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Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible

guzey.com

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Re: Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible

#151

Post by Scarblac »

trefn wrote: post #139
Scarblac wrote: post #23

I need just one thing: a way to get rid of a bad habit that doesn't involve changing the circumstances in which I have that habit. I'm a Web developer with a mindless tic-like habit of opening sites like Reddit and HN all the time. Even a second after closing it. I can't very well get rid of Web browsers. Edit: ohh, but the tip of going to a place where I've never procrastinated before and sitting down to think what…

I have a similar tic. I just edit my hosts file to redirect those requests to localhost. Then when I mindlessly navigate to one of those sites it doesn't work and I realize I did it unconsciously. I do the same for gmail because I have the same tic for checking my mail. If I actually want to go to one of those sites I just edit the hosts file and comment out the redirect line. On my mac, the /etc/hosts file looks lik…

I do that too! But then of course there also the moments when I am really procrastinating and I remove them again... but that's a dumb excuse as it's much easier to solve than the subconscious problem, thanks for reminding me.

Re: Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible

#152

Post by nurettin »

nurettin wrote: post #125

My productivity tip is to get old. If you are too young for that, watch an old person complete an overwhelming task. Model after their resilience and patience.

And I don't mean old as in obese diabetic vitamin d and iron deficient cranky old. I mean reliable old.

Re: Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible

#153

Post by Draiken »

scottishfiction wrote: post #124
Draiken wrote: post #118

I often get surprised how deep we got hooked into the system. We tell ourselves unless we're doing something (no matter how useless that is) we're worthless. Everything becomes a different kind of procrastination. We feel productive creating yet another CRUD app, idle game or advertisement optimization tool that ultimately does nothing for anyone but the capitalists on the top of the chain. Only to feel bad about doi…

There are places where you can find well-paid work that isn’t for ‘capitalists at the top of the chain’. Well, at least not directly. Do you think you’d find the public sector equally meaningless?

Unfortunately I live in a corrupt country where public work would possibly be even more harmful than private work.

The incredible amount of wasted potential from human beings spent in the endless race for profits makes me sick.

The irony of it all is that we're always trying to find ways to find meaning in life and ended up caught up in the most useless quests possible...

Re: Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible

#154

Post by dTal »

birdman3131 wrote: post #92
jedberg wrote: post #57

> If you aren’t working from home, your workplace should be at least a couple of minutes away (better: an hour away) One great hack for this is if you work from home, get up and get dressed, then go out for a walk around the block as your "commute" to work. At the end of your work day, take a walk again in the opposite direction as your commute home. Even though the ploy is totally obvious, it will put your mind in a…

An hour away seems like a waste of 2 hours of your day to a commute.

Depends how you view it. My commute is almost an hour, half on a train and half by bike. In the morning, the train comes first, and I'm basically still waking up. That's wasted time anyway - even if I were at leisure, all I'd be doing at that point is sitting with a cup of tea, booting up my brain. Occasionally I'll see a fellow commuter I know, and we can spend the time chatting and waking up together. Then the bike ride - mostly along relaxing bike paths and trails - is a great way to finish waking up and settle my mind for work, as well as a core part of my daily exercise. Again, activity I'd need to do at some point anyway.

In the evening, the bike ride is much faster as it's more downhill, and because I'm fully awake the train ride is a chance to read, listen to music, or program for fun.

Point is, with this style of commute, the time mostly isn't "wasted" because it consists largely of activities I'd like to do at some point in the day anyway. I don't know how people cope with an hour in traffic behind a steering wheel.

Re: Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible

#155

Post by captainbland »

freediver wrote: post #12

The simplest productivity hack is finding passion. I never seen a windsurfer procrastinate. If you are truly enjoying your work and can't wait to do it, there is nothing going to stop you.

That's more than likely because the moment you do start procrastinating as a professional wind surfer, like in any sport, you immediately get ousted by every hopeful who's willing to put in the hours to get access to an extremely limited pool of things that pay in that field.

Re: Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible

#156

Post by crb002 »

guzey wrote: post #73
crb002 wrote: post #60

Needs to add in exercise.

I experimented a lot with exercise. I found that it doesn't influence my mood, productivity, etc. at all, so I didn't include it. Admittedly, I'm an outlier here.

Like Alan Turing I am extremely exercise dependent, and it has to be hard exercise not just walks.

Re: Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible

#157

Post by dominotw »

projektir wrote: post #150
dominotw wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So often, people take on tasks because they think you have to do them, or the task meets some criteria that someone else has set. You feel you have to do the project because it's required for a class, or your boss told you to do it, or it's the only way you see to get the credential you need to take the next step in your career. Remided me of passage from J.K's book. "There are two kinds of action. One brings you r…

Yeah, if I only ever did things that I rejoice in doing I'd be getting nothing done. Not everyone is a super naturally passionate type.

What is the other option though? None of the "productivity hacks" actually work.

Re: Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible

#158

Post by ssorallen »

mackrevinack wrote: post #111
ssorallen wrote: post #106

RE: 11.3 Browser tab management No manual, rule-based tab management ever worked for me, which is why I took over development for Tab Wrangler a while back and have been continuing to update it. Garbage collection for old tabs without me having to intervene. This has been the best system for me, and it has worked well for years. Old tabs are automatically cleaned up when I haven't looked at them in a while. It's all…

dayum. that's sounds like something I really need. every time i sort out my tabs it takes only a week before it's back to normal. when the tabs are closed and stored are they put into one folder or can they be put into month folders?

The closed tabs are stored in the extension's local storage as JSON. There is some basic sorting built into the extension, and you can use the export functionality in the "Options" tab to export the JSON info and work with it in other ways.

Re: Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible

#159

Post by lcall »

Thanks for posting this. One thing that I think really helps me is to have a reason for everything I do, better than pleasure/power/attention/toys, that is relevant to both the long-term and the short-term. So I know why, and that motivates me. One problem I might have had is too much motivation and I have had to adjust, to re-balance.

I have decided that direction is more important than speed. I.e., making sure the ladder of success is not leaning against the wrong wall (Covey), and that we are not running in circles, or spending our lifetime on mere shiny things. What do we want to look back on after decades, or at the end of mortality? I.e., good decision-making, keeping in mind the purpose of one's life. My purpose in life comes from my beliefs, but I think a next candidate for purpose could be joy, which I suppose comes from knowing one's nature, and from learning/growth, and unselfish service to others (helping them learn and grow and be well & happy).

So, balance while moving forward well, based the above, to me is much more important than getting more tasks done (though I am very task-focused when I am able, because the tasks relate directly to the purpose and related specific goals). This and other things help me feel peaceful and happy (life and learning are very much a work in progress, but some things I have gratefully learned).

I have written more at http://lukecall.net (a lightly-loading, simple site), including about development of and candidate content for maturity models for different areas of life (mental, physical, social, spiritual). Feedback welcome.

Re: Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible

#160

Post by mkhalil »

tk75x wrote: post #116
mkhalil wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get your first HN joke.

"The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. ... Each interval is known as a pomodoro, from the Italian word for 'tomato', after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that Cirillo used as a university student." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique

Thank you
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