm and focus. Most of the people I know consume coffee all day long, every day, and don't seem to be affected in the same way I am. Just…

Good point. I can give it a try. Thanks
Post reply on HN