Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time

mbuffett.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 179 posts

Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time

#71

Post by totetsu »

redisman wrote: post #59
totetsu wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This kind of thing works to begin with at least.. when that browser plugin in chrome stops me opening HN after 1hour it interrupts the impulse to browse, but then I can alway just open Firefox.. Limits outside ones control are best.. it's amazing how uninteresting youtube is when your data is rate limited.

Use a network level solution and don’t do a 1h block. Do a 365 day block to begin with. We’re like those rats with the cocaine button we keep pressing unless you can somehow disable it and go do something else with your time.

Given the amount of useful things and new perspective I get here, HN in moderation is a net positive on my effective use of my time. Blocking it outright for a whole year is a bit extreme. I might miss the news that pihole project was suddenly taken over by IBM or something.

Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time

#72

Post by tonyedgecombe »

mgraczyk wrote: post #47

It seems we can all relate, so I'll share my version of this as well. I'm not concerned with social media or Hacker News or whatever mainly because I remember the even worse crap I used to waste time reading before I learned of HN. My problem is control. I had a side project I started in May and I worked on it roughly 16 hours a day, every day for ~6 weeks with only one or two hour breaks to eat and exercise. When I…

If you are doing the same thing in your spare time that you do for the day job then isn't burnout inevitable?

I can't help feeling most of us would be better off doing something physical in our spare time.

Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time

#73

Post by ScoobleDoodle »

hattmall wrote: post #58

The Hook with sites like Reddit, HN, etc is that they ARE addictive. Actually addictive in the sense of gambling. In gambling addiction the gamblers aren't addicted to winning, they are addicted to losing, or "almost winning". Now if they never ever won the addiction wouldn't form. If they ALWAYS won the addiction also wouldn't form. The old thing was email that people were addicted to checking because you MIGHT get…

In the video game space they have intentional implementations of those: Loot boxes and the acronym FOMO (fear of missing out) in content that can only be obtained in a given game season (quarter.)

Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time

#74

Post by Kiro »

Hacker News nurtures an addiction like nothing I've ever seen before. Facebook, Instagram and TikTok don't even come close. I wonder if we give "algorithms" too much credit, considering HN does such a good job of capturing my attention without them.

Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time

#75

Post by 4ggr0 »

andriesvh wrote: post #63

> I’d end up bikeshedding my vim config instead of doing real work on my side project. i chuckled realizing nobody but programmers understands this and funny & recognizable at the same time!

This reminds me of something I did last week. In our team we share a Keepass file on a Windows share to exchange important passwords. If I am WFH I have to connect to the VPN, login to said share, copy the file and paste it to my linux laptop. This takes less than 5min but it always feels like a waste of time.

So then I had a genius idea that I could automate this process, to save time you know. Well, after 1,5 hours of trial and error I came to the conclusion that doing it manually is maybe not the worst thing.

Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time

#76

Post by nicbou »

Barrin92 wrote: post #7

If you have such a hard time not reading reddit or hackernews maybe the correct conclusion is not that you're 'wasting' time but that there's something enjoyable about so called low quality or idle activities and that they're normal part of a healthy life. I think it's deeply ironic that people will judge videogames on that basis but then to proceed to gamify and min-max their entire life because of this rat race men…

A little of it is normal. Too much of it is wasteful.

I have clocked a thousand hours in a video game I like. Many of that hours were not fun, but still just entertaining enough to prevent me from seeking greater pleasures. I was just killing time, not enjoying it.

I realise now that reddit is just the same. I sometimes use tools to block it, and I end up doing much more during that time. Not more work, but more time well spent.

I'm not being judgemental. I'm realizing that mindless browsing has a negative impact on my life and I choose to address it.

Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time

#77

Post by nicbou »

What worked for me was SelfControl on my computer and Adblock rules on my phone. This effectively kills my impulse to switch to Reddit or another website as soon as my scripts takes over a second to run. I block reddit and a few websites for days on end, and usually end up seeking better entertainment.

Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time

#78

Post by adwn »

Swizec wrote: post #33
modeless wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many of the highest impact decisions in my life, I made because of things I learned reading HN and reddit. And I've even been able to promote my own projects and other projects I like with some success. It's hard to tell whether I'm wasting this time or whether I'm learning about the next Tesla or Bitcoin or deep learning before it's big. Or learning the skills to communicate effectively and promote my work to a big…

Or as Hamming says in his famous essay: He who works with a closed door is more productive today and tomorrow, but over time works on just slightly the wrong things to make an impact. But those with an open door are full of flitting and scattering and keep getting distracted, yet over time stay aligned with the field and are much more likely to do important work

It's a matter of balance. Too much "open door" mentality, and you'll never achieve anything that distinguishes you from the rest. You won't create a new trend if you're always chasing the latest trends.

Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time

#79

Post by nicbou »

renjimen wrote: post #41

It’s weird how much guilt we have about how we spend our free time. We are constantly measuring our activities against what society, our parents, our friends, and social media say are worthwhile pastimes. I care far less in my 30s what others think of my demeanour than I did as a teenager, but somehow I find myself difficult to admit to friends without guilt how I spend a few hours a day playing video games, despite…

I'm measuring mine by my own standards. I don't want to be more productive. However I don't want to look back at my prime years and see that I spent most of them scrolling.

I'd rather enjoy more rewarding activities that involve learning, getting exercise or meeting people.

It's a bit like snacking. It's not harmful in moderation, but sometimes you need a proper meal.

Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time

#80

Post by nicbou »

scorxn wrote: post #5

Allowing oneself to be bored, or at least idle, without self-judgement, can be extremely valuable. You're likely processing things in the background (often without realizing it), which will make your active decisions and activities easier.

I do this when I get bored. Reddit gets in the way of being bored.
Post reply on HN