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PG: Disconnecting Distraction

paulgraham.com

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Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#41

Post by gsharm »

mudge wrote: post #30

Hey Paul. I love your writing. I specifically wish you'd keep writing about programming and programming languages though.

I prefer Paul's wider take on things, it's what makes his writing so unique, it encompasses almost anything and everything.

I've thought many times about quitting programming altogether because it's in some ways such a narrow and suffocating field, which can relate to, yet fails to relate to, so many real world issues. Paul grasps, combines and presents these issues admirably.

My counterwish, therefore, is to say don't change your writing one bit!

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#42

Post by jsrn »

Donald Knuth has a dedicated work computer, too - but apparently completely without network capabilities:

    I currently use Ubuntu Linux, on a standalone laptop—it has
    no Internet connection. I occasionally carry flash memory
    drives between this machine and the Macs that I use for
    network surfing and graphics;
taken from an interview with Knuth: http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1193856 (it was posted here a few weeks ago)

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#43

Post by noahlt »

That's fine if you're PG and you write all the software yourself, but what if you're using a web framework or other open-source tools and need the web to access documentation or ask questions?

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#44

Post by noahlt »

nostrademons wrote: post #27

I've found that it never works long-term. Your habits just adjust to the new situation. Every year ('cept the last couple, when I've been working) I go on vacation for 2-3 weeks to my parents' summer cottage, where there is no Internet access, no cell reception, not even a touch-tone phone. I find that I'm super productive for about the first 3 days, and then I end up playing a lot of Hearts. Without the different en…

> then I quit [whatever] because I got addicted to computer websites.

I suspect that's where most people reading this site are.

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#45

Post by chris_l »

Thanks for this short article, I suffer the same problem and your analysis seems pretty good. I'm going to try out the two computer solution now too, because I've had enough of these Email and Web mornings myself.

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#46

Post by iloveyouocean »

The technique that has helped me the most is simply acknowledging that I am not able to be computer-work productive every waking hour.

So when I notice my focus starting to drift, I consciously make a decision: Am I going to refocus and continue working? or Am I going to do something else?

I dont feel guilty about doing something else, as long as that something else is also productive, ie work in another domain.

As I have practiced this approach, I am able to identify the loss of focus more quickly and because I do not feel guilty about shifting my productivity to another domain, my overall productivity has gone up.

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#48

Post by mathogre »

I use the net to spin up the brain before working, and I use it during the day to keep the brain spinning. My work can be boring at times, and checking the net - news feeds, email, forums - keeps me up.

If I'm disconnected, then I'm still filling that spin up time reading something that is not related to my work. I'm rated well at work, and am known as being very productive and reliable. I don't tell them how I work, I just do it. They seem happy, based on what they tell me and what they put in my bank account.

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#49

Post by pistoriusp »

I'm going to try this - I've got a television upstairs that's basically just a computer with a giant 42" monitor (It isn't connected to any kind of television broadcast, because I download the shows I watch).

I'm going to try and use this as my Internet machine since it's primary purpose has always been entertainment.

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#50

Post by Alex3917 »

maxklein wrote: post #29
Alex3917 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because I'm not a brain in a vat.

Yes, but how will assigning blame help you solve the problem? You have a problem, you know the solution, and you keep maintaining the problem because you perceive this problem as not being your fault, but somehow the fault of external factors. Most problems exist in isolation of their causes. Let's say you have a flat tire on the highway. Sure, it would be interesting to know how it happened, but that has nothing to…

"You have a problem, you know the solution, and you keep maintaining the problem because you perceive this problem as not being your fault, but somehow the fault of external factors."

In all seriousness, I don't see how you get this from the my comment, esp. in light of the second paragraph. My basic argument is just that surfing the web is rational for an intellectually curious person in the context of compulsory schooling, but that it's a difficult habit to shake once the context changes and it's no longer rational. I think you're reading too much into this.

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