We Still Don’t Get Things Done • Hacker News Board

Re: We Still Don’t Get Things Done

#81

Post by pySSK » Sat, Jul 31, 2021, 6:39 PM UTC

Lightbody wrote: post #31

jkhdigital wrote: post #24

I still think David Allen nailed it in Getting Things Done . Not the system necessarily, but he nailed the diagnosis of why we fail to get things done: an inability to be honest with ourselves about (1) the full scope and scale of the commitments we make, and (2) just how little time and attention we have at our disposal in meeting those commitments. Really, it’s the same sort of problem that is described in The Goal…

For what it’s worth, we (Reclaim.ai - I’m quoted in the article), have a lot of ADHD customers who tell us that we help with time blocking on their calendar. In particular, the fact that we do it automatically seems to be the thing they appreciate. Edit: First time I’ve ever been downvoted into negative territory. Clearly I’ve embarrassed myself ;P Is it because of self promotion? I guess… seems weird though I/my com…

Thanks for making Reclaim. I’m struggling with ADD and it’s something I’m able to stick to in longer spurts than other things. I’ll reach out on Twitter or by email with some of my pain points.

Re: We Still Don’t Get Things Done

#82

Post by jdrmar » Sat, Jul 31, 2021, 6:40 PM UTC

This resonates a lot with me. I've tried so many todo apps, but in the end I always returned to a simple piece of paper.

It did bother me that paper is not very flexible, so I'm experimenting with a digital 'paper to-do' version. If you're curious, check it out at https://can.do :)

Feedback of course most welcome.

Re: We Still Don’t Get Things Done

#83

Post by a9h74j » Sat, Jul 31, 2021, 6:50 PM UTC

bmallerd wrote: post #41

kilroy123 wrote: post #14

I'm always curious how others "work." I use the Pomodoro technique myself, where I do a minimum of 8 sessions per workday. I try to do 10, but usually, I'm somewhere in between. I do not count meetings. Every day at work, I show up and do a minimum of 4 straight hours of concentrated and focused work. I often get told things like: "I'm killing it", "I'm a high producer", etc. To me, I feel like I'm cheating the syste…

I tracked my productivity pretty rigorously in college for about a year. My maximum sustainable productivity was somewhere between 6 and 8 pomodoros a day. If a deadline was imminent, I could "crunch" and put in something like 12 a day for a week. Interestingly, I would crash afterwards and can only do about 3 pomodoros-per-day until my brain recovers. The average productivity in the crash + recovery cycle was also 6…

You should blog aoout "Pomodoro debt"

Re: We Still Don’t Get Things Done

#84

Post by miika » Sat, Jul 31, 2021, 6:52 PM UTC

When I get even little bit excited about something and act on it, then it's easy to get things done. No tools required!

Then again, when I'm asked to do something that isn't really my thing or something is off, then I just can fix it with some task manager (!).

Sure, even the most exciting project may feel little bit boring at times but.. as long as it's not all the time I let it be.

It's not healty to be productive all the time.

Re: We Still Don’t Get Things Done

#85

Post by robocat » Sat, Jul 31, 2021, 6:55 PM UTC

moksly wrote: post #32

The more project management tools I have to work with, the less likely I am to work for or with a company. I have a somewhat similar stance on software architecture. Sure, I’m TOGAF certified but if you actually expect me to work with notation correct Archimare/UML/whatever and not just draw boxes on a napkin you’re either insane or sell a product with no competition. This is anecdotal of course, but after 30 years o…

For anyone wondering what "Archimare" refers to: https://www.visual-paradigm.com/guide/archimate/what-is-arch...

Re: We Still Don’t Get Things Done

#86

Post by albertzeyer » Sat, Jul 31, 2021, 7:03 PM UTC

moksly wrote: post #32

The more project management tools I have to work with, the less likely I am to work for or with a company. I have a somewhat similar stance on software architecture. Sure, I’m TOGAF certified but if you actually expect me to work with notation correct Archimare/UML/whatever and not just draw boxes on a napkin you’re either insane or sell a product with no competition. This is anecdotal of course, but after 30 years o…

I don't exactly understand your criticism on best practices.

You seem to imply that UML or other project management software are considered best practices. I have never heard that. Or rather the opposite. Not using UML is currently considered as best practice.

But maybe it depends who you ask.

Re: We Still Don’t Get Things Done

#87

Post by polote » Sat, Jul 31, 2021, 7:03 PM UTC

There is only one way to get things done [1]. It is just DO and stop thinking about it or how to do it.

Todo apps will not help you get things done, they will only help you accumulate much more tasks that you can do.

I mean how can some people think that software will make them do more ? The app will not do the task for you.

Contrary to what the title states, some people get things done. But productivity is the same thing as loosing weight. It is very easy to understand what to do, (eat less/work (real work) more hours). But there a tons of business trying to sell you something to achieve it. If you want to get things done, just do it. I don't know what else I can tell you

[1] https://blog.luap.info/the-only-way-to-be-productive.html

Re: We Still Don’t Get Things Done

#88

Post by tshaddox » Sat, Jul 31, 2021, 7:08 PM UTC

polote wrote: post #87

There is only one way to get things done [1]. It is just DO and stop thinking about it or how to do it. Todo apps will not help you get things done, they will only help you accumulate much more tasks that you can do. I mean how can some people think that software will make them do more ? The app will not do the task for you. Contrary to what the title states, some people get things done. But productivity is the same…

That article seems a bit silly to me. Of course the way to do more things is to do more things. That doesn’t mean “how?” isn’t a reasonable question. For example, it could be helpful to read tips for inventorying how exactly I spend my time, to help me identify areas where I’m spending more time than I had realized.

This article reads like “reading about how to get better at weightlifting won’t help you, because the only way to lift a heavy weight is to literally lift a heavy weight.”

Re: We Still Don’t Get Things Done

#89

Post by bityard » Sat, Jul 31, 2021, 7:14 PM UTC

Doches wrote: post #38

This is _exactly_ why I stopped keeping TODO lists, and started keeping DONE lists instead. What's a done list? Think of it as an anti-TODO list: your DONE list is where you write down everything that you've, well, done. You know that little dopamine kick you get from filing a neatly-tagged TODO or marking off something that you've finished? A done list is just that, and the only way to use it is to train yourself to…

I don't know why you're getting downvoted, but this method is the only thing I've been able to stick with for more than a few days.

I have so many things I both have to do and want to do that keeping a written list of them is pointless and demotivating. Only time-sensitive things get written down, and that's just so I don't forget them before it's too late.

The beauty of this is that it doesn't need an app, just a notebook or text editor.

Re: We Still Don’t Get Things Done

#90

Post by polote » Sat, Jul 31, 2021, 7:16 PM UTC

tshaddox wrote: post #88

polote wrote: post #87

There is only one way to get things done [1]. It is just DO and stop thinking about it or how to do it. Todo apps will not help you get things done, they will only help you accumulate much more tasks that you can do. I mean how can some people think that software will make them do more ? The app will not do the task for you. Contrary to what the title states, some people get things done. But productivity is the same…

That article seems a bit silly to me. Of course the way to do more things is to do more things. That doesn’t mean “how?” isn’t a reasonable question. For example, it could be helpful to read tips for inventorying how exactly I spend my time, to help me identify areas where I’m spending more time than I had realized. This article reads like “reading about how to get better at weightlifting won’t help you, because the…

The problem is that "how?" doesnt have any convincing answer. People who are GTDoners are not more motivated by the things they do than other people. The only difference is they do the work and spend the less time as possible thinking how to work more, how to be faster, ...