I have a big procrastination problem. An effective tool/strategy/app for reducing this procrastination could be massively useful to me.
One strategy is to get a routine. I can't confirm though, I'm also a procrastinator :/.
Ask HN: What's your problem?
21–30 of 51 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's your problem?
#22Problems faced by the denizens of this site are more likely to be well-served by what already exists. Try asking people in industries that rarely interface with the tech world. That's where you find the big, underserved problems.
Which industries would that be? What is a good way to get in touch with them without looking too opportunist or ruining yourself? (genuine question)
Go work in them.
Most of us could probably spend a single day in the office of a company in a different industry and pick out a handful of ideas on ways they could improve their processes, or speedup tasks, or cutout waste. Not all of those ideas will require a technology-based solution, but surely a few of them will.
If you really want to find good problems to solve, try working as a temp for a few weeks. Ask lots of questions and make notes, I'm sure you'll find plenty of work to do.
Maybe that's a good startup idea right there; build a site where businesses can post their problems, procedures, workflows, painpoints, etc, and professionals can comment on them, offer suggestions, either using existing solutions (technical or not), or try to make business connections ("we can build that for you").
Re: Ask HN: What's your problem?
#23My problems? Okay, I'll try to list them honestly. Try to build some startups from this: 1) It's too cold in Moscow. The gray sky sucks. 2) I fall sick easily. Now slowly recovering from a brutal case of stomatitis. 3) I can't easily find new people to play music together in a casual setting. I'd do this every couple days if it were simple. 4) Whenever I have >1 concurrent girlfriend, I have trouble separating them.…
Well at least number 3 can be fixed...
Re: Ask HN: What's your problem?
#24Problems faced by the denizens of this site are more likely to be well-served by what already exists. Try asking people in industries that rarely interface with the tech world. That's where you find the big, underserved problems.
Absolutely. Most people just go about their lives without continuously looking for new ways to do things. Find these people and extract their domain knowledge.
Re: Ask HN: What's your problem?
#25I am bilingual (french/english), but one thing really bothers me: I never get to speak in English. I read books in English, I watch movies in English, I read/write in English, etc. but I never get the chance to practice my spoken English. The end result is that although I understand/write English very well, I lack confidence when talking. I wish I could _talk_ on the net so that I "get" the accent and intonation. The best scenario would be to be able to discuss about things I'm interested in at the same time (startups, programming, etc.). I could actually host a Ventrilo server (anyone interested?) until someone builds an app for that :D
Re: Ask HN: What's your problem?
#26Certain large, critical organizations that I work with have a paperwork process that goes:
1) Receive information through web form or email
2) Print it out
3) Scan it in to document management system.
There are whole offices of people whose job it is to do this.
Re: Ask HN: What's your problem?
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Which industries would that be? What is a good way to get in touch with them without looking too opportunist or ruining yourself? (genuine question)
Go work in them. Most of us could probably spend a single day in the office of a company in a different industry and pick out a handful of ideas on ways they could improve their processes, or speedup tasks, or cutout waste. Not all of those ideas will require a technology-based solution, but surely a few of them will. If you really want to find good problems to solve, try working as a temp for a few weeks. Ask lots o…
"Go work in them" can be a time consuming process. I wish it was possible to just work a couple of days in a given industry but it's much easier said then done. An alternative could be consulting but that can also involve a lot of commitment when all you really want is identifying opportunities - not build a consultancy biz from scratch.
Perhaps, a viable alternative could be to offer free consulting: much easier to land contracts and low commitment.
Re: Ask HN: What's your problem?
#28Failure to finish. I've had, to date, 7 ideas that, had I finished executing, I would have been first to market (in most cases, by years). I would have been beaten to market on one other product, and really close to tied with another few. In imaginary-land, where I live, of the 7 companies I beat to market, 4 of them had million dollar + exits or acquisitions, so I COULD have been worth 45-55 million, give or take. M…
You have just described me too... Countless ideas started and very few completed or even got to a launchable status. I know exactly what's required in every case but struggle to wrap things up. Funnily enough, I think I'd make a solid startup/side-project coach and it's exactly what I need, also. Would love to see a small group work together to motivate each other, like an online version of the YC dinners (going by w…
I have the same problem. I find it difficult to keep up the motivation to do the boring work that makes the difference between cool side project and actual product. I think this in large part is because I do things alone, because I don't have a problem with day-to-day drudgery in my day job.
Of course, I wouldn't be fiddling around with new product ideas if I was satisfied with the day job either.
I'd definitely be into the small group idea - it would have to be quite a bit smaller and non-public than HN though :-)
Re: Ask HN: What's your problem?
#29I want to program the iPhone/iPad, but don't want all the headaches required for this: - Buying a Mac dev box - Learning Objective C - Dealing with the whole Apple Developer's Program paper shuffle
Surely the fix for this is called Android?
Re: Ask HN: What's your problem?
#30I am bilingual (french/english), but one thing really bothers me: I never get to speak in English. I read books in English, I watch movies in English, I read/write in English, etc. but I never get the chance to practice my spoken English. The end result is that although I understand/write English very well, I lack confidence when talking. I wish I could _talk_ on the net so that I "get" the accent and intonation. The…
I should move to a country where English is spoken by most people. I was in the same situation one year ago before moving to Netherlands. You will never completely loose your french accent (hey they said it's sexy :) ), but you will improve a lot your vocabulary and your confidence in talking (especially after work and a few beers :)).