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Productivity

blog.samaltman.com

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Re: Productivity

#291

Post by segmondy »

bastijn wrote: post #210

I once read a HN comment that I cannot find anymore but said: “my default loop is "First, cycle through all my developers and make sure that I have equipped them to be happy and productive in their jobs. Second, find something to do. If possible, delegate it; if not, do it. Repeat."” My biggest productivity gain was when I realized I should measure my productivity through the productivity of my developers. By the sam…

From one manager to another, if you haven't read it. Get a copy of "High Output Management"

Re: Productivity

#293

Post by raister »

tra3 wrote: post #154
raister wrote: post #45

your tips are strongly inconsistent with kids around...

Mind sharing what you mean? I don't find his advice to be unique, but having kids made me focus in a big way.

I dunno, my kid wont allow me to be at a mindfullness state at any time he is with me... You can focus, if the kids are elsewhere, with relatives or friends, otherwise, forget about it. Constant attention. At least this is true for my kids...

Re: Productivity

#294

Post by flamtap »

nakedrobot2 wrote: post #28
iooi wrote: post #26

Never heard of people using LED lights in the morning. He's already supplementing with vitamin D, so what is the benefit of using the light on top of that?

it's also called a SAD lamp. "seasonal affective disorder" https://www.google.com/search?q=sad+lamp

What an unfortunate acronym!

Re: Productivity

#295

Post by whalesalad »

eafkuor wrote: post #202
whalesalad wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's definitely anecdotal as-in based on my own personal experience. I fast for a few reasons: 1. Breakfast is not necessary, so skipping this meal saves me time in the morning. I already gotta worry about getting ready, feeding the dog+antibiotics, taking him out to pee, etc... one less thing to worry about. 2. Fasting for extended periods while in a ketogenic state accelerate fat loss. (the primary reason I fast) 3…

What do you mean breakfast is not "necessary"? No single meal is necessary, obviously, but why skip it? > skipping this meal saves me time in the morning. I already gotta worry about getting ready, feeding the dog+antibiotics, taking him out to pee, etc... one less thing to worry about. I really can't understand how you can put "getting ready" and feeding your dog above your own nutrition. Maybe you don't enjoy food…

You've been socially conditioned to believe 3 square meals per day are vital, and that breakfast is the most important one. That's simply not the case. Once you start to remove that bias, you'll have an easier time understanding where I am coming from with my lifestyle.

I'm not choosing my dog's nutrition over my own. Rather, I find that skipping breakfast is a win for me for fat-loss goals as well as mental clarity, and has the pleasant side effect of saving me time in my morning routine.

Re: Productivity

#296

Post by itamarst »

naveen99 wrote: post #239
itamarst wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Productivity is the opposite of working hard. You can't work smart and work hard, you have to choose one.

that's efficiency not productivity.

Productivity is "output/input". So e.g. for US economy it's GDP divided by total hours worked.

Re: Productivity

#297

Post by drb91 »

Tomminn wrote: post #282
theli0nheart wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.…

So right now I'm 63 hours into a fast, which I just decided to do on a lark. I've been intrigued ever since hearing an interesting podcast on fasting ( https://tim.blog/2017/05/04/smart-drugs-fasting-and-fat-loss... ). At this stage, I have started to find mental things a little harder to do, but honestly its still pretty subtle and is pretty indistinguishable from the normal kinds of self pity I normally have when I…

> Physical tasks are obviously a different story. But your mind doesn't seem to slow down much at all for a pretty long time during fasting.

I’m not sure i agree with this. Highly productive sessions always end with me feeling exhausted despite just concentrating intently for several hours. Doesn’t your brain already consume like 30% of your energy? It would really surprise me if your brain operated at full capacity after 2+ days of no calories.

Re: Productivity

#298

Post by spectrum1234 »

pi-squared wrote: post #63

Why are posts by Sam Altman and Paul Graham upvoted unconditionally? I know, it's yc domain but is everything they write so good that it always require an upvote or is it because they are the bosses? Maybe I don't understand something about news.ycombinator.com, a.k.a. hacker news or I joined too late - was it originally posts only for yc funded startups and it eventually became general techie/science news and thus a…

Because most of Paul Graham's posts are excellent.

Re: Productivity

#299

Post by mandrake-c-papi »

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.…

As a fellow endurance athlete who has experimented with fasting I would say don't waste your time. While I do think the response to fasting is somewhat personal, for me the impact upon long-term fitness, work/life stress (cortisol) [1] and ongoing metabolism [2] is just too severe to be ignored.

[1] https://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-cortisol [2] https://www.outsideonline.com/2284636/scientific-case-big-br...

Re: Productivity

#300

Post by alexandercrohde »

montrose wrote: post #48
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…

Why this pressing need for productivity? Ambition. If you have ambitious things you want to achieve, they're probably going to take more than just ambling along. An athlete who wants to win races is going to run at a faster pace than he'd find comfortable if he were just going for a run. This pattern holds true when your only opponent is the difficulty of the problem.

Okay, but what happens when you take a look at the bigger picture?

What is ambition really? It's almost always some arbitrary personal or social goal (have $x in bank account, make startup with $y, get title z) that rarely has any bearing on personal happiness nor making the world better for others.

My happiest memories are waking up next to someone I love, or a barbecue with friends, or an outstanding meditation, or a really honest conversation with a family member. The cult of productivity seems like, ironically, a waste of my time on earth.

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