I can attest to experiencing virtually everything the author describes here. I admire the ability to articulate these mundane-sounding challenges that greatly impact your quality of life.
It's getting harder to focus every day
331–340 of 440 posts
Re: It's getting harder to focus every day
#332Earlier quoted context omitted.
> there are a lot of people who act as if they have ADHD but on close inspection turn out not to have the diagnosable condition This is an interesting way to try to put a label on someone’s behavioral conditioning. One of the common, and growing, problems with Internet discussions of ADHD is that they’ve expanded so much that most young people growing up in a connected world can identity with some influencer’s descri…
Informative comment, thank you. Can you elaborate on what symptoms do people with ADHD have that the ADHD “sympathizers” don’t? How can one analyze themselves “on close inspection” to know if they truly have ADHD?
Not OP, but I would say that people's self analysis should focus around examining/describing their own internal existence, not external-view terms from the medical industry. If you suspect you have a problem that can be diagnosed and helped by the medical industry, go right ahead and seek out that help. But regardless you've also got to do the work internally, and externalizing your locus of control onto the medical industry undermines that.
Re: It's getting harder to focus every day
#333Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's only one important thing that I miss about smoking: A smoke break was an excuse that was tolerated by others, wherein I could go outside and just let my mind wander (daydream) with no particular goal for a short period of time. Daydreaming should be perfectly acceptable either way, but people seem to think it's weird (concerning, even) when someone spends a bit of time to stand (or sit) around while appearing…
I've started to go stand in my front yard and just watch the world go by for 15 minutes or so and if I do it around dinner time then I can get away without looking weird as it's perfectly normal to wait uber eats this way.
It's your yard though, you can stand in it whenever you want.
Re: It's getting harder to focus every day
#334Earlier quoted context omitted.
The current situation was foretold 20 years ago in the prescient documentary named Idiocracy.
I’d argue Idiocracy is actually quite the opposite of what the OP was talking about. It has a mildly eugenics-y vibe where the world is bad because poor, stupid people have poor, stupid kids that outnumber the smart ones. OP is talking about something environmental that can affect anyone.
Satire pokes fun at what is happening right now; it's not predicting anything. Just like 1984 warned of the dangers of totalitarianism that was already happening, Idiocracy was about current U.S. culture at the time. It wouldn't have been funny if our culture weren't already like that 20 years ago.
The premise is just a silly one so that there's a plot-based reason to show an exaggerated version of what was already happening culturally. It's not intended to be the point of the movie.
Re: It's getting harder to focus every day
#335In terms of solutions on an individual-level: after a lot of trial and error I feel like what works for me is an absolutist cold-turkey-approach. I've pretty much banned all consumptive screen-time except some things like Hacker News, LinkedIn, YouTube (only existing subscriptions, no recommendations or shorts etc). Things I know I won't spend more than 15-20 minutes on and are not highly stimulating and made to high…
There is clear irony in the statement "... an absolutist cold-turkey-approach." ... "except some things like Hacker News, LinkedIn, YouTube." That sounds closer to the opposite end of the extreme.
I knew someone would nitpick on that. Could've worded it better. But like I expanded later in the para, an absolute for platforms where I feel my brain hijacked. To make clearer, 0 minutes for those things (example-Reddit, IG, etc.). Instead of something like X minutes of screen time where I'm allowed anything. Because for the things I allow, like LinkedIn, I don't find myself using them much at all even though I have full freedom, but the utility at that point crosses whatever time is spent on cringe posts.
And allow me to return the nitpickiness as well. "That sounds closer to the opposite end of the extreme." - I don't see how that's closer to the opposite end of the extreme? Are you saying only watching YouTube channels which you've subscribe to (despite being subscribed to dozens I only see maybe one new video pop up every few days) and spending some time on TWO work-related social-media is the opposite end of the EXTREME? How?
Re: It's getting harder to focus every day
#336[dead]
Re: It's getting harder to focus every day
#337In terms of solutions on an individual-level: after a lot of trial and error I feel like what works for me is an absolutist cold-turkey-approach. I've pretty much banned all consumptive screen-time except some things like Hacker News, LinkedIn, YouTube (only existing subscriptions, no recommendations or shorts etc). Things I know I won't spend more than 15-20 minutes on and are not highly stimulating and made to high…
But LinkedIn has become one of the worst kinds of social media. I mean, it's full of AI grifters, people starting posts with 'I wasn't going to post this but [continues with a dumb post]' and lately even a lot of obituaries. Everybody on LinekdIn is either "very successful" or has learned a lesson by some f ck up that didn't even happen. I just saw a post of a guy who pretends to be successful, rents a Porsche and th…
Yea exactly. That's why I allow it. Because apart from the obvious networking benefit and a few sane people I follow who post good stuff every now and then, I basically don't doom-scroll it. So the utility at that point crosses whatever 5-10 minutes of cringe AI slop I quickly scroll past.
Re: It's getting harder to focus every day
#338Living in Seattle saved me. In the winter months I started waking up and sitting in front of a SAD light for half an hour. I almost immediately got bored so I started reading long-form books (with the occasional short story) in front of the light for an hour each morning. I gave up on facebook in 2010 and twitter in 2020ish. I never developed the habit for other social media. I turn off slack and email for the first…
Do you have an automated way of turning off Slack and email for the first 45 minutes of each hour?
Re: It's getting harder to focus every day
#339A lot of people here are focusing on ADHD, but I think the author is commenting on a different phenomenon, because they were able to concentrate before and now it's just much harder. I feel it and many people I talk to feel it as well. It's difficult for me to separate whether this is a result of other changes in my life over time or simply a reflex of ageing in general, though I do think it's a wider societal shift.…
I've heard it's habit. You can have a habit of thinking long and hard or you can have a habit of jumping back and forth. You can always reach for the other, but you also have a default for most of the time. I think these days, companies want jumping back and forth because it means it's much easier to grab your attention and get something out of you, without giving you time to fully think through the consequences.
Re: It's getting harder to focus every day
#340It's really not that hard but people are addicted and don't want to admit it. Buy an Amazfit 6 watch, has alarms, clock, health stats, memos, weather, maps, and GPS workout. Turn off nearly all phone notifications. Do not allow any phone to AmaZfit notifications. Don't have your phone physically attached to you. You need your phone with you? Backpack. Never in pockets. All sudden it is incredibly easy to focus.
Phone in the backpack is a crazy simple hack. Every time you want to reach for it you get a slight punishment (anti-reward), this is operant conditioning.
This does work, especially at the library where you feel like you're drawing a little attention for going in your bag.
I also put my phone in a kSafe by Kitchen Safe for 20-30 minutes to break out of doomscrolling with no takebacks. I keep a wireless charger in the safe so it can charge while it's in there.
Another thing I realized by working at a job where I couldn't take my phone is that you can just go to the library and leave your phone at home.