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How I regained concentration and focus

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Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#271

Post by tartoran »

brudgers wrote: post #259
kortex wrote: post #174

"Trivial inconveniences" are a big hurdle when trying to build a habit, but are a great tool for breaking bad ones. Anything you can do to break the dopamine loop helps, however small it may be. I've had success with: - setting long passwords to social media that aren't autofilled (saved in bitwarden) and logging out after each session - nerfing addicting parts of webapps (plugins which block the facebook news feed b…

I find trivial inconvenience essential for establishing positive habits. They make me focus on my intent to establish a habit. Habit establishing requires perseverance in the face of a bit of bother. The big hurdles are the big hurdles. Small frictions get smoothed by repetition…or by simply becoming ordinary parts of the process. Willingness to do things that suck is the nature of positive habits. To a first approxi…

Interesting take on how habits feel at first as without system 2’s input (From Daniel Kahneman’s thinking fast and slow) habits carve their way into our brains basically seeking the most reward or dopamine. So without constant monitoring of system 2 we end up as entertaining craving systems, seeking patterns to satiate the urge for dopamine. Good habits may be bitter at first but the rewards are reaped in the long run.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#272

Post by eastbound »

kibwen wrote: post #263
vbezhenar wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My method is using private browsing to open addicting websites. This way their address will not be saved in history and I'll have to type it which sometimes stop me from doing that in mid-way. Also helps with automatically logging out.

I've done this with YouTube and it's been extraordinarily effective for me. Without the history associated with my account, the recommendation engine just shows me the default junk, preventing me from falling down rabbit holes when I just want to watch some video. For keeping in touch with channels that I still want to follow, I've subscribed to them via RSS. If you need an extra push to enforce that you only use pri…

We sound like casino addicts who voluntarily try to be banned from casinos.

At least we’re only losing time, not money. But we’re still losing health, by staying in bed too much because of social media…

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#273

Post by ben_w »

landemva wrote: post #256
ben_w wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you going to do anything about the war in eastern Europe? If the news causes no change in your actions, you might as well have put a small pebble in front of the phone and had it, instead of your eyes, absorb the photons emitted by the screen.

You suggest I do what? I could talk to people about two decades of NATO encroachment on (shall not be spoken) R. Or discuss with people how in the weeks prior to conflict, VP Harris was in Munich and said Ukraine should join NATO. Or discuss how comedian and Vogue model Zelinsky said Ukraine should re-acquire nuclear weapons. While true, none of those fit the rythmn of the mainstream narrative.

I'm suggesting you limit your news to things which are actionable rather than affective.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#274

Post by eastbound »

SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #246
jpeter wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hacker News doesn't count because i am "learning something", even though i can't recall a single thing I read today

My parents use the same argument about social media. “Facebook doesn’t count because I only use it to keep track of what people I know are doing.” That has to be right up there with the number of times I have heard “I don’t use Facebook, I only use Instagram”.

“I just watch this TV show because I want to witness how stupid TV can get.”

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#275

Post by smoussa »

I went on a zero news diet a while back and have recently got back on this diet again. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made for my productivity.

For those with fear of missing out on current affairs — events are really only worth knowing about if someone has made you aware of it in real life. Otherwise it’s likely not that important.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#276

Post by ckosidows »

smoussa wrote: post #275

I went on a zero news diet a while back and have recently got back on this diet again. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made for my productivity. For those with fear of missing out on current affairs — events are really only worth knowing about if someone has made you aware of it in real life. Otherwise it’s likely not that important.

You're on HNews?

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#277

Post by rr888 »

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #119

I did not see it listed here, so I will mention Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport, who, among other things, discusses news in particular, but digital distractions in general and proposes a way to deal with it by changing our relationship with technology. I am currently going through the steps proposed by him and while not easy, it generally supports the point of the article. That said, it is not just news. edit: Just…

I really like his message but I feel each of his books could be a blog post. Good blog posts, but nevertheless something you could read in a few minutes. Instead you have to buy/borrow a $10 book, then he rubs it in by talking about how productive he as he has written so many books.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#278

Post by cultofmetatron »

kortex wrote: post #174

"Trivial inconveniences" are a big hurdle when trying to build a habit, but are a great tool for breaking bad ones. Anything you can do to break the dopamine loop helps, however small it may be. I've had success with: - setting long passwords to social media that aren't autofilled (saved in bitwarden) and logging out after each session - nerfing addicting parts of webapps (plugins which block the facebook news feed b…

this so much. I had tried giving up twitter but the convenience was always there. Then one day I had enough and told a gun nut to set himself on fire. Now whenever I am tempted to get on twitter, I have that offensive "delete this tweet" screen show up to remind me that I shouldn't bother with this crap. I'm all the better for it.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#279

Post by [deleted] »

smoussa wrote: post #275

I went on a zero news diet a while back and have recently got back on this diet again. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made for my productivity. For those with fear of missing out on current affairs — events are really only worth knowing about if someone has made you aware of it in real life. Otherwise it’s likely not that important.

[deleted]

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#280

Post by kibwen »

eastbound wrote: post #272
kibwen wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've done this with YouTube and it's been extraordinarily effective for me. Without the history associated with my account, the recommendation engine just shows me the default junk, preventing me from falling down rabbit holes when I just want to watch some video. For keeping in touch with channels that I still want to follow, I've subscribed to them via RSS. If you need an extra push to enforce that you only use pri…

We sound like casino addicts who voluntarily try to be banned from casinos. At least we’re only losing time, not money. But we’re still losing health, by staying in bed too much because of social media…

The problem is that whereas casinos are strictly recreational, a lot of YouTube content is actually extremely informative and educational. The problem is that going to YouTube just for the educational stuff still subjects you to the addictive stuff.
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