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Productivity

blog.samaltman.com

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Re: Productivity

#351

Post by throw2016 »

SubuSS wrote: post #198
throw2016 wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

Let me try to address your points in general since I assume the question is whether productivity is worth 'pedestalizing'? Even if you forget about the impact to company / society / civilization and focus simply on yourself, you can see that you get X hours in total and one shot at life. If you pare it down by necessary but not directly productive hours like downtime / time spent towards learning / physical-mental we…

Perhaps you are missing the point. People are working very hard for civilization to work from the sewage workers, to grid technicians to utility workers to the rest of society. Every society in history has recognized and rewarded its achievers and geniuses and will continue to. Ergo things are working as expected. No psychological intervention or incentives are required.

However this gratuitous need to create a mythology of the 'productive' ignores that this is infact standard behavior by the vast majority, and society at large and by its very need to exist fabricates the existence of a population of slackers, the lazy and unproductive which exaggerates fringe slacker behavior and is not consistent with reality. This is what makes it toxic.

Re: Productivity

#352

Post by suprfnk »

mantas wrote: post #334
FooHentai wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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 the same way that I do. First, these are two separate thoughts, unless you have some confusion between 'proper nutrition' and 'enjoyment of food'. Second, 'proper nutrition' and 'enjoyment of food' often conflict since what provides the best nutritional value to your body is not often…

Actually "proper nutrition" and "enjoyment of food" are closely related. Although our bodies are selfish. For example, we like sugar so much because it's good yet used to be scarce. Now we finally can get plenty of it, but our body gets greedy and we overeat it.

> Actually "proper nutrition" and "enjoyment of food" are closely related.

I don't think that is the case for the vast majority of people. If I would only eat according to my "enjoyment of food" I would probably only eat cake and chocolate.

I don't do that, of course, because I value "proper nutrition" for my body above my "enjoyment of food". I see relatively few people around me that would take broccoli over cake if they are eating for "enjoyment of food".

Re: Productivity

#353

Post by suprfnk »

mantas wrote: post #331
whalesalad wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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,…

Funnily enough, breakfast is kinda important for fat-loss. What you eat in the morning will be burned throughout the day. Meanwhile a significant chunk of what you eat in the evening is not going to be burned and will be stored in fat. Eating a lot in a single go is not healthy either. Thus you do need several meals throughout the day. 3 seems to be rather good balance. Although I personally prefer 2.

> Funnily enough, breakfast is kinda important for fat-loss. What you eat in the morning will be burned throughout the day. Meanwhile a significant chunk of what you eat in the evening is not going to be burned and will be stored in fat.

Meal timing is pretty much irrelevant for fat loss. The amount you consume and expend in the long run is far more relevant. Unless you're a top-level athlete, meal timing is the wrong thing to focus on.

Re: Productivity

#354

Post by csomar »

grosjona wrote: post #265

>> Also, don’t fall into the trap of productivity porn >> ... >> Some sort of sleep tracker to figure out how to sleep best is helpful >> ... >> I take a low dose of sleeping pills (like a third of a normal dose) or a very low dose of cannabis >> ... I use a full spectrum LED light most mornings >> ... so I get about 15 hours of fasting most days The whole article is productivity porn.

I don't know but I might agree on this one. Sleep is a difficult process when you are going through stressful work. Lightening is important and there is a lack of education here. So is food.

So that might be porn, or that might be just the regular sex you need to stay sane. I think it is the latter.

Re: Productivity

#355

Post by n4r9 »

nosefrog wrote: post #123

Hey Sam! Regarding sleeping, I've had really bad sleep problems since I was a kid, to the point where I pulled all nighters a couple times a month just because I knew I wasn't going to get to sleep that night. I fixed all of my sleep problems over time by taking a low dose of melatonin (1g, low doses are more effective than high doses) and wearing orange glasses at night to block out blue light. It took a while for m…

Have you tried introducing more protein over an extended period to see whether it helps you progress faster with your weight-lifting?

Re: Productivity

#356

Post by laex »

Tomminn wrote: post #311
drb91 wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

The assumption you're making is that your brain gets no calories when you have no food. Every kilogram of fat on your body is 9000 calories just sitting there. Most of us have at least 10 of em, or 90,000 calories. While it's definitely true that some things slow down to conserve energy, it seems like the brain isn't one of em . There are moments* now I feel I'm thinking considerably clearer than usual. The world jus…

> The world just feels unbelievably quiet.

This is what I sense when my fast crosses 18+ hours.

Re: Productivity

#357

Post by tt293 »

AstralStorm wrote: post #11

I stopped at the point where he said productivity gains compound. That is already bunkum. (I suppose the author meant add up instead.) The Xkcd chart is enough. There are physical ceilings and improvements not worth to make.

Yes, that made me cringe as well.

Re: Productivity

#358

Post by SubuSS »

throw2016 wrote: post #351
SubuSS wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let me try to address your points in general since I assume the question is whether productivity is worth 'pedestalizing'? Even if you forget about the impact to company / society / civilization and focus simply on yourself, you can see that you get X hours in total and one shot at life. If you pare it down by necessary but not directly productive hours like downtime / time spent towards learning / physical-mental we…

Perhaps you are missing the point. People are working very hard for civilization to work from the sewage workers, to grid technicians to utility workers to the rest of society. Every society in history has recognized and rewarded its achievers and geniuses and will continue to. Ergo things are working as expected. No psychological intervention or incentives are required. However this gratuitous need to create a mytho…

- are you asserting working hard is the same as being highly productive?

- are you asserting that people not contributing continuously/coasting by is not a thing or is only marginal or fringe?

- what is in your opinion the difference between making a living vs making a difference to the society you are in? Are they the same?

Re: Productivity

#359

Post by yannis7 »

I'm surprised how many people mention reduction of sugar intake as a component of productivity boosting.

Though I am currently on a low-carb diet for weight control, the times I remember me being the most productive were when I was eating tons of simple carbs and junk food.

In fact the most productive people I've met, if you look at their desks they are full of muffin, candy and energy drink leftovers. They must consume tons of sugar per day, and they output work like a damn machine.

Re: Productivity

#360

Post by ck_one »

Serious question: what's his source of motivation?

I am a young student, so my source of motivation to be more produtive is a mix of money, status, girls and also build cool shit.

But for him money, status and girls are out. Make the world a better place can't be it.

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