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I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

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Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#161

Post by nequals1 »

GuB-42 wrote: post #128
5tefan wrote: post #124

1.76 days idle? I'd call that impossible. How can you be busy the whole waking time? Sounds like burn out is creeping in. Idle is my most important state of mind. Daydreaming. Suddenly some ideas pop into my mind. It is almost Zen like. Without being idle no focussed work. It fuels my work.

Idle in that context is meant for things like waiting in line. There is another category for what you describe: chilling (3.49 days), plus there is certainly idle time folded into other activities, like travelling.

exactly this!

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#162

Post by axetheone »

gingerlime wrote: post #37
ad404b8a372f2b9 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does one of those allow easy input of activity with a single button click without required login and cloud use? Also are they free? I tried to find an easy tracking workflow a few years back but all the apps had hidden dark patterns so I gave up.

I'd be happy skipping the free part for something that preserves my privacy. Off the list GP posted, the first name -- ActivityWatch -- seems to hit the mark? open source, privacy-first, cross-platform according to the homepage[0]. Never even heard of it until now, but I might give it a try :) [0] https://activitywatch.net/

I've picked up ActivityWatch an year ago precisely due to those factors and I'm quite happy with it.

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#164

Post by Draiken »

6gvONxR4sf7o wrote: post #64
Draiken wrote: post #49

I am always baffled how sad this extreme focus into productivity makes me. If you discovered you were going to die in a year, would you continue to spend all your time being "productive"? I figure almost everyone would shift all their focus on doing things that "really matter". Sadly I believe the world managed to make us feel guilty when we're not doing something that makes someone else rich (majority of jobs). I'm…

I agree with you if productivity is work, but I also consider my hobbies productive. Netflix and Reddit and HN and the inane parts of the news I consider unproductive. And yet I spend probably at least 12 hours per week on those. It’s a scrolling addiction and (god how hypocritical is it for me to take the time to type this here) it’s good to avoid.

And that's exactly what I'm questioning. Why are Reddit and HN labeled as non-productive? Is it because it doesn't do anything to us or because we're trained to only label "skills" as productive?

I learned more through HN than I did with many books. Reddit improved my day through stupid memes that made me laugh more times than I can remember.

Yet when I'm browsing those sites, I feel guilty. Even while writing this very comment.

That's what saddens me.

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#165

Post by TeMPOraL »

Draiken wrote: post #150
danesparza wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read the article. The article has a completely different tone than what you are assuming from the headline. ~~~ 4 points per hour for the most productive activities (focused work towards uni & self-improvement and exercising) 3 points for reading books 2 points for reading blogs, listening to podcasts, lower intensity work etc 0 points for things that are important but I do them anyway (socialising, sleep etc) -4 poi…

I did read it :) My point is that the majority of "productive" things we do are geared towards our jobs. And the majority of jobs enrich the people at the top at the expense of your expertise and time invested. YMMV. Not sure why so many people assumed I had a bad view on the article or the OP. I think what was done was fascinating, but it made me sad.

> My point is that the majority of "productive" things we do are geared towards our jobs.

There's a confounder here that's relatively specific to some types of jobs / industries (like IT): the same skills and knowledge that is "geared towards our jobs" is also used outside work. In our industry, a lot of people - including myself - are hobbyists. They enjoy the same stuff they also do for a living. In this setting, your personal pursuit for knowledge and fulfillment may look from outside as indistinguishable from your job.

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#166

Post by [deleted] »

Draiken wrote: post #49

I am always baffled how sad this extreme focus into productivity makes me. If you discovered you were going to die in a year, would you continue to spend all your time being "productive"? I figure almost everyone would shift all their focus on doing things that "really matter". Sadly I believe the world managed to make us feel guilty when we're not doing something that makes someone else rich (majority of jobs). I'm…

[deleted]

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#167

Post by l33tbro »

"Today’s society is no longer Foucault’s disciplinary world of hospitals, madhouses, prisons, barracks, and factories. It has long been replaced by another regime, namely a society of fitness studios, office towers, banks, airports, shopping malls, and genetic laboratories. Twenty-first-century society is no longer a disciplinary society, but rather an achievement society".

- Byung-Chul Han

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#168

Post by Draiken »

hobofan wrote: post #71
Draiken wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did. But it also mentions procrastination as a -4 point and sleep as a 0. And my sentiment is also from reading some of the comments here. So many people obsessed with productivity. Some have a clear reason to do so, but I fear many do it because of outside pressures, or never even thought about it.

I don't think there is necessarily anything wrong with that scoring. Sleeping is basically neutral (maybe it should give 0.5 points instead or something small that doesn't dilute the rest of the scoring system). I'd also score procrastination negatively even if you are not obsessed with productivity. Procrastination can easily cause negative feelings (and for me is probably one of the biggest sources for them) and ca…

Oh, neither do I.

What made me sad is that I'd likely have a very similar scoring if I did this myself.

For example, I wish I didn't score sleep as a waste of time, when it's likely more important than many of the things regularly deemed important by society.

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#169

Post by dukeyukey »

jader201 wrote: post #140
oblio wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your viewpoint still dismisses one of the best categories of "time wasting"/"things that really matter": time spent socializing with friends and family. There have been a few studies that were pointing out people in Southern Italy live very long and happy lives (I think happiness was self-reported), despite living in relative poverty compared to developed countries. Sun + healthy diets + lots and lots of intense soci…

> + lots and lots of intense social interactions with family and close friends. As an introvert, I find “lots and lots of intense social interactions” draining (by definition). Granted, I do enjoy hanging out with friends and family, but often feel drained a bit afterwards. Of course, I’m not advocating being a loner. I wouldn’t like that either. My main point is, I wonder if extroverts — or those that are energized…

> I wonder if extroverts — or those that are energized from intense social interactions — are more destined to be happy vs. introverts.

Sadly for introverts, that seems to be the case.

Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/quiet-disadvantag...

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#170

Post by TrackerFF »

I'm not sure how much alcohol you drink - could be one beer / glass of wine / drink, or it could be multiple units - but for your health, I'd recommend that you take a 3 day break between intake.

Drinking for 3-7 consecutive days, is not good for your liver, even in smaller quantities.

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