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Productivity

blog.samaltman.com

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Re: Productivity

#91

Post by throw2016 »

stavros wrote: post #6

I see these kinds of articles come along from time to time, and it always makes me wonder: Why this pressing need to maximize productivity? Why not just do things you enjoy, at a pace that you enjoy? Is it for more money/prestige? What's the use if you've been stressing and pressuring yourself for it all your life? I feel like the odd person out because I work on something while I enjoy it, stop working on it when I…

I don't understand this obsession with productivity. Everywhere around me I see people working hard.

It's unimaginable how hard some people work. If this was not the case our entire edifice of civilization would fall apart in a day. From public services to businesses who continue to run efficiently and make profits because of the hard work of their employees.

Yet there is a whole mythology which sees a special need to glorify productivity and individual genius.

This not only creates a culture of self pressure but worse manufactures an alternative reality of 'slackers', the lazy and unproductive who 'need' to exist simply to justify this glorification. In many ways perpetuating false stereotypes and exaggerating fringe behavior.

Re: Productivity

#92

Post by philwelch »

skrebbel wrote: post #44

What I like about this list is not so much the content, but the underlying message that Altman got to this point by experimentation and iteration. There's sometimes this hidden cultural idea that wildly successful people became so successful simply (by luck and) by being super good at what they do. I think Altman classifies as successful by most common measures so I find it refreshing that he apparently wasn't born a…

There's really only two things you need to do in order to be really good at basically anything:

1. Care a lot.

2. Work on continuously improving your skills.

That's pretty much it. Yes, there is such a thing as natural ability, but outside of the true outliers, natural ability is a pretty small factor compared to caring a lot and continuous improvement.

And, even if you're an outlier in terms of natural ability, caring a lot and continuously improving your skills is what makes you an outlier among outliers. Conversely, even if you're an outlier in terms of natural ability, someone who's just above average can be better than you by caring a lot and improving their skills.

There are obviously a few counterexamples. I'm sure there are hundreds of sprinters who care more and maybe even work harder than Usain Bolt. But if you're doing anything more complicated than running in a straight line, these factors start to outweigh natural ability really quickly.

Re: Productivity

#93

Post by bobwaycott »

WaxProlix wrote: post #65
wpietri wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Church of Productivity strikes me as a very American kind of religion. I personally value being productive on things I care about, but I've worked hard to unlearn this general protestant-work-ethic, no-moment-wasted, anxiety-driven desire to be a Very Productive Person. One of the interesting things to me is how long this has been a part of American history. In the excellent history podcast Backstory, one episode…

> The Church of Productivity strikes me as a very American kind of religion. It's our protestant roots and the very Calvinist view of success, really. There's a reason they call it the Protestant Work Ethic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_work_ethic

It’s the imperative of capitalist production, really. The “Protestant Work Ethic” was coined long after the imperative of productivity had been noticed and written at length about (e.g., see Marx, Proudhon, Smith, et al.).

Re: Productivity

#94

Post by philwelch »

deltron3030 wrote: post #85
bachmeier wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, very few people have the option to only work on things they enjoy. Even professors get stuck doing things they don't want to do, and that aren't valuable, but there is no choice unless you have at least a few million in the bank.

Which programmer enjoys typing, or which builder enjoys the physical activity itself? It's about the way to the end result, getting from nothing to something, or not? For the professor it would be the understanding and success of his pupils. The stuff in between nothing and something, especially what you don't like, could be an opportunity if theres nothing in reach that already solves the problem.

> Which programmer enjoys typing, or which builder enjoys the physical activity itself?

That's actually a reason to get better at these things, though--the better your fundamentals are, the less attention you have to pay to them and the more attention you have left over for actually thinking about what you're doing. When I'm coding, typing is the last thing on my mind--I just think code and my muscle memory translates it into keystrokes. And I'm a Vim user.

Re: Productivity

#95

Post by aviv »

theli0nheart wrote: post #41
whalesalad wrote: post #22

> I very rarely eat breakfast, so I get about 15 hours of fasting most days (except an espresso when I wake up). I know this is contrary to most advice, and I suspect it’s not optimal for most people, but it definitely works well for me. Coffee isn't going to interrupt your fast, assuming it's black. I too skip breakfast and try to fast as long as possible. Fasting is tremendously helpful to productivity. Nothing wil…

> Fasting is tremendously helpful to productivity. Nothing will hinder your performance like a huge meal in the morning (especially one high in carbohydrates) This seems to be really getting popular. What's the science behind it? I'm curious if this is mainly anecdotal or if you did some research before jumping in. My 2 cents: as an endurance athlete and student of nutrition, skipping breakfast seems like a bad idea.…

This will one day be as obvious as cigarettes cause cancer is.

Prolonged fasting (consuming only water for 10 to 40 days) is a highly effective treatment for many diseases, including Crohn's, most other IBS related, diabetes, MS, and many more. At some point in the future we will consider pharma companies, government agencies and other entities hiding this fact to be criminal.

Edit: my personal hope is that water fasting becomes mainstream and cures many people before my HN karma reaches 0.

Re: Productivity

#97

Post by shostack »

whalesalad wrote: post #22

> I very rarely eat breakfast, so I get about 15 hours of fasting most days (except an espresso when I wake up). I know this is contrary to most advice, and I suspect it’s not optimal for most people, but it definitely works well for me. Coffee isn't going to interrupt your fast, assuming it's black. I too skip breakfast and try to fast as long as possible. Fasting is tremendously helpful to productivity. Nothing wil…

Interesting about the espresso. Does a cappuccino with ~4oz of whole milk count as interrupting the fasting then? What about a macchiato?

Re: Productivity

#98

Post by dnr »

teachrdan wrote: post #66
not_a_moth wrote: post #50

Anyone have an opinion on his recommended mattress, as I nervously consider a 4k purchase this morning?

My wife and I got a Keetsa four years ago and it is phenomenal--we get amazing sleep at less than half cost of Sam's mattress: https://shop.keetsa.com/collections/mattresses/products/tea-...

I looove my Keetsa. I have the Plus, with a thin synthetic mattress pad on top. Pure foam mattresses feel "dead"; this is the best of both worlds: some bounce from the coils, foam for comfort, and a thin pad to keep it cooler. Their memory foam pillow is also amazing. I hate using any other pillows now. Eight years now and it's still springy.

Re: Productivity

#99

Post by bobwaycott »

wpietri wrote: post #47
stavros wrote: post #6

I see these kinds of articles come along from time to time, and it always makes me wonder: Why this pressing need to maximize productivity? Why not just do things you enjoy, at a pace that you enjoy? Is it for more money/prestige? What's the use if you've been stressing and pressuring yourself for it all your life? I feel like the odd person out because I work on something while I enjoy it, stop working on it when I…

The Church of Productivity strikes me as a very American kind of religion. I personally value being productive on things I care about, but I've worked hard to unlearn this general protestant-work-ethic, no-moment-wasted, anxiety-driven desire to be a Very Productive Person. One of the interesting things to me is how long this has been a part of American history. In the excellent history podcast Backstory, one episode…

European theorists were grappling with the demands of productivity for a long while before (and while) it became an American cultural demand. The imperative of productivity was very much imported to the US by the Europeans who came to the US. It’s certainly taken on a life of its own here, and I don’t discount its nearly religious nature to US work culture—it underpins so much of American thought. Productivity is a demand imposed upon all who work under capitalism—there is no other way to extract increasing surplus value from labor without it.

Re: Productivity

#100

Post by Bjartr »

ravitation wrote: post #56
StavrosK wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So, what you're saying is that you find it hurts your productivity to read productivity articles, so you try not to put yourself into the position where you have to read them? No, it hurts my happiness to read productivity articles, so I skip them.

Yeah, but what is happiness other than a way to increase your productivity?

Happiness is an end unto itself. An end that productivity can, but doesn't always, serve. At least that's how I go about my life.
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