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Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

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Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#151

Post by throwaway987651 »

I have a related question:

I've been a successful consultant, though that's tailed off the last 5 years.

A lot of what's in the other thread [1] rings very true. I'm massively torn in all directions, learn for the sake of learning and never have any ideas with whatI want to do with what I learn.

HOWEVER... the big difference, and one I have struggled with for years, but more so recently is... "why bother?" to do anything. Money no longer motivates. I don't believe in technological progress, I want the world to be different and can't accept it as it is. I want people to be nice to each other, in a utopian way that thinks I can make them happy and doesn't allow for their emotions.. I can't say the thought of anything in the world excites me.

I'm overwhelmed by the volume of information, but even more so by the volume of opinions. Take even a simple long-running one, what to believe religiously. I can hear one side, then the other, then another... and each in turn (usually) makes sense. There's not enough info to say one is right, but which is right?? Because each believes their point is right, and yet if I held a different position all would criticise me. I can't resolve that dichotomy.

Am I burned out like this chap talks about? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8976685

Or is it something deeper like Borderline Personality Disorder?

I turned 30 this year, and spending my days wishing I knew what to do with meaning wasn't what I expected to do.

1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9049208

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#153

Post by TACIXAT »

Coming from the security industry, I've talked trash in Facebook for their abuse of the word hack. Now that I'm working on a webpage of my own I really appreciate the mentality. Often I find myself stalled trying to come up with the optimum solution before I start programming, or hung up not knowing which feature to work on.

My failure to start is well addressed when I decide to just implement it in the obvious way, just get an implementation out and worry about optimization later. If I have too many things to decide between I make a list and prioritize from there. Having each thing written down allows me to forget about the item until it's at the front of the queue.

So, write your stuff down. Choose a topic you want to learn that will be most valuable to you now. Forget about everything else.

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#154

Post by r-cid »

throwaway987651 wrote: post #151

I have a related question: I've been a successful consultant, though that's tailed off the last 5 years. A lot of what's in the other thread [1] rings very true. I'm massively torn in all directions, learn for the sake of learning and never have any ideas with whatI want to do with what I learn. HOWEVER... the big difference, and one I have struggled with for years, but more so recently is... "why bother?" to do anyt…

Try psychedelic mushrooms.

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#156

Post by acjohnson55 »

throwaway987651 wrote: post #151

I have a related question: I've been a successful consultant, though that's tailed off the last 5 years. A lot of what's in the other thread [1] rings very true. I'm massively torn in all directions, learn for the sake of learning and never have any ideas with whatI want to do with what I learn. HOWEVER... the big difference, and one I have struggled with for years, but more so recently is... "why bother?" to do anyt…

It sounds like you're suffering from some ennui. I wouldn't get too caught up in worrying whether it's a disorder or something. It will probably pass. I suggest making a pivot. Put that idealism to use and join up with a cause. You might find it gives you a sense of purpose you're missing.

For example, I was bored with engineering and decided to do Teach For America 7 years ago. It turned out to be a very difficult experience, but I feel like I had a meaningful impact. It was also life changing for me in many positive ways.

TFA's definitely not for everyone, but perhaps you have an analogous passion you could pursue. You don't have to wait to make your next move until you want to know what you want to do with the rest of your life. Just make a definitive choice, put your all into it for a year or two, and then reevaluate from there.

I'm overwhelmed by the volume of information, but even more so by the volume of opinions. Take even a simple long-running one, what to believe religiously. I can hear one side, then the other, then another... and each in turn (usually) makes sense. There's not enough info to say one is right, but which is right?? Because each believes their point is right, and yet if I held a different position all would criticise me. I can't resolve that dichotomy.

I feel you hear. A couple years back, it occurred to me that we might be in a post-fact society. There's so much data out there that any position can be supported by such-and-such's study or so-and-so's historiography. For me, the answer is to seek principles instead of data. I think there's also a tendency for people to pontificate about things without ever seeing the reality on the ground.

All the best to you in your decisions. Shoot me an e-mail if you like.

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#157

Post by acjohnson55 »

Jimmy wrote: post #87

Well, it doesn't really sound like you want to "do everything". It sounds like you just want to learn a bunch of CS-related topics, which is much more manageable. Be thankful you're not trying to split your attention between CS, math, philosophy, art, literature, biology, and more. Try making yourself more project-oriented. Decide that you will do a project, commit to finishing it, and learn what is necessary to comp…

I returned to grad school to study music technology at NYU a few years back, and one of the things I really appreciated about my program was how project-oriented it was. Almost every class required me to invent an idea and then execute it within a couple months. It was great practice for following a process of ideation -> research -> focusing -> delivery, all under hard time constraints, and in parallel. It forced me to realize that I had to be able to optimize and be willing settle for imperfection. But the result was a whole bunch of projects of various levels of achievement, a great mix of broad and deep learning, and a lot of confidence built.

I think for the OP, this 4-5 month time constraint could be a really good thing.

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#158

Post by ChuckMcM »

buzzcut wrote: post #86

Start spending some time reading Cal Newport's blog. You still have the problem of deciding which things are important to you, but just immersing yourself in how he approaches focus and deep habits, about how he prioritizes his work, will send you in the right direction. If you time block your available time as he does, you're forced to make choices--there is only so much time available, obviously--and the discipline…

Agreed. The key for me is the blocking structure. On the calendar, the next hour, X. Nothing else unless you finish it. Oddly the trigger for me was World of Warcraft where you could hop online to spend "5 minutes checking auctions" and end up 3 hours later wondering what the hell?

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#159

Post by zo1 »

busterarm wrote: post #128
eitland wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hacker News is not a bookmarking service, here are some I know of: * https://delicious.com/ - Discover, share, and organize the hottest links online * http://pinboard.in/ - Pinboard: social bookmarking for introverts * http://www.xmarks.com/ - Xmarks | Bookmark Sync and Search edit: links and descriptions edit2: Anyone care to explain the downvotes?

Yeah and I can delete my post later when I get to a place where I can do that, but thanks.

If you're on a mobile device, do what I do: "share" or "send" the url to your email app and then mail it to yourself. It goes directly to my inbox, and I don't mark it as "read" until I've "actioned" it.

Re: Ask HN: The “I want to do everything but end up doing nothing” dilemma

#160

Post by kpennell »

Hey Michael (and whoever might see this). I suffer from a similar thing. Too many possibilities and cool options, what ifs. I'm an ENFP personality type (the inspirer) and also have some ADD (have coped well with it as an adult). I also sometimes smoke weed (which gets me even more excited about the world).

Ok, two things that have worked for me.

Short term focus:

Pomodoro technique. You work in 25 minute spurts and don't let yourself do anything but work in those 25 minutes. Aim for 5 or 8 or some number you want to get done that day. That way, you won't feel bad if you can't necessarily finish something that day, you put your pomodoros in.

Long term focus:

Google Warrent Buffet's 25 things method. James Clear did a good article on it. You write down 25 things you want to do. Then you decide which are top 5. Then you DON'T touch anything from 6-25. You have to leave those alone. They will overextend you and dilute your focus.

So that's it. Pomodoro and the 5 things. That keeps me in line.

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