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Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

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Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#61

Post by groby_b »

anabranch wrote: post #29
austenallred wrote: post #24

For a long time I felt (and now feel) the same as you. I just wanted to share an experience that, while completely anecdotal, is perhaps atypical, and has been one of the defining experiences of my life. I got the Internet as a birthday present on my 8th birthday, and pretty much disappeared from normal society for the next few years. The Internet was (and is) fascinating - I could learn anything, interact with peopl…

http://selfcontrolapp.com/ Works well. It cannot be turned off and you can set it for a specific amount of time. You choose the websites you would like to block. Your phone is obviously a weak point, but it's a start.

"Offtime" does a reasonable job for Android.

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#63

Post by mjhea0 »

learningdiary wrote: post #28
jhki wrote: post #5

I really recommend meditation. Other than that, you just need to accept that you'll never be able go through it all. And prioritize what's most important to your life. And sometimes just lay it all aside and recharge. But meditation has really healped me with all of these. And in the end it's quite of a high-quality problem.

+1

+2

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#66

Post by wicker »

brm wrote: post #33
austenallred wrote: post #24

For a long time I felt (and now feel) the same as you. I just wanted to share an experience that, while completely anecdotal, is perhaps atypical, and has been one of the defining experiences of my life. I got the Internet as a birthday present on my 8th birthday, and pretty much disappeared from normal society for the next few years. The Internet was (and is) fascinating - I could learn anything, interact with peopl…

It's an app that doesn't work in the specific way that you wish, but I have found leechblock to be a wonderful addition to my internet life: http://www.proginosko.com/leechblock.html You can eliminate large swaths of the internet from loading in your browser and control what sets of sites are blocked when.

I was having trouble with Leechblock until I realized I could redirect the page to something like a static image. I often find myself blinking and staring at a Leechblocked result without quite knowing how I got there, particularly from the middle of a flow state. (I'll be hacking on something and randomly open browser, ctrl+l, "reddit.com" without conscious thought.)

I change up the image every few days but I try to have it point to something like the recent Orion launch or a trip photo from the Portland Hikers Field Guide. Instead of redirecting to Google's homepage (which is what I did at first), seeing the image gives me positive reinforcement to pause and be more mindful about what I'm doing, where my head is at, etc.

It's been an enormous help in instilling my habit to stay focused.

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#67

Post by coned88 »

curiously wrote: post #60

it is overloading your brain because they are not essential, need to know information that you are forcing down your own throat. If the information is not urgent enough for you to know at that moment then it's not worth it. As time passes so does the value of the information. This is entirely controllable and one must stop falling to the prey of information greed.

Sometimes though I'll see an article about a very interesting topic. I really do want to read it but then I see it's many pages long so I'll set it to read later and then I never read it or at least don't for a while.

You're right about the value of the info. There are times I'll go back and then just delete it because I don't value it anymore.

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#68

Post by coned88 »

sysk wrote: post #7

Perhaps this could be of some inspiration? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudeism

That's actually pretty great. One of the best books I have ever read is the Tao of Pooh. I forget Taoism sometimes but it does feel right. maybe it's time to take the Pooh book off the shelf again for another read.

Re: Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload?

#70

Post by coned88 »

bra-ket wrote: post #58

cancel your Internet account for good and return the modem

It's actually quite valid. I have taken vacations from work before with the sole intent of staying away from computers since I work on them all day. Guess what it never worked out. I always went back to the computer and spent the entire vacation on it.
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