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

news.ycombinator.com

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

#81

Post by deepu_256 »

edw519 wrote: post #62

Simple hack: 2 computers, one for work and one for the internet. Different workstations, preferably in different rooms. It's a lot harder to get up off your ass than to hit alt-tab. Harness that laziness to your advantage.

Buy and iPad. use ipad strictly for consuming content - reading HN, facebook, twitter , Instapaper etc.

use your computer strictly to create stuff - code, write, design, photoshop etc etc. If you want you can install some software to block sites and apps on your computer.

This will reduce the distractions enormously. If you find yourself on ipad all the time you will feel guilty that you didnt create anything today and thus will be motivated to do something abt it.

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

#84

Post by sudont »

alex_c wrote: post #80

I've never been at the stage where I don't do _anything_, but I'm often frustrated that I don't do _enough_. I went through a stage of spending way too much time on Reddit - on the order of 4-5 hours a day. This has been discussed often, but it can be crippling - as soon as you hit the tiniest mental roadblock, you switch your browser to Reddit, next thing you know it's 20 minutes later and not only is your roadblock…

Installed on your recommendation. Will try it out, though I probably need a few more than 15... :)

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

#85

Post by levesque »

alex_c wrote: post #80

I've never been at the stage where I don't do _anything_, but I'm often frustrated that I don't do _enough_. I went through a stage of spending way too much time on Reddit - on the order of 4-5 hours a day. This has been discussed often, but it can be crippling - as soon as you hit the tiniest mental roadblock, you switch your browser to Reddit, next thing you know it's 20 minutes later and not only is your roadblock…

Is there a chrome equivalent?

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

#86

Post by bd »

albertsun wrote: post #78
edw519 wrote: post #62

Simple hack: 2 computers, one for work and one for the internet. Different workstations, preferably in different rooms. It's a lot harder to get up off your ass than to hit alt-tab. Harness that laziness to your advantage.

Cheaper hack if you can't afford two computers. Two seats. I don't work when sitting in my bedroom, but when I sit at my living room table I only work.

This. Also do not use wifi.

If I need to concentrate, I physically unplug my notebook from the net (my only connection is ethernet cable) and move to a different room.

It works wonders. It makes me think hard whether it's really needed to check something on the web. Usually I just preload in tabs background info I may need later in the day to get the job done.

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

#87

Post by matwood »

gregschlom wrote: post #14

There was a story recently on HN about a guy who splits his work hours into 30 minutes of work and 30 minutes of distraction. It turned out to work quite well for him. I guess I'm almost doing the same, spending most of my "distraction" time on HN. There's a good trick however if you want to stop doing that: work with someone else, with each one being able to look at the other's monitor. Even better: do that with peo…

There was a story recently on HN about a guy who splits his work hours into 30 minutes of work and 30 minutes of distraction.

I still have my timer I used through college except I did 45 minutes on 15 minutes off. It works amazingly well for things that you don't want to be working on. Now that I work on mostly interesting problems the hardest part is getting into the zone, but once I'm there I can work for hours.

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

#88

Post by ekanes »

bluishgreen wrote: post #72

The /etc/hosts hack actually works. I don't use noprocrast since I need to visit news.yc for other good reasons during my work. But the trick that really made the difference is this. I run a cron job which will over write the /etc/hosts with a file which has yc/reddit blocked. This way, when ever I open access for good reasons or even to have my 30 minutes per day of YC reading, the file gets overwritten in the next…

I use the /etc/hosts block, but defeat myself if I edit it... would you be willing to share the cron job? Much oblidged!

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

#89

Post by jdp23 »

albertsun wrote: post #78
edw519 wrote: post #62

Simple hack: 2 computers, one for work and one for the internet. Different workstations, preferably in different rooms. It's a lot harder to get up off your ass than to hit alt-tab. Harness that laziness to your advantage.

Cheaper hack if you can't afford two computers. Two seats. I don't work when sitting in my bedroom, but when I sit at my living room table I only work.

i do this too. i have an "office" area at home, and when i'm there i focus on work. i also often hang out at the kitchen table, and there it's much more a mix of working and reading HN.

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

#90

Post by rosariom »

Hi,

I have faced (maybe still facing) the same issue and have started to employee 3 techniques, first two of which Tim Ferris mentioned. 1- Cultivate selective ignorance 2- Batching tasks up 3- Create a schedule

How would this help? HN, Reddit, and the other news and information sites out there are awesome but can become time-thieves if you let them. We come to these sites to see what is the latest and greatest in the news, for inspiration, and also to learn so that we can do things better. The question is: how much information do we need to be adequately informed and how much do we need to learn in order to get to work on something we are passionate about? Not as much as we would think in my opinion. Cultivating selective ignorance is necessary to ward off the feelings of "I need to read more in order to get this thing going", or "I am falling behind, need to catch up with the news". We will never be able to get it all and thus just need to focus and specialize to some extent. Well rounded-ness is great, but in excess it will give you no depth in anything. Do not try to consume all data from all sources; we cannot keep up with the data deluge and will drown in it if we foolishly attempt to do so. Use what you already know, get started and focus on your ideas. If you do not you will just build up all kinds of anxieties and will feel down on yourself for not doing anything. In addition, this data deluge is also overwhelming and you may feel like you are not smart enough or the product will not be good enough for launch. It feels good to even do the simplest of tasks you set out to do and makes you want to do more. I blog about something similar to this here: http://techjobsspace.blogspot.com/2010/11/and-furthermore-my...

Batching and scheduling are awesome concepts to start using immediately. Information addict? I know I am and love to consume much data. My information-rich diet includes all the stuff you guys are reading but what I do slightly differently than some is set dates and times during the week on my phone calendar to read this data. Instead of reading everyday I pick some days of the week to get it all in and limit myself to that. If you have a calendar on your phone or pc or the web, use that to control the addiction. You do not need to deprive yourself completely (unless it is a severe problem) just schedule when it is ok to read. I use this for errands and other things as well. We all need breaks from work to unwind; use this time to catch up with friends and family, errands, and reading. Stick to your schedule and it will all fall into place eventually. Paul Graham definitely does not want this site to be a time-sink.

Hope this helps!

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