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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

#191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 v…

I don't think all of what I get on HN or reddit falls in either category. I get some good stuff there and here, and find fun stuff too. But I do notice booting up one or the other reflexively. That's the part I don't like. If I'm being intentional about it, it's okay, but on autopilot I feel guilt.

What really did it for me was blocking them on coldturkey for a day. I'd very much recommend trying out blocking whatever your habit sites are for a day. It's eye opening. I found myself doing "cmd+t news" or "cmd+t redd" idly simply out of habit. Likewise when I deleted the reddit app on my phone. When it's not coming from the executive function part of my brain, or even worse, when it's counter to my executive function decisions, it's not productive.

Basically, if it's a decision I look back on fondly, that's the criteria for okay. Some of the time on these aggregators meets that criteria, but not enough of it :\

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

#193

> human function - the boring stuff: eating I disagree on this one. Eating can and on good days should be a pleasure. It can also be very social. Eating together is an ancient tradition. Breaking bread. It is a common misconception that it takes a lot of time. If you are not used to cooking yourself then it will take time to learn how (not just how to microwave),and then learn how to adapt it for your own taste buds.…

> Also sex. It is not mentioned in the schedule.

Under socialising?

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

#194

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.

where is the threshold of # of drinks in a day where daily drinking begins to adversely affect liver? I thought a glass of wine a day was considered neutral or positive, so how many glasses of wine is unehealthy for 3-7 consecutive days?

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

#195
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> + 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…

> My main point is, I wonder if extroverts — or those that are energized from intense social interactions — are more destined to be happy vs. introverts. I don't know. I'll actually extend your question to its extreme: Does anyone know what the evolutionary advantage of being an introverted individual in a very social species is?

I expect introverted individuals playing on their own in the wilds (or "hunting") are nature's answers for societal insurance. If some catastrophes strike at the tribes/HG bands' main encampments, some cultural memory and genetic diversity persist for the next band to reclaim that site.

After all, humanity natural niche is persistence hunting and gathering-scavenging.

And of course, hunting itself took a long time to do, especially if you are doing persistence hunting with primitive tools and maybe fire. A long time to be lonely and tolerating it.

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

#196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From TFA: > I knew I was spending quite a lot of it on social media, but I wasn't sure how much exactly. I also knew I was working quite a lot and wanted to quantify exactly how much (spoiler alert: not that much). I hoped that keeping track of what I do would help me to identify chunks of time that were being wasted and to turn them into quality time. Tracking time doesn't inherently have to be to optimize for "maki…

But I never said tracking time inherently does that. I agree with you. It's a great way to put things in perspective. It's just my personal experience that the majority of time we label as "productive" is in fact productivity for the sake of someone else profiting on top of it. I have nothing against the OP or the article.

Most people work for someone else, the productivity is a for a paycheck. But secondarily you are also learning skills which can either propel you up a career ladder or give you the basics to start your own business. Sour grapes over how much profit shareholders are getting does not serve ones own interests—either start your own business or maximize your own salary/billable rate in the labor marketplace, but don’t cut off your nose to spite your face by focusing on how much profit-sharing you are not getting in one particular situation.

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

#197
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…

Yeah, I mean obsessive life hacking is definitely annoying, but honestly this guy is pretty cool.

Like, he actually did this. That in and of itself is pretty amazing. How many people do you know say stuff without really truly knowing what they’re talking about.

So can we just stop and appreciate for one sec this guy literally did this thing, and that’s actually amazing.

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

#198

> human function - the boring stuff: eating I disagree on this one. Eating can and on good days should be a pleasure. It can also be very social. Eating together is an ancient tradition. Breaking bread. It is a common misconception that it takes a lot of time. If you are not used to cooking yourself then it will take time to learn how (not just how to microwave),and then learn how to adapt it for your own taste buds.…

> Also sex. It is not mentioned in the schedule. Under socialising?

How about human function?

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

#199
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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". But if you are going to try and do things that "really matter" don't you want to be productive at them? I've seen a number of folks with ALS who have done amazing things with the time they had left, and I am sure t…

> But if you are going to try and do things that "really matter" don't you want to be productive at them? I'd definitely try to, hehe. For me it's more about what we categorize as productive than the experiment itself. The experiment is a great way to gather data. But the categorization made me really think about what people, in general, categorize as "productive". Maybe sleeping should be way more important than man…

Ya personally I consider sleep to be very very productive. I just spent two months doing cognitive behavioral therapy to improve it (went from ave 5.75 hrs to 6.7 hrs per night). Massive benefit.

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

#200

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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