I made it about 200 words before the anticipation of a sales pitch or call to action drove me away. I don’t know if they’re selling something, but it feels like it, and I don’t want it.
How to be more productive without forcing yourself
91–100 of 133 posts
Re: How to be more productive without forcing yourself
#92Good summary of what procrastination essentially is: an emotional problem, rarely about "laziness" or time management. Readjusting your dopamine sensitivity will most likely solve most of it, trading my expensive gaming PC for a Macbook Pro probably was the biggest game-changing (pun not intended) event of my life so far, and greatly improved my relation to work and life in general.
It's funny, but I feel in the opposite position. To me, computers had become associated with work-only, so much that I needed a change. I decided to assemble a new machine for fun coding and maybe some games (though I probably won't really have much time for it). starting up the new Flight Sim feels great and gives me a different perspective, after staring at a screen of e-mails and calendar and presentation slides f…
I did this last year and I don't regret it for a second.
I've also developed a kind of higher standard for the games that I allow to take some of my time.
Praise be to Valve, as Proton has freed me from the tyranny of Windows.
Re: How to be more productive without forcing yourself
#93I can't believe what I'm reading. The first point is literally do less fun things so you get used to doing more boring things. I'm genuinely shocked this article is being received so well. What happened to, work to live, not live to work?
I see this as similar to "stop eating high-sugar foods and you'll come to appreciate more varied and complex foods." Some of the most enjoyable things in life are more subtle.
Re: How to be more productive without forcing yourself
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you have any specific type of professional to suggest?
I'd assumed from the context it was clear that I was referring to a psychiatrist. It could also be worth talking first to a clinical psychologist. They're less about the drugs and more about the analysis, and sometimes that's able to get you working with just a 'software patch.' Sometimes, though, when you've tried everything and your brain still isn't doing the thing, medication can be absolutely lifechanging. As th…
I actively disrecommend talking to a psychologist. If you suspect ADHD, the first-line treatment is getting stimulant therapy via a psychiatrist. Understanding and talking about your problem does not fix it. They've studied this, it's simply an ineffective treatment for ADHD. People go from being distracted all the time without understanding why to being distracted all the time with tools and techniques they don't actually end up using.
Stimulant therapy, on the other hand, is effective to a degree that every other mental health intervention wishes it could be. I am a relatively conscientious high performing software developer with medication, and borderline unemployable without it. Night and day difference.
Therapy and education is more appropriate for the people around the ADHD patient. Getting a sense of empathy for their situation and learning how to generate an effective context for them to operate in is incredibly valuable.
Re: How to be more productive without forcing yourself
#95Thanks for sharing. What do you draw your doodles in?
Re: How to be more productive without forcing yourself
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would consider selling my expensive gaming PC if whatever I replaced it with had a reasonable similar CPU. Not sure if I can get that from any type of laptop though at least not without paying more than I paid for my PC. Also I kinda need PCIe lanes.
Amusingly, I had just built myself a pretty expensive gaming PC right before selling it all, and then got myself a second-hand 2015 MBP. I'd say the newest M1 MBP are worth the money, my metric shifted from raw performance/$ to experience/$. And honestly, I will gladly sacrifice some CPU power just to keep myself away from gaming.
How did you go about replacing gaming? I often game mostly out of habit but haven't found anything I'm really jazzed about to replace it
Re: How to be more productive without forcing yourself
#97Thanks for sharing. What do you draw your doodles in?
Sketches app on an iPad, then converted to SVG and touched up in Inkscape.
Re: How to be more productive without forcing yourself
#98Good summary of what procrastination essentially is: an emotional problem, rarely about "laziness" or time management. Readjusting your dopamine sensitivity will most likely solve most of it, trading my expensive gaming PC for a Macbook Pro probably was the biggest game-changing (pun not intended) event of my life so far, and greatly improved my relation to work and life in general.
Is that due to you reducing your gaming (did you completely eliminate gaming?) or is it because the laptop gives you portability to work at different places - whether that includes cafes or different spots in your home that may have less distractions of whatever sort? Just curious about what the before/after looks like for you.
Re: How to be more productive without forcing yourself
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
There’s a second Christian-esque type of self help which states, “you are a broken and pitiful person, your fundamental nature is flawed. Take these steps to salvation.” Jordan Peterson is like this with all his requests to empathize with gulag prison guards and the like. I think people don’t just like hearing what is good or easy. Sometimes we want to have an incredible cross to bear. It’s the mentality that causes…
Hmm, I don't quite agree with that characterization of Jordan Peterson. I believe his main point when talking of these prison-guard horror stories is to "embrace your shadow", as in: Realize that you might not be as far away from being dangerous as you would think, if you just thought of yourself as a good person. Considering the numerous crimes against humanity that have been carried out by people as soon as the "ve…
Totally agree. I thought this closing statement on this recent BBC article [1] hit the point home:
"Sometimes the women are portrayed as exploited victims. At other times as sadistic monsters.
The truth is more horrifying. They were not extraordinary monsters, but rather ordinary women, who ended up doing monstrous things."
Re: How to be more productive without forcing yourself
#1001. Have less exposure towards super fun things I cannot emphasize enough how powerful this is. If you're struggling to focus on your work/projects, try living a bland existence like a monk for a while. You won't be able to stop thinking about working.
Great life. Live like a monk to work more. Thanks, I'd rather be less productive and watch some Youtube during work from time to time. As long as I'm delivering stuff on time I don't need to constantly push myself harder. How should I know how much productivity is productive enough? These articles never bother to explain that.
I think the article's point is that procrastination is caused by your mismanagement of a pleasure gradient. The more you immerse yourself in the portion of the spectrum that is zero-effort and high-reward, the less you're motivated to leave that region, even as empty as it eventually makes you feel and your life becomes.
The author almost makes a really good point. The best way to entice yourself back into a more dynamic rhythm of life where you look forward to something is 1) to deprive yourself of it, and 2) not to seek it too soon.
Deprivation and anticipation are essential to maintaining a dynamic interesting lifestyle. Without the self-discipline to redirect your attention toward serving more mundane daily needs, you become a hedonist and focus only on getting high and staying there. You become a junkie.