Somewhat off topic, but immediately upon finishing a long coding session (where i'm deep "in the zone"), I find it extremely valuable to brain dump the immediate next steps I would take in the event I continued coding then and there (as many as I can perceive). I call this my TODO NEXT list. When I look at the list the next day (first thing), it helps me snap right back into that mental state where I left off, even if the list is vague or incomplete.
Ask HN: What are your “brain hacks” that help you manage everyday situations?
121–130 of 370 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are your “brain hacks” that help you manage everyday situations?
#122Write down what I'm going to do. It happens that I can't really 'start' with work due to having too many things to choose from, or by not knowing how to really get started with it. What always helps is writing down on a piece of paper a step by step guide of what I will do. this can be very general. But just having the steps written down helps me get started. Kind of like a "todo list" except that I don't update it w…
And the corollary: write down what you have done. It can be (for me) hard to remember, giving rise to the mistaken feeling that you’ve achieved nothing.
I bullet journal. (https://bulletjournal.com/pages/learn)
I got my wife into it as well. Our journals are vastly different. She uses it to review and keep info. I use it as a task list and some notes.
It's a big motivator and important tool I've picked up.
The best part of the bullet journal method is the de-prioritizing of tasks. I don't give up on things to the point of detriment. With a bullet journal, I've learned to let go of stuff and move forward.
Re: Ask HN: What are your “brain hacks” that help you manage everyday situations?
#123Coin Flip Rule: If I think about a tough decision for too long, it's a sign that the decision may be tough because the choices are really close and additional thinking is likely not worth it (the added value of making the "correct" choice will be very small). In this case, choosing at random is OK. Just start: If I feel unmotivated, I'll wind up a Pomodoro timer and just try to knock out one. Usually, I will feel a l…
Whenever I'm getting tired/lazy I think "If the last digit in the minutes of the clock in my phone are 0, 1, 2 or 3, I'm taking time to goof off". It bypasses the guilt, and is also just a little biased in favor of doing the disciplined thing.
Re: Ask HN: What are your “brain hacks” that help you manage everyday situations?
#124I have a running list of "accumulated wisdom". Most have to do with maintaining momentum (because...life). Here are a couple items (trying not to repeat other comments).
* Don't worry about things, do things
* Set goals to "good enough"/iterative development
* Treat failures as false starts & learning experiences (training exercises)
* Don't focus on how little time you have, but on what you can get done in the time you have
* Start the day with an unpleasant task, to get it out of the way ("eat the frog")
* #1 underlying principle: Be proactive (and therefore stay in control)
* Use habits to: Reduce processing overhead, Simplify things, Reduce chances for getting off-track, Reduce ability of subconscious to derail
* Focus on what you are responsible for
* Take small steps
Re: Ask HN: What are your “brain hacks” that help you manage everyday situations?
#125My top 3, in order of how I try to apply them (i.e., if 1 doesn't help, move on to 2, etc.). I learned these all from reading various philosophy works, by the way, so perhaps cognitive hack #1 should be "read books". 1) Suspension of judgement (from Sextus Empiricus, Zhuang Zi, Ecclesiastes): avoid forming an opinion at all about things that are not evident. The way I do this is by thinking through an opposing argume…
So, extending your thought about common thread, one needs to develop self-awareness. Hacks won't help much with this. But there is a systematic way of cultivating it, called meditation.
Re: Ask HN: What are your “brain hacks” that help you manage everyday situations?
#126My top 3, in order of how I try to apply them (i.e., if 1 doesn't help, move on to 2, etc.). I learned these all from reading various philosophy works, by the way, so perhaps cognitive hack #1 should be "read books". 1) Suspension of judgement (from Sextus Empiricus, Zhuang Zi, Ecclesiastes): avoid forming an opinion at all about things that are not evident. The way I do this is by thinking through an opposing argume…
At the risk of substituting books with URL's... Do you have any to any of these concepts? For example I just tried googling "eikasia, pistis, dianoia, episteme, techne, phronesis, noesis" and I didn't, eh, come up with something precise enough to read.
EDIT: Someone down in the thread did the kindness already!
Re: Ask HN: What are your “brain hacks” that help you manage everyday situations?
#127Coin Flip Rule: If I think about a tough decision for too long, it's a sign that the decision may be tough because the choices are really close and additional thinking is likely not worth it (the added value of making the "correct" choice will be very small). In this case, choosing at random is OK. Just start: If I feel unmotivated, I'll wind up a Pomodoro timer and just try to knock out one. Usually, I will feel a l…
I often use the coin flip rule, but in a different way: once the coin is in the air, I instinctively know what side I want it to land on and then I use that to make my decision.
Re: Ask HN: What are your “brain hacks” that help you manage everyday situations?
#128Write down what I'm going to do. It happens that I can't really 'start' with work due to having too many things to choose from, or by not knowing how to really get started with it. What always helps is writing down on a piece of paper a step by step guide of what I will do. this can be very general. But just having the steps written down helps me get started. Kind of like a "todo list" except that I don't update it w…
I would add to write done where you are when you are done for the day or switch to something else. I have an incredibly hard time picking up where I left off without something like this as apparently I'm able to compartmentalize more easily than some of my peers.
Re: Ask HN: What are your “brain hacks” that help you manage everyday situations?
#1291/ Whenever you can’t motivate yourself to start working on something, think about the smallest thing you can perform and make it your only goal for the day. It can be something as simple as « open the ide and compile the project once ». The trick is that after that first step you will naturally begin to do some real work, because the movement started. 2/ when learning a new skill or trying to improve , focus on one…
> Whenever you can’t motivate yourself to start working on something, think about the smallest thing you can perform and make it your only goal for the day.
This is also useful for side projects if you are under time pressure from more important things. Every day, spend ten minutes doing something that will move the project on and keep you in touch with it.
Re: Ask HN: What are your “brain hacks” that help you manage everyday situations?
#130Preventing catastrophic burnout: if I'm sensing a situation where I'm likely to burn out (a strong miss of expectation of reward), I schedule for myself routine maintenance work with immediate rewards. Also I only take vacation at prescheduled times, never in response to overwork.