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Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?

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Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?

#171

Post by sizzle »

frereubu wrote: post #129
sizzle wrote: post #124

Amphetamines and other stimulants are huge cognitive boosters

Counterpoint: I have found that stimulants (caffeine is about as strong as I get these days) work for short periods of time, then become a net negative. Over the course of a week I'd get more done by having absolutely no stimulants, not even caffeine. Even for short-term work crunches they can be detrimental because they increase stress levels, which can lead to mental paralysis.

Yes having baseline constant energy levels is arguably the best strategy over high highs and subsequent low lows

Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?

#172

Post by staticassertion »

deathtrader666 wrote: post #169
staticassertion wrote: post #128

I wake up in the morning and play video games online for about 15 minutes. It wakes me up, it engages me, forces me to focus. I've been able to cut back all caffeine in the morning, only having some later in the day.

Any specific games? Genres?

Something competitive. I play Star Wars Battlefront 2. It's a pretty casual game but it's competitive so you have to focus up and try if you want to win.

Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?

#173

Post by BatteryMountain »

lordnacho wrote: post #110
rthomas6 wrote: post #64

Not joking: stop going on the internet. It's scientifically proven to boost concentration. More specifically, do one thing, and only that thing, for a set time period. Do not check your phone, do not even have it in the same room. Do the one thing until time is up.

This is like saying "stop eating too much, you'll lose weight". You have to eat and you have to use the internet. What's the solution to not doing it to your own detriment?

Problem is, some of us goes into loops: Check email, check youtube, check hackernews, code a bit or do code review or work meeting, check email, check youtube, check hackernews etc....it can get draining really quickly, esp with the current events going on (covid, war etc). Biggest boost to productivity at this point is to forcibly shut everything out for a few hours. PiHole helps me with this.

Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?

#174

Post by BatteryMountain »

Graffur wrote: post #28
vedran wrote: post #10

A few more from Dr. Huberman: ADHD & How Anyone Can Improve Their Focus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFL6qRIJZ_Y How to Focus to Change Your Brain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG53Vxum0as

I am only 2 mins into the first video but I am hyped - thanks for posting this!

Enjoy! I recommend you start from the oldest videos and work your way forward. He often mentions to past videos and some his content builds on top of older content. It is time well spent. His demeanor/cadence & carefulness on choice of words is very clear and appreciated. His videos also have bookmarks so it is easy to find things in the future if you want to refer back to something.

Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?

#176

Post by otikik »

hungryforcodes wrote: post #142
dominotw wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've tried to listen Huberman so many times but have hard time focusing. He seems to rattle off a list of things without any emotional hooks to keep the user engaged.

I tried watching the first six minutes of one if the above videos and it was all just fluf or advertising for his sponsors. No actual information. Podcasts in general seem like such a poor and inefficient way to acquire information. A brief article in Wikipedia that can be the jumping board for further explorariob is always so much better for me.

Same. Use the time guide provided under the video, makes it easy to skip ads or sections you are not interested in.

Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?

#177

Post by otikik »

WalterBright wrote: post #70

> Music. which type depends on the individual. I listen to music all day. But when I really need to concentrate, the music has to go off.

I only have that problem with new music. Music I know by heart melds with and attenuates the background.

Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?

#178

Post by mettamage »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #87
rthomas6 wrote: post #64

Not joking: stop going on the internet. It's scientifically proven to boost concentration. More specifically, do one thing, and only that thing, for a set time period. Do not check your phone, do not even have it in the same room. Do the one thing until time is up.

I've replaced a lot of my normal web surfing time with putting in some bluetooth headphones and listening to audiobooks. Much more fulfilling than spending hours on the internet where I can't even remember what I did that whole time, and you're freed up to do other things like work out, prep food, clean the kitchen, etc. Not sure if it has improved my concentration, but it has improved all sorts of aspects of my life…

How do you go about this? Audible or something?

I’d like to do this but wouldn’t know how to make it routine (e.g. lining up audiobooks to read, loading them on a phone).

I’d like to see if I can steal your “workflow” ;)

Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?

#179

Post by mangoTangoBango »

nine_k wrote: post #72
rthomas6 wrote: post #64

Not joking: stop going on the internet. It's scientifically proven to boost concentration. More specifically, do one thing, and only that thing, for a set time period. Do not check your phone, do not even have it in the same room. Do the one thing until time is up.

Since accessing the internet (and sometimes even the Web) is often a part of an IT job, the "one thing" approach is pretty helpful. Keep in mind what are you doing. If you're reviewing a pull request, you only need the Github page, and not the rest of the pages on the WWW. Also, timeboxing things helps. It's hard to work on one thing indefinitely , it can even induce panic. But if you're using something like the pomo…

Just doing one thing at once, close all your tabs, facebook, and any other time-wasters. Then I set a pomodoro timer for 60min and work until it's done. Currently using Befocused Pro. That is the best way to focus on something that you are procrastinating on.

Re: Ask HN: Any scientifically proven techniques to boost concentration?

#180

Post by ichugwindex »

rthomas6 wrote: post #64

Not joking: stop going on the internet. It's scientifically proven to boost concentration. More specifically, do one thing, and only that thing, for a set time period. Do not check your phone, do not even have it in the same room. Do the one thing until time is up.

Thanks for the reminder to get off!
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