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Ask HN: I am wasting so much of time, what can I do?

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Re: Ask HN: I am wasting so much of time, what can I do?

#61

Post by qxb »

acangiano wrote: post #5

Consider the following three steps: 1) Pomodoro Technique. Aim for something like 14-18 pomodori per day. (Assuming 25 minutes per pomodoro.) If you do the math you may think "oh that's not much" but you'll be exhausted by the end of it. 2) Install Rescuetime and religiously use it to track how your time is spent during the weekday. Use their "Stay focused" function when you are sprinting on a pomodoro. 3) Get a seco…

I might be in a minority of one, but for anyone else who had never heard of the Pomodoro Technique before reading this: http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/

Re: Ask HN: I am wasting so much of time, what can I do?

#62

Post by indrora »

There's a few ways I combat this:

* Multiple desktops, each with ONE purpose. Alpha does email (in mutt over ssh) while Beta does web browsing, Delta gives me an IDE and Gamma gives system info.

* My email and my browsing are seperated. This lets me focus on email, then on browsing. Since I do a lot of web development, I run two browsers, Firefox for my normal everyday stuff and Chrome for my development.

* I use a little time-tracker. Teatimers and other such things are great for this. Since I use XFCE a lot of my development machines, I use the "Timer" plugin. The activities I dont want to do for long call 'xscreensaver-command --lock'. It forces me to get up.

* I regularly stand up, walk around, get my mind some more oxygen.

* I keep a todo list in Tomboy. + items are done, - items aren't, ? items are 'do I need to do this today'.

* When on Windows, I use The Guide on a flash drive to do my todo lists. I also keep track of time with a buzzer timer.

* I listen to music which lasts 5 minutes at a time (often chiptunes) which keeps me on task. This is a personal preference.

Your best bet is to sit down, allot yourself X minutes to chekcing email, Y Minutes to check news and the rest is 'work' time. If you start dwadling off on other things, stand up, take a break and just get back to what you have to do.

Re: Ask HN: I am wasting so much of time, what can I do?

#63

Post by pointyhat »

Lots of people say "read this", "read that", "following this technique". That's just attaching yourself to the problem in a stronger way.

I say take a holiday somewhere nice and peaceful without a computer or book in sight. Just sit and think. Let the noise in the mind pass.

Re: Ask HN: I am wasting so much of time, what can I do?

#64

Post by pushyoself »

stephth wrote: post #56

Lots of good comments I think, but before considering all those options, I think the first thing you should try is to push yourself in the "zone" [1]. To me entering the zone can be hard sometimes - my brain is inventing all sorts of distractions, why it does that is still a mystery to me since I love my job - but it's not that hard: I just need to force myself to get in the zone, and I do that by ignoring my desires…

yes..that is an awesome approach...only for the initial 30-45 mins do you have to kinda force yoself...once you start hacking some problems your mind will want to keep hacking!

Re: Ask HN: I am wasting so much of time, what can I do?

#65

Post by andreavaccari »

I just stumbled upon this interesting article on HBR: How to become a great finisher.

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/06/how_to_become_a_great_finish...

Rather than thinking in terms of how much time you do or should work, set your objectives and make sure to finish what you started.

Re: Ask HN: I am wasting so much of time, what can I do?

#66

Post by jergason »

ktrgardiner wrote: post #10
acangiano wrote: post #5

Consider the following three steps: 1) Pomodoro Technique. Aim for something like 14-18 pomodori per day. (Assuming 25 minutes per pomodoro.) If you do the math you may think "oh that's not much" but you'll be exhausted by the end of it. 2) Install Rescuetime and religiously use it to track how your time is spent during the weekday. Use their "Stay focused" function when you are sprinting on a pomodoro. 3) Get a seco…

I second the third point. My most productive times are when I have my iPad right next to my laptop ready and waiting for me to need the internet. If I need to look something up I'll do so on the iPad and keep it open if I need to refer to it or turn it off again when I'm done. I find that not switching between windows really helps me stay in the zone. As soon as that code goes out of sight behind a browser, it's so e…

That idea is the first one I have seen that would justify the cost of a tablet to me. Not just a toy or a third or .*th computer, but a device to limit your distraction. I like that a lot.

Re: Ask HN: I am wasting so much of time, what can I do?

#67

Post by jerf »

gintas wrote: post #18
Splines wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also a StayFocusd[1] plugin for Chrome which will block sites for you. I'm struggling with my own procrastination and it seems to be helping, although I find myself distracting myself via other means :-/ [1] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/laankejkbhbdhmipfm...

Also try Crackbook [1] for Chrome which delays pages instead of banning them. Works much better for me that Stayfocusd, which I just disable after a while. (Disclaimer: I am the author.) [1] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/nbgjmohekjolcgemlo...

Brilliant. Blocking the site makes the brain want to got around it, as others say. Delaying the site attacks the addictiveness directly, slowly weaning you off the feedback loop. Nice.

Re: Ask HN: I am wasting so much of time, what can I do?

#68

Post by bennesvig »

acangiano wrote: post #5

Consider the following three steps: 1) Pomodoro Technique. Aim for something like 14-18 pomodori per day. (Assuming 25 minutes per pomodoro.) If you do the math you may think "oh that's not much" but you'll be exhausted by the end of it. 2) Install Rescuetime and religiously use it to track how your time is spent during the weekday. Use their "Stay focused" function when you are sprinting on a pomodoro. 3) Get a seco…

Seth Godin's blog post on point #3: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/03/are-you-maki...

Re: Ask HN: I am wasting so much of time, what can I do?

#70

Post by prawn »

acangiano wrote: post #5

Consider the following three steps: 1) Pomodoro Technique. Aim for something like 14-18 pomodori per day. (Assuming 25 minutes per pomodoro.) If you do the math you may think "oh that's not much" but you'll be exhausted by the end of it. 2) Install Rescuetime and religiously use it to track how your time is spent during the weekday. Use their "Stay focused" function when you are sprinting on a pomodoro. 3) Get a seco…

Is there a tool for using Pomodoro that incorporates music? e.g., assembles 25 minute blocks of music or noise with very subtle signals that you're nearing the end of a block (have found this gets me going faster).
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