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Do you read HackerNews all day and never actually do anything?

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41–50 of 149 posts

Re: Do you read HackerNews all day and never actually do anything?

#41
I do. But I've come to accept it like that, for me it's not that terrible anymore. After all, I am not "in the game", really, even if it would be nice. It's a shame you cannot get the entrepreneurial gene after being born. But it's nice to be able to watch things unfold from a close distance.

Re: Do you read HackerNews all day and never actually do anything?

#43

Well, I'm working on something real right now. It's a web application that works now but it's a total hack. I want to actually make it into something usable by others so a couple days ago I black holed Reddit in /etc/hosts. It worked so well I'm considering the same for Hacker News, too. There's the comment by "AgentConundrum" who argues that any method of limiting access to an addiction such as HN can be circumvente…

"Brush your teeth" never worked me. I'd get hungry and eat anyway. Two servings of whey protein powder a day, on the other hand, completely nukes my interest in snacks.

As for HN and such, I find my interest waxes and wanes. I definitely have days where it's a big distraction, particularly when I'm waiting 10 seconds for something to compile and come back ten minutes later. Then there are days when I'm too focused on coding, marketing or whatever I'm doing for it to be a big distraction.

Re: Do you read HackerNews all day and never actually do anything?

#45
Try Leech Block:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4476/

It blocks selected websites during hours / days you select, or allows you to say "No more than 30 minutes of Hacker News every 4 hours." It's highly configurable.

Of course, you're smart enough to find a way round its blocking if you want to. But really, deep down, you want to be productive and when Leech block pops up with its "Site blocked" screen, it will be a helpful reminder of this.

Re: Do you read HackerNews all day and never actually do anything?

#46
post #35

Keep in mind sites like Reddit and HN are pretty addictive in a chemical way (so can your email be). When you see something interesting or that agrees with your identity your brain gives you a hit of dopamine. You browse and look for the funny or fascinating because you remember finding somehting great earlier. It's funny because Reddit hates advertising/mass manipulation etc but are being manipulated by the group al…

[deleted]

Re: Do you read HackerNews all day and never actually do anything?

#49
post #35

Keep in mind sites like Reddit and HN are pretty addictive in a chemical way (so can your email be). When you see something interesting or that agrees with your identity your brain gives you a hit of dopamine. You browse and look for the funny or fascinating because you remember finding somehting great earlier. It's funny because Reddit hates advertising/mass manipulation etc but are being manipulated by the group al…

For dopamine, try http://hackerbra.in/ (specifically http://hackerbra.in/ask ) (you get it faster and easier - top comments without page refreshes.)

Re: Do you read HackerNews all day and never actually do anything?

#50
As a self confessed HN addict, I want to share a new technique I found that massively improved my productivity in an instant.

Too good to be true ? Read on....

The technique is slightly different, depending in which operating system you have, but in general the instructions are:

(i) switch to your browser (ii) select "Exit" from the "File" menu.

Voila! Productivity improves. [[ assuming your not using the browser for work, of course ]]

Try it.

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