Ask HN: How can I remedy scatter brain and information overload? • Hacker News Board

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

#141

Post by estrabd » Sun, Dec 07, 2014, 4:39 AM UTC

coned88 wrote: post #131

estrabd wrote: post #8

You might be INTP. FInd out and if you are, find a community of them. It helped me. And to put it succinctly, minimize your information firehoses and reject the notion that you need to keep abreast of everything even if it is not relevant to you. Purge all of your reading lists and resist building them. If you keep any lists or bookmarks, require that they be things you HAVE read and want to keep as reference for lat…

> You might be INTP. FInd out and if you are, find a community of them. It helped me. I took one of those self tests and it came back ITSJ

Certainly not a problem unique to INTP, I just said that because your problem seems so familiar - personally and from others that I know.

Please note that this is not about MB, it's about getting hints about who you are and how you use the information you seek.

I was not aware of MB until a friend IRL told me that I might be a certain type. I took the test, and from there my world seemed to open as I at least had a way to learn more about myself.

I read the term "information diet," and I think that is what it comes down to. I've had to do this time to time. Having a motivating side project to help you pick between what is and is not relevant to you at a particular time is a good idea.

Anyway, good luck.

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

#142

Post by vijaykumar13 » Sun, Dec 07, 2014, 4:48 AM UTC

Good observation, I think most of us under the same situation with varying degrees of effect. Time to do meditation more regularly, and start building more self control for Internet and some other things ;-)

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

#143

Post by Houshalter » Sun, Dec 07, 2014, 4:55 AM UTC

kazagistar wrote: post #136

probably_wrong wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It cannot be turned off and you can set it for a specific amount of time I almost stopped using the app due to the lack of an off button, after my boss asked for some data and I could not get it on time because the website was not on my whitelist. Luckily, there is a way of turning it off. If you don't want to know it skip the rest of this comment, and otherwise here it is, in case someone needs it: the app uses th…

No way to disable things is a dealbreaker for me. It should be possible (if slightly annoying) to disable restrictions, but it should only ever be temporarily disabled.

A chrome extension I use called stay focus has an option to require typing a long document exactly in order to disable it. Unfortunately it's trivial for even a mildly technical person to figure out how to get around it, so it's become useless for self control.

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

#144

Post by Houshalter » Sun, Dec 07, 2014, 4:59 AM UTC

I worry that the people who really have the answer to this probably aren't going to see this or post a comment.

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

#145

Post by christiangenco » Sun, Dec 07, 2014, 5:01 AM UTC

bcoughlan wrote: post #138

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…

> So now I spend a lot of time on very strict information diets. What helped me was signing up to newsletters. Once a week I get newsletters summarising the most interesting links for HN, and also ones about Python, Big Data and Data Science. I redirect HN/Reddit/Facebook to 127.0.0.1 in my hosts file, because going to these sites is an automatic reaction in a browser, and all I need is a 404 to remind myself why I n…

For HN, there's the fantastic HNDigest[1] that sends you a summary email of the day's top posts.

1. http://www.hndigest.com/

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

#146

Post by robbiep » Sun, Dec 07, 2014, 5:16 AM UTC

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…

Try stayfocused- I used it all through med school. Half an hour on my 'big 4' - smh.com.au, HN, facebook, wired and later reddit a week. During exams I'd hit the nuclear options n and only allow wikipedia and university sites.

Great productivity booster

Edit: whoops forgot the link. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stayfocusd/laankej...

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

#147

Post by lucaspiller » Sun, Dec 07, 2014, 5:22 AM UTC

I used to be similar and here is what I do now:

- Avoid the news. 99% is rubbish and the other 1% isn't going to have any effect on you. If anything is important enough you'll hear about it anyway (from talking to people, Facebook, etc). I only read HN and a few Reddits regularly now, but even most of that is rubbish. If you hear about a news topic that is interesting to you, sure go read into it, but you aren't going to gain anything from constantly checking the news 'just in case' you miss something.

- Don't care about TV / movies / books / articles. Nothing you read / watch is going to dramatically change your life, so don't feel you are missing out. Again the good stuff will bubble up to you somehow. (Don't care doesn't mean don't consume, I still take a break to watch shows and movies every so often, but I don't do it religiously). After Google Reader shutdown I didn't bother finding a replacement and I don't feel any less of it now.

- Meditation. There are lots of different branches of meditation, rather than focusing on a single problem the one I do has you focus on thinking about nothing. You just need to observe any thoughts instead of following them, and eventually your mind will be silent. It's leads to greater mindfulness which means being present in the moment rather than thinking about the past or future.

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

#148

Post by noufalibrahim » Sun, Dec 07, 2014, 5:28 AM UTC

There was a time when people gorged. They wisened up and figured out that a certain economy of intake was better for their health.

I think people do the same now with intellectual material. An economy of what you take in is a good thing. It makes you healthier and less worried. There's going to be a lot of stuff that you'll miss but that's okay. Most of it is going to disappear soon given the churn rate of tech. If you do need to indulge, do so in more foundational materials rather than the "library of the week" or "language of the month".

Another thing is to take up a hobby. Something non intellectual. Something physical is good, something artistic is fine too and explore that area on a regular basis - preferably daily. Don't (and this is serious) track all aspects of the hobby as many people do with devices. Stay offline and just lose yourself in the hobby for a while. Don't feel compelled to share every bit of your life social media networks notwithstanding. You should have private compartments that are your own space.

Another useful bit of advice to have a "dry day" once a week. No going online. It's great to get yourself aligned again.

As much as technology has given us, I think it has a dehumanising effect. disconnecting on a regular basis is a good thing. You only gain from it.

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

#149

Post by nitrogen » Sun, Dec 07, 2014, 5:33 AM UTC

jqm wrote: post #112

nitrogen wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for sharing. Allow me to provide another possible aid for those who would not be well-served by the kind of isolation and regimented schedule one would encounter on a Mormon mission (e.g. those with delayed sleep phase). I also went on such a mission for two years, and my mind could never adapt to the 14-hour 6-day workweeks. The only solution that worked for me, which I figured out years later, was controlled…

It's cool to hear that a Mission helped someone in a real tangible way. But, as a counterpoint to the "beneficial" Mormon story, I would like suggest that my early experience in the organization was not very good (I left as soon as I was old enough to legally do so. I would have left at 13 had parents permitted.). I am firmly convinced these types of organizations often induce strange mental problems of their own whi…

I am firmly convinced these types of organizations often induce strange mental problems of their own which are often far worse than the sins they are trying to cure.... And I guess I really question whether this type of thing helps humanity as a whole.

I agree entirely. People well served by their community have little motivation to question it, but that doesn't mean that everyone would benefit from membership in that community, or even that the community is beneficial to society as a whole. I have many thoughts on the subject, and maybe one day I'll write more.

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

#150

Post by nitrogen » Sun, Dec 07, 2014, 5:37 AM UTC

halfcat wrote: post #105

nitrogen wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for sharing. Allow me to provide another possible aid for those who would not be well-served by the kind of isolation and regimented schedule one would encounter on a Mormon mission (e.g. those with delayed sleep phase). I also went on such a mission for two years, and my mind could never adapt to the 14-hour 6-day workweeks. The only solution that worked for me, which I figured out years later, was controlled…

>plus an interesting career that isn't affected by delayed sleep phase Would you mind sharing what kind of career you have chosen, or examples of others that fit this description?

I started by creating my own product and consulting companies, and as my monetary needs increased and revenues decreased, kept them running on the back burner while adding full-time remote and in-office web development work. I consider myself very lucky to have met the people who could connect me to projects that didn't care so much about daily schedules, only results. And if I may say so, I definitely deliver results.