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Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

sibervepunk.com

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Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#91

Post by justlikereddit »

switz wrote: post #10

This post makes a few detours, but the section about their own work is always interesting to me. I've always been a "pull on the threads and then pattern match"-kinda worker, rather than a "productivity-chaser" or "advice-seeker". I just pull on the threads that interest me, and over time these threads always have a way of coming back together. It's the difference between being goal oriented and process oriented. Thi…

The author touches something that are probably better described as burnout triggers.

Accumulate enough expectation metrics and targets and then completely miss them. The mismatch of expectations and reality will give anyone a pause.

The solution isn't chasing more metrics and new far off targets with silver bullets on how to reach them. But that's what "thought leaders" and management think loves doing.

The lower the "loss" between your prediction for your future state and the actual state, the more content you'll be and the easier things will likely progress. Spending more time on maxing out predictions will just make the loss larger.

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#92

Post by bazmattaz »

purple-leafy wrote: post #86

Hey I read your article. Have you ever considered: 1) Ditching social media (everything - Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn - everything. I don't mean delete the app. I mean delete all your accounts, and all the apps. No going back.) 2) Ditching your smart phone (Buy a brick phone) I'm completely serious. I'm currently living this way, the phone was a recent addition in the last month. But social media, has been for year…

Ditching social media is a complete no brainer for me. I’ve ditched everything over the years but Reddit. For some reason I keep coming back to it. I really like the communities around specific topics (record collecting, docker, python, sports). I curate my feed so it only serves up content from my niche interests.

However even Reddit has become a time suck and endless scroll of low value content. That’s why I keep coming back to HN - Much higher value content.

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#93

Post by bazmattaz »

TheRealQueequeg wrote: post #77
euniceee3 wrote: post #74

Enable ad's. Companies, show more ad's.

Sorry to be pedantic, but I'm drunk and got annoyed by your contraction use. WORD + 's = WORD + is. So, "ad's" = "advertisement is". Which shouldn't make sense. It should be "ads".

Sorry to be pedantic but WORD + ‘s = WORD + is, is not always true. If the word is a singular noun you can add an ‘s to form the possessive form of a singular noun;

Jane’s books

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#95

Post by 1dom »

bazmattaz wrote: post #92
purple-leafy wrote: post #86

Hey I read your article. Have you ever considered: 1) Ditching social media (everything - Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn - everything. I don't mean delete the app. I mean delete all your accounts, and all the apps. No going back.) 2) Ditching your smart phone (Buy a brick phone) I'm completely serious. I'm currently living this way, the phone was a recent addition in the last month. But social media, has been for year…

Ditching social media is a complete no brainer for me. I’ve ditched everything over the years but Reddit. For some reason I keep coming back to it. I really like the communities around specific topics (record collecting, docker, python, sports). I curate my feed so it only serves up content from my niche interests. However even Reddit has become a time suck and endless scroll of low value content. That’s why I keep c…

Sorry to be "that guy", but where and why do you draw a line between social media, Reddit and HN?

I do the same, but I don't like it. I "don't use social media", but I use reddit, and I'm commenting here too. I think I'm deluding myself, and I think you might be too.

I'd guess what you come to HN and Reddit, and what you get from them both is no different to what a daily Facebook user goes to Facebook and gets.

For some reason, because the content type here is slightly more intellectual, slightly less emotional (generally...) slightly more focused on what I'm proud to call my interests (tech), I somehow feel like it's more justified.

If it's justified for people to use sites like this and claim it's not bad social media because it's related to our tech interest, I feel like we must accept people who use Facebook daily and claim it's not bad social media, because it relates to their interest in social stuff.

Practically, they have the same features and problems: a constant stream of information on which we can passively extract and offer views on.

Sorry, I don't mean be disagreeable, I just wish people would call this (including me) out more. The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it is that there are supposedly educated people like me and you claiming they "don't use" and have "ditched" social media to each other in the comments section of a media site. What do you think?

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#96

Post by buzzardbait »

1dom wrote: post #95
bazmattaz wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ditching social media is a complete no brainer for me. I’ve ditched everything over the years but Reddit. For some reason I keep coming back to it. I really like the communities around specific topics (record collecting, docker, python, sports). I curate my feed so it only serves up content from my niche interests. However even Reddit has become a time suck and endless scroll of low value content. That’s why I keep c…

Sorry to be "that guy", but where and why do you draw a line between social media, Reddit and HN? I do the same, but I don't like it. I "don't use social media", but I use reddit, and I'm commenting here too. I think I'm deluding myself, and I think you might be too. I'd guess what you come to HN and Reddit, and what you get from them both is no different to what a daily Facebook user goes to Facebook and gets. For s…

Not the person you're replying to, but maybe "ditched" is a strong word. A few thoughts about the various forms of social media you've mentioned:

Browsing HN for 30 minutes is probably a better investment than browsing TikTok for 30 minutes.

Browsing TikTok for 30 minutes and learning a new healthy recipe is probably a better investment than reading international news for 30 minutes.

Light use of social media can be a greater net positive than complete abstinence from all forms of social media.

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#98

Post by badpun »

Aurornis wrote: post #54
fellowniusmonk wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agree with everything you've said, brain train for the actual job by doing the actual job and immersing in it as thoroughly and consistently as you can, do things others find boring or difficult. In case the author IS young, I would also add this: Stay away from startups with capricious, absentee or already wealthy founders, find the most productive, stable environment you can. If you work in an environment w…

> If you work in an environment where personal production and job security are orthogonal you might find yourself getting rug pulled where effort/contribution are fully decoupled from reward. This is a great point. When you find yourself in a workplace where job security is based more on vibes than production it creates a false sense of security. You think your personal productivity doesn't matter and that you can vi…

> It's good to work at companies where productivity is tied to personal performance, even if measuring productivty is far from perfect.

It’s best to play to your strengths. If you’re better at playing office politics than at doing the actual work, working for a company that values competence will produce subpar results for you.

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#99

Post by drcwpl »

siamese_puff wrote: post #6
malux85 wrote: post #3

Then stop consuming! A champion has discipline. A champion athlete doesnt grow morbidly obese off pizza and then complains it’s the pizzas fault - stop, or drastically reduce, eating. “It’s not easy”, of course it isn’t, all greatness requires sacrifice, are you going to go to the gym (learn new programming skill) or sit there eating donuts?

This comment kind of nails it. I don’t have any social media at all and often my friends tell me I live under a rock for not knowing the latest meme. The decision is trivial, I just don’t have social media (except Hackernews which does waste a disgusting amount of time). Anyways - people gravitate toward the simple and assume the difficult is impossible. I’m training for a marathon with some friends and some are alre…

Very well said "people gravitate toward the simple and assume the difficult is impossible." I often get grief for saying people are lazy - I will use your careful tone

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#100

Post by iamhamm »

> I can’t stop myself from thinking that working on a book for 6 months, doing its projects, is a huge waste of time for me, and because I already feel late, I find myself, yet again, in a cycle.

That’s such an important observation. Many of us have become so fooled by the notion of fast consumption and immediate gains that we have all but stopped putting in the meaningful work.

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