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My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

alexanderell.is

131–140 of 459 posts

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A raspberry pi just for a button??

If it was sitting in drawer not doing anything and now it is doing this, then it's still better than being in the drawer. Plus, what else that is small form factor and can execute ssh scripts when triggered by a smashable button are there?

Reminds me of this Dash buttons Amazon was pushing a while back.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But never "I know this is very harmful for my attention span, my mental health, etc". Early 20's here, and avoid TikTok, Instagram, etc and know Reddit and the like are all of those things listed - though the worst affected for me personally is attention span.

Hacker News might not be the best sample set :p I do all of these too but I really doubt many of my peers do.

I imagine you're quite correct.

I usually just like to chime in when people mention stuff like "no one young $THING", because I've noticed a trend where the fact that there are young people who care is ignored which I think hurts the case more.

Most of my peers don't care however, at least, not as much as I do though I've made some inroads.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#134

I'm still young so maybe my mind hasn't matured enough to where I can combat this well. So I went heavy-handed - I have a button on my desk that when I press it, my server's DNS server (through which all my devices and router resolve) begins rejecting requests to reddit, instagram, twitter, hackernews, news.google.com, etc. For the next two hours, there is nothing I can do outside of SSH'ing through my mobile device…

This is like saying "I cured my alcoholism by throwing all the liquor out of my house". The problem isn't the availability of the stimulus, it's the lack of control over your desire for it.

You can't cure a need for distraction by blocking domains. There isn't a cure. You have to learn to live with it, like alcoholism.

The good news is that major life events tend to be great for breaking the distraction seeking pattern. At some point you'll get married or have kids or change careers, etc. And then your life will be so different that looking back on a dns kill switch button will seem silly.

Until then, just keep pushing the button I guess. We all have to make it through somehow

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey, don't beat me to the punch! I thought about it right after posting too, that might have to be my next side project.

+1 on buying this, time for a Kickstarter!

If you're serious about this, go through Crowd Supply rather than Kickstarter or IGG.

They take a larger cut but are much more hands on with the marketing, and this kind of project would be right up their alley.

Couldn't recommend them more after my own experience with them as a 21 year old fresh grad.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just f*cking read :)

As much as I want to say this advice is terrible and useless… yeah. Move the things that aren't books far away, and read a book. When it's boring, put it down, but don't let go of it. Wait a few minutes, then move it back in front of your face and keep reading. It's possible you picked a bad book, but it's more likely that it isn't engaging enough. It normally takes me a few days (after half a year book-free) to get…

I also like to have a book going in each of several genres, so I can usually find something to match my mood.

Right now I’ve got one going in science fiction, autobiography, technical and… oh, another autobiography (I’ve been really into those lately).

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#138
post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I initially started using the multireddit feature, to section off specific but related interests. It can also be used to build a focused feed.

Are you able to set a multireddit as the homepage, or do you have to visit specific URLs to see the mutlireddits?

You can do that in Apollo (iOS) paid version, the client I use the most. Although, I will have to check again, but I am sure you can set the same on Sync and/or Boost (Android) on the free version, as I have a multireddit set as default on launch. On the browser, you can use RES + old reddit and change default behaviour. I find it easier to keep a very small number of frequently used subs for the home feed, and stick the rest in multi, as it helps to make them portable and easily shared. You can also find lists in r/multihub -- compiled and shared by others e.g. cars.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#139

I'm still young so maybe my mind hasn't matured enough to where I can combat this well. So I went heavy-handed - I have a button on my desk that when I press it, my server's DNS server (through which all my devices and router resolve) begins rejecting requests to reddit, instagram, twitter, hackernews, news.google.com, etc. For the next two hours, there is nothing I can do outside of SSH'ing through my mobile device…

This is like saying "I cured my alcoholism by throwing all the liquor out of my house". The problem isn't the availability of the stimulus, it's the lack of control over your desire for it. You can't cure a need for distraction by blocking domains. There isn't a cure. You have to learn to live with it, like alcoholism. The good news is that major life events tend to be great for breaking the distraction seeking patte…

This is colossally bad advice when literally a fundamental part of the playbook to defeating alcoholism is getting it out of the house... Getting it out of the house and blocking domains are extremely valid tactics for getting over an addiction.

Re: My lizard brain is no match for infinite scroll

#140
post #33

I'm still young so maybe my mind hasn't matured enough to where I can combat this well. So I went heavy-handed - I have a button on my desk that when I press it, my server's DNS server (through which all my devices and router resolve) begins rejecting requests to reddit, instagram, twitter, hackernews, news.google.com, etc. For the next two hours, there is nothing I can do outside of SSH'ing through my mobile device…

This could seriously be a good commercial product!

I’m all for tangible, tactical solutions to problems that are currently enabled by software. For example, a phone tells the time, but it’s not always as straight forward as looking at a clock.
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