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PG: Disconnecting Distraction

paulgraham.com

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Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#131

Post by maxklein »

bloch wrote: post #129
maxklein wrote: post #9

An alternative is this: What I do (using my super secret self designed software) is that I monitor my usage of the internet, and for every hour firefox is open, I send $10 to my credit card account. So while I procrastinate, I lose cash money but repay my debts.

Perhaps people without your super secret self designed software could use http://www.stickk.com/ for something similar.

The reason its super secret is that it works with my bank account only with my banks online banking. It would only work there, so no need to try to make it available to others.

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#132

Post by pg »

andreyf wrote: post #120
pg wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what I meant when I said the long-term solution might be software that controlled how you used the Internet, rather than simply turning off wifi.

> This is what I meant when I said the long-term solution might be software And I thought that was just a not-so-subtle plug for YC-funded companies ;) PS - I guess these things aren't intentionally PR-ish. If anyone spends time talking to startup founders who are solving problems, it's only natural to start incorporating these problems into your world-view...

It wasn't because we funded Rescuetime that I wrote about this problem, but because I already thought this problem was so important that we funded Rescuetime.

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#133

Post by Franko »

I'm a lucky guy. I've chosen for myself the job of e-entrepreneur, and so when I'm navigating I'm actually working! Be it e-mails, my feedreader, digg, paulgraham.com or whatever else, I'm actually always trying to improve my business and offer my customers a better service! Or am I fooling myself? Time will tell.

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#134

Post by cbentzel »

Rather than focus on specific tricks, I've found the best thing to keep me focused is to set up lots of aggressive short term goals _and_ have a fixed time when I will stop working for the day. Just having daily goals isn't enough - it's too easy to procrastinate and then work long hours to make up for it.

I also try to schedule a two hour chunk each day (preferably near the beginning) with minimal interruptions and just leave emacs and shells open. Regardless of how many meetings or other distractions come up the rest of the day, I can guarantee some amount of forward progress on the technical front. It's actually pretty amazing how much can get done in two hours if you're very focused.

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#135

Post by obvio171 »

You don't need two computers to do that: a laptop will do just fine.

Just make the rule that you can use the internet for as long as you want, but in a different (and preferably less comfortable) room/table.

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#136

Post by obvio171 »

obvio171 wrote: post #135

You don't need two computers to do that: a laptop will do just fine. Just make the rule that you can use the internet for as long as you want, but in a different (and preferably less comfortable) room/table.

In fact, that's all the better if you let it run on battery. For me that caps my internet time at 2 hours.

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#137

Post by kc5tja »

An excellent post. I'm finding this is increasingly a problem too. I often find my greatest productivity in coding comes when there is a power outage. Not only am I forced to not browse the Internet, I'm just plain forced to NOT use a computer at ALL. Pencil and paper only.

If you need to have a network in place, while still preventing the urge to browse, you might want to try using some alternative networking infrastructure. Consider using AX.25 to transfer files, for example. Unless you configure TCP/IP to tunnel through AX.25, you won't be able to browse or use the Internet. But, you still have connectivity to your work-related file servers, since they'll (presumably also) have connectivity via AX.25 too.

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#139

Post by Anoel »

I am getting really sick of people ragging on TV. "Visual crack"? Really? Have you been watching TV lately? Sure there is show that are just mindless fun but everyone needs a chance to relax these days. TV is more and more producing great works of art, try The Wire if you're doubtful. TV writing is getting better all the time. I'm of the belief that narrative is important which is why so many people gravitate towards it whether in the form of TV, books, movies, comic books or even video games. And with the internet it's become even less of a passive experience inspiring social networks, creativity and intellectual thought among other things. I watch TV because it's a part of doing what I love and I will never apologize for watching 4 hours a day or however much I watch a certain day. And if you tell me to give it up, I'll tell you that you should try giving up all the narrative forms listed above. Some people may be able to do it and be happy but not most people.

It's all about moderation. Doing too much of any one thing is usually a bad idea but if you do small things that you love, it should be positive for you.

Re: PG: Disconnecting Distraction

#140

Post by kc5tja »

maxklein wrote: post #81
keating wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> because everyone is free to do whatever they want. Citation needed. > It's rare to find the man who realizes that everything he fails at is ultimately his own fault Incompatible with the other claim. If other people are free to do whatever they want, they are free not to cooperate with you. If you fail to get Megan Fox to want to engage in mating behavior with you, it may well be due to circumstances beyond your co…

If I cannot lay Megan Fox, it's because she decided not to. Excercising my freedom does not give me the right to take away someone elses freedom. If however, Miss Fox says no to me, and I take that to mean that I will fail with all chicks from then on, then that is my own bloody fault, and its something I can change easily by trying for other chicks. So when someone blames his reading of reddit on his high school, I…

"Excercising my freedom does not give me the right to take away someone elses freedom."

Nonetheless, in this hypothetical situation, you failed in your quest to lay Megan. Therefore, by your own words, it is your own fault.

This myth, that it is your own fault if you fail to achieve your own goals, forms the foundation for conservative viewpoint in this nation. I'm not here to preach the gospel of the Left (they have their own mistaken views too), but you have to concede, as heart-breaking as it is, that the Right isn't always either.

Recognizing a situation for what it actually is necessitates that we take human behavior as an animal into consideration when observing our own behavior. Taken in the original context of the statement, the author's claim that our failures are "our" fault is an indictment, not merely an observation.

"Failure" is never just a black-and-white situation. We live in a complex, chaotic world. It's time it's addressed as such.

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