Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Only Way to Get Important Things Done

blogs.hbr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 116 posts

Re: The Only Way to Get Important Things Done

#31

Post by bemmu »

msie wrote: post #11

I read somewhere that it was a myth that willpower is a limited resource and that we imagine it is limited, but it's not. Does anyone else remember where this was mentioned?

http://www.stanford.edu/~gwalton/home/Publications_files/Job...

Just skimmed it, but in this study 60 students were given tasks and those who believed that willpower is a limited resource made more mistakes after doing a "willpower-draining" activity.

But I wonder if people who were already willpower-drained before taking this test would be more likely to report that willpower can be drained than well-rested students.

Re: The Only Way to Get Important Things Done

#32

Post by bobds »

BruceForth wrote: post #30
nickpp wrote: post #16

This is Gold, Jerry, GOLD. And the best advice on creating these rituals, or HABITS is Seifeld's "Don't break the chain", coupled with Pavlina's 30-day trials. http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-se... http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/04/30-days-to-success/

From the second article: > I lost seven pounds in the first week, mostly from going to the bathroom as all the accumulated dairy mucus was cleansed from my bowels (now I know why cows need four stomachs to properly digest this stuff) WTF? Does he think cows eat dairy? Or did I parse that wrong?

Do cows only make milk for our enjoyment?

Re: The Only Way to Get Important Things Done

#33

Post by Markku »

latch wrote: post #27
Markku wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After dumping my TV some years ago, there are still some problems with time. Working, commuting, exercising and eating seem to take about 15 hours in total. Now with 7-8 hours of sleep it leaves approximately 1 hour for hacking or time with other people. A bit too little, no? Sometimes it might be possible to combine commuting and exercising, but at the moment it's not worth it, since commuting and meditation, as wel…

Something's not adding up for me...even if you are working 10 hours a day, that means you are spending 5 hours commuting, exercising and eating? 1 hour commute each way, 2 hours exercise and 1 hour for eating?

A simplified example day:

  07:15-08 Wakeup, shower and breakfast
  08-09 Commute+reading
  09-19 At work, includes lunch and snack
  19-20 Exercise
  20-20:30 Grocery shopping
  20:30-21:30 Commute+reading
  21:30-22 Dinner
  22-23:30 Hacking
  23:30 To sleep (slightly late)
This routine gives a small amount of extra working hours to use for time off later. Cutting work to 8 hours gives 2 hours of which 1 usually goes to a longer exercise and 1 is retained as free time. So these days get 2-2.5 hours free.

How does that work out for you?

Re: The Only Way to Get Important Things Done

#34

Post by fabjan »

JacobAldridge wrote: post #15

I'm a massive fan of life-task automation, for the benefits of not worrying about certain things (and therefore being generally happier in life). Classic example for myself - when I used to commute to work, I would change lanes at exactly the same point every day. There was a month of trial and error to begin with, but this route and those lanes gave me the 'most likely fastest journey'. No more thinking about traffi…

How much energy does your has-happened-but-not-yet-three-times memory use?

Re: The Only Way to Get Important Things Done

#35

Post by [deleted] »

BruceForth wrote: post #30
nickpp wrote: post #16

This is Gold, Jerry, GOLD. And the best advice on creating these rituals, or HABITS is Seifeld's "Don't break the chain", coupled with Pavlina's 30-day trials. http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-se... http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/04/30-days-to-success/

From the second article: > I lost seven pounds in the first week, mostly from going to the bathroom as all the accumulated dairy mucus was cleansed from my bowels (now I know why cows need four stomachs to properly digest this stuff) WTF? Does he think cows eat dairy? Or did I parse that wrong?

[deleted]

Re: The Only Way to Get Important Things Done

#36

Post by [deleted] »

BruceForth wrote: post #30
nickpp wrote: post #16

This is Gold, Jerry, GOLD. And the best advice on creating these rituals, or HABITS is Seifeld's "Don't break the chain", coupled with Pavlina's 30-day trials. http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-se... http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/04/30-days-to-success/

From the second article: > I lost seven pounds in the first week, mostly from going to the bathroom as all the accumulated dairy mucus was cleansed from my bowels (now I know why cows need four stomachs to properly digest this stuff) WTF? Does he think cows eat dairy? Or did I parse that wrong?

[deleted]

Re: The Only Way to Get Important Things Done

#37

Post by rimantas »

bobds wrote: post #32
BruceForth wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the second article: > I lost seven pounds in the first week, mostly from going to the bathroom as all the accumulated dairy mucus was cleansed from my bowels (now I know why cows need four stomachs to properly digest this stuff) WTF? Does he think cows eat dairy? Or did I parse that wrong?

Do cows only make milk for our enjoyment?

While calves do consume milk cows don't need four stomaches for that. Ruminants need them to break down plants enough to be processed and digested.

Re: The Only Way to Get Important Things Done

#38

Post by fabjan »

Markku wrote: post #33
latch wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something's not adding up for me...even if you are working 10 hours a day, that means you are spending 5 hours commuting, exercising and eating? 1 hour commute each way, 2 hours exercise and 1 hour for eating?

A simplified example day: 07:15-08 Wakeup, shower and breakfast 08-09 Commute+reading 09-19 At work, includes lunch and snack 19-20 Exercise 20-20:30 Grocery shopping 20:30-21:30 Commute+reading 21:30-22 Dinner 22-23:30 Hacking 23:30 To sleep (slightly late) This routine gives a small amount of extra working hours to use for time off later. Cutting work to 8 hours gives 2 hours of which 1 usually goes to a longer exe…

Wow, I'm so happy I stopped commuting and got a job in my home town. I went from being away from home 7-19 to being away from home 7.30-17.30

Now, I don't exercise but I spend 2x30 minutes bicycling to and from work.

Re: The Only Way to Get Important Things Done

#39

Post by swombat »

Markku wrote: post #33
latch wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something's not adding up for me...even if you are working 10 hours a day, that means you are spending 5 hours commuting, exercising and eating? 1 hour commute each way, 2 hours exercise and 1 hour for eating?

A simplified example day: 07:15-08 Wakeup, shower and breakfast 08-09 Commute+reading 09-19 At work, includes lunch and snack 19-20 Exercise 20-20:30 Grocery shopping 20:30-21:30 Commute+reading 21:30-22 Dinner 22-23:30 Hacking 23:30 To sleep (slightly late) This routine gives a small amount of extra working hours to use for time off later. Cutting work to 8 hours gives 2 hours of which 1 usually goes to a longer exe…

1) 10 hours at work? Cut that to a healthier and more sustainable 9 including lunch hour - less if your lunch break is shorter.

2) grocery shopping every day? Order it online or do it once a week (or both) - another daily half hour gained.

3) daily exercise is laudable, but maybe you don't need a whole hour every day. Half hour after waking up should be more than enough - unless you're doing weight lifting for muscle gain, in which case you should only go 3 times a week.

That's a couple of hours a day recovered there.

Re: The Only Way to Get Important Things Done

#40

Post by adambyrtek »

InfinityX0 wrote: post #4
latch wrote: post #3

I feel pretty confident that the single biggest thing people can do to be more productive, or to have more time, is to dump their TV. Following this is the trifecta of: exercise, eating well, and sleeping enough.

Yup. I'd like to add "not living with people you like". I think having social connectivity is big outside your home, but when you actually live with people you like/are peer pressured to do things within your dwelling, it is really hard to get things done.

Does living with people you dislike really increase your productivity, or are you suggesting to live alone?
Post reply on HN